In today’s podcast episode, Diana and I are talking about continuing education in genealogy. Benjamin Franklin said, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” We discuss accreditation, the importance of keeping up with new methodologies and developments in the field such as DNA, and how to go about improving your genealogy education. Learning about records, localities, and methodologies are a good place to start. We also talk about setting goals, creating an education plan,...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss productivity and how to make the best use of your research time. We discuss various ideas including the pomodoro technique, using Google Keep, a 30×30 challenge for daily research in small increments of time, and using a time journal to notice what you spend time on and eliminate time thieves. Links Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com...
Are you feeling in a rut with your genealogy research? Not sure what to do next or feeling overwhelmed with the idea of getting started in family history? Perhaps you need the boost that a major conference like RootsTech can give. When I was just beginning my journey into family history, I had no idea how to organize the suitcase full of papers from my dad’s years of research. I had grown up with pedigree...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss ideas for organizing genealogy papers, documents, electronic files, and more. We’ll talk about how to choose a personal family tree software program and how to create backups of your research so they don’t get lost or destroyed. Diana is going to talk about her story of receiving a suitcase full of unorganized genealogy papers from her father and how she dealt with that. We’ll talk about...
Have you used church records in your genealogy yet? If not, you might be interested to know how helpful a church record can be in researching your family. Because birth and death certificates were not required by most states in the U.S. until after 1900, church records can be a substitute for vital records. They can also help establish an ancestor’s status in the community, reveal associates, and point to previous or subsequent residences. In...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss a research project that Diana completed to determine if George W. Dillard was the father of our ancestor, Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Here’s the objective of the project: The objective of this research project was to determine if George W. Dillard born 1781 in Virginia and died 1854 in Lee County, Alabama was the father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Cynthia was born about 1815 in Georgia. She...
In today’s episode of the podcast we are talking all about why you should write your results at the end of a research project. There are so many reasons, but probably the most important is that the act of writing about something helps you make connections and solve problems. And of course, it also helps you to leave the project knowing that you can pick it back up in a year and know exactly where...
Have you heard of the term “nuncupative will” and wondered what one would look like? If you have never come across this term, here’s your chance to learn something new. Our research often throws us curves in the form of new types of documents. If we’re going to become excellent genealogists, we need to become familiar with a variety of terms and records. I’d read and taught about nuncupative wills but never discovered one in...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss research logs. You know, that dreaded spreadsheet that you should keep when you’re doing research. We will discuss a few different types of research logs, including Research Ties, spreadsheets, tables, paper logs, and the research notebook. We will also talk about how we normally use our research log in our workflow. Diana is going to talk about how she never feels like she’s really doing research...
Today’s podcast episode is about source citations. We’ll discuss when you need to make citations, how to do it, and the questions to ask that will guide you as you create them: who, what, when, where within, and where in the world. If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of making source citations you’re not alone. Nicole tells about her experience really learning how to do it. Diana will tell us about layered source citations,...
