Research Tips – Page 56

Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 4: Southern Claims Commission

Oct 16, 2020

The United States created numerous documents where your African American ancestor may be mentioned. Thousands of the formerly enslaved as well as free people of color are named in the records of the Southern Claims Commission. What are these records and how can you access them? In part 4 of this series examining government documents we will examine this valuable record set. Previous articles in this series: Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part...

RLP 118: Revisiting Research Logs

Oct 12, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about recording your searches in a research log. We talk about the benefits of using spreadsheet over a document for a log and discuss the tools we like to use – Excel, Google Docs, Airtable. We go over an example from Diana’s Nancy (Briscoe) Frazier research log for how to fill out the columns. We also discuss what to do with your research log when you get...

The Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Using DNA Segment Data

Oct 11, 2020

Are you up for an adventurous foray into DNA segment data and ready to use some programs to understand it, analyze it, and use it in your Family History research? Let’s go! You may have already read some Family Locket blog posts about using DNA segment data. The Chromosome Browser: A Tool for Visualizing Segment Data by Nicole, explains how to use chromosome browsers to visualize the DNA that you share with your DNA matches...

RLP 117: Revisiting Source Citations

Oct 5, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about creating reference note citations for your genealogical sources. In this fifth part of our revisiting the Research Like a Pro steps series, we discuss crafting citations the first time you look at a source and saving that in your research log (which we will discuss next week). Following your research plan, creating citations, and research logging all happen simultaneously. Tune in to hear more about the...

RLP 116: Revisiting Research Planning

Sep 28, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about research planning. How do you know which sources to search? It comes from the work you’ve done previously. You have reviewed all the known information and organized it chronologically. You have reviewed the locality and what records are available. Now create a hypothesis and think of records that could test it. Brainstorm a list of sources to search that could answer your objective and then prioritize...

DNA Research Flow

Sep 24, 2020

Have you thought about the steps to take to work through a DNA research project? Have you ever been stuck or lost during a project and wondered what you should do next? What do you do? I’ve thought about it a lot, and it motivated me to create DNA Process Trees that have a stepwise model/instructions/flowchart of the main steps to take when working through a DNA research objective. The steps help me maximize the...

RLP 115: Revisiting Locality Research

Sep 21, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about locality research. As we revisit the steps of the research like a pro process, we are discussing Diana’s project about Nancy Briscoe. Nancy lived in several places, but this objective focused on her early years, during which time she lived in Arkansas and Missouri. Diana created two simple locality guides for two Missouri counties and used the Arkansas state guide she had already created. We...

Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 3 : WPA Projects and Slave Narratives

Sep 18, 2020

What additional records can you use to research African Americans in the United States? You might be surprised to learn of the many documents created by WPA projects during the 1930s. These projects provided thousands of jobs and recorded hundreds of first-hand accounts of slavery from interviews of the previously enslaved still living at that time. Learning more about these records can give you another avenue to research in your quest to discover family connections....

RLP 114: Revisiting Timelines and Analysis

Sep 14, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the second step in the research like a pro process – timelines and analysis. This is where you gather everything you know about the objective – previous research, known information from published trees, etc. You compile it into a timeline, then analyze each piece of information for reliability. We talk about source, information, and evidence analysis. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research Like a Pro...

Fast Ways to Cluster Your DNA Matches at the Beginning of a Research Project

Sep 8, 2020

Imagine starting on a brand-new research project with DNA matches and an unfamiliar family tree. You want to get the most out of your precious research time and efficiently organize the DNA matches so you can focus on the family line(s) of interest. – What do you do first? – What’s the most effective method? Great questions! Try the methods outlined below to get started efficiently and effectively. Make a Leeds Method chart Spend 10-20...