Online Repository Assistant (https://www.ora-extension.com), also known as ORA, is a browser extension and Windows application created by John Cardinal. It works with many common online “repositories” like FamilySearch, Ancestry, FindaGrave, FindMyPast, Fold3, and more, to extract data from records and make it easier to paste text into your genealogy software or research report. I wrote a little about it in my post, Automated Source Citation Builders. ORA allows you to create your own text templates...
If you are using Airtable for tracking DNA matches and logging documentary research, I’m excited to share an update to the RLP with DNA base template available in Airtable Universe. Each year I make updates based on my own experience and suggestions from others. I usually do this before our Research Like a Pro with DNA study group begins. The group is in full swing right now, and we are using the new base I...
Have you ever discovered an important clue while reviewing the sources you already have for a research subject? It’s somewhat common for those following the research like a pro process to discover a vital piece of information during the timeline creation and analysis. This is exactly what happened to me as I reviewed the sources I had on Sally (Keaton) Reeves and her family. Timeline Creation The third part of the 14-day Research Like a...
Uniquely identifying a person who is only mentioned in three records can be challenging. The creation of a research objective requires that you identify the person uniquely in time and place. How then, do you define the research project? I encountered this challenge when beginning a project to study Sally Keaton. The only records I have for her include a court order printed in a newspaper and two documents in William Keaton’s estate packet. The...
When researching our female ancestors who have few records naming them, to make progress, we need to do cluster research. We determine the people in her FAN club (Friends, Family, Associates, and Neighbors) and research them! My first post in this series discussed my ancestor, Mary Clemsy Cline, who was born about 1817 in Alabama and died after 1880 in Wise Couty, Texas. My initial analysis showed three individuals I want to explore as part...
When researching our female ancestors who have few records naming them, to make progress, we need to do cluster research. We determine the people in her FAN club (Friends, Family, Associates, and Neighbors) and research them! My first post in this series discussed my ancestor, Mary Clemsy Cline, who was born about 1817 in Alabama and died after 1880 in Wise Couty, Texas. My initial analysis showed three individuals I want to explore as part...
Do you have females in your family tree who have few records and have left even fewer clues to their origins? You may have a maiden name and an estimated birth year, but there may not be any marriage record. Perhaps birthplaces conflict with one census naming one state and another census naming a different state. How do you tackle this type of brick-wall research? When faced with a tough challenge, one proven methodology is...
Last month I had the opportunity to join Richard Miller, the developer of the Goldie May app, in three episodes of his Unrehearsed Genealogy Research show. I chose an objective for the show to find evidence of a parent-child link for a DNA proof argument I’m working on. The proof argument has to do with my husband’s 3rd-great-grandmother, Barsheba (Tharp) Dyer. In the last Research Like a Pro with DNA study group, I wrote a...
What progress can you really make in setting aside 30 minutes a day to research your family history? You may feel that you need a block of several hours at a time for research, but if you use a focused process, each day can build on the previous work. You’ll find yourself coming to the end of a project either having solved your objective or having laid a foundation for moving the research forward. I...
If you’ve been waiting for the paperback version of Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence, we’re excited to announce that it is now available on Amazon! After releasing the eBook earlier this year, we have been finalizing the print details and working with a professional designer to be sure you get the best reading experience. We are thrilled with the result and hope you like...
