We are thrilled that the print edition of Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide is now available on Amazon! To preview the content of the book, read the blog posts in our Research Like a Pro series. Today I want to tell about the journey of writing the book. But first, here’s a bit about our upcoming eCourse. We are creating a brand-new Research Like a Pro e-course, to be released this summer. Each part corresponds to the...
Today I’m sharing two pieces of exciting news: I solved my Keaton brick wall, and Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide is now available on paperback! After editing, formatting, and preparing work samples for the book for the last two months, I have become very familiar with the process. To check it out, click here: Research Like a Pro on Amazon. Learning to research like a pro is what helped me solve my brick wall,...
Have you ever wished you could cross reference your genealogical findings? Find all the census records in a certain county for a family? Look at all of the mentions of a surname in a city? With Evernote, you can do all of this and more. In a previous post I wrote about using Evernote to create a genealogical research center. Today I’ll share my method of using Evernote to organize my research findings. Genealogy Notebooks...
Have you heard of GeneHeritage.com? The owners of this third party DNA analysis tool, E. Castedo Ellerman and Joseph Silver, contacted us and offered to show us how their company can analyze your raw DNA results and give new information about inherited traits. As you probably know, I am fascinated by inherited traits. I think it’s an especially useful way to begin teaching children about genetic genealogy. Here are some posts I’ve written about this...
When is the last time your immersed yourself in the history of a research locality? You might know the records well and have a basic understanding of the history and geography, but reading a full length book is an excellent way to bolster your genealogy knowledge. As a southern United States researcher I often come across land records that state something like “land obtained by the Creek Session of 1832.” I had a vague understanding...
Do you need a better way to locate the research helps you’ve accumulated through the years? Are you drowning in paper? Do you have stacks of handouts from genealogy conferences and classes? What are you doing with that blog post or online article you know you’ll need in the future? Solve your organizational problems by creating your own genealogy reference center using the popular tool Evernote. I started using Evernote three years ago, transferring research...
Are you an adoptee looking for your biological parents? Maybe you’re helping an adoptee or you have someone in your family tree who was adopted. In each case, you might have tested with the various DNA companies and have a slew of results but you’re stymied with what to do next. I’m currently helping my adopted sister, Nancy, locate her biological father. Years ago I helped her find her bio mother using traditional genealogy sleuthing....
Would you like to try a research tool that has the ability to clarify your findings and make connections? Creating a table might be just the key to wrapping your brain around a difficult research problem. I use tables in every research project. Evidence analysis, census enumerations, and other records take shape when put into a table. Organizing the data by individual, date, and place can make all of the difference in understanding the...
Should children take DNA tests? Thought leaders and genetic genealogy experts say yes. In keynote speeches and interviews at RootsTech 2018, Cece Moore, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Living DNA co-founders David Nicholson and Hannah Morden, reveal their thoughts about the booming DNA industry and how it can benefit children. Overcoming Prejudice LivingDNA is making great strides in the industry, especially in pinning down ethnic origins to specific regions within the British Isles. Yet...
On Saturday, our local genealogy society (PCGS) learned about the power of DNA from genetic genealogist Cece Moore. Cece painted a vivid picture of autosomal DNA inheritance – that our DNA is literally made up of small pieces of our ancestors. We carry bits of them in our cells and this information can be used to help us solve long standing genealogy brick walls. Cece said that after testing with Ancestry DNA, we should sort our...