Family Locket

Memories of an Animal Lover: My Mother, Anna Mae (Kelsey) Shults (1928-2021)

What memories stand out about your parent or grandparent? As we think about their childhood and adult years, there may be common themes that run through their lives. Fun memories that I have center around my mother’s love of animals and her pets, especially her little dogs, who were such companions in her widowhood. Anna Mae Kelsey was born in mid-winter on 20 January 1928 to Florence (Creer) and Ed Kelsey at Burley, Cassia County, […]

By Diana Elder May 14, 2023 Creating and Sharing Family History

Uncovering the True Identity of James William Johnson: Part 3 Adding DNA Evidence

When researching the identity of an ancestor who may have changed his name, examining the people he associated with can lead to important connections. In part 1 of this series, we looked at using the FAN methodology (comparing Friends, Associates, and Neighbors). The timeline clearly showed that Patrick Alford changed his name to James William Johnson between 1879 and 1885 to hide from Texas law. In part 2, we added confirmation of the relationship between […]

By Michelle Mickelson May 10, 2023 Research Tips

RLP 252: How Accurate are Thrulines?

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about AncestryDNA’s Thrulines hypotheses. We respond to a listener question about how accurate Thrulines is. We discuss new AncestryDNA technology SideView and how they use that to split up matches by parent. We review strategies for analyzing Thrulines to see if it’s accurate or not. We talk about matches sharing small amounts of DNA and how they are often found in inaccurate Thurlines hypotheses. Transcript Nicole Elder […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer May 8, 2023 Podcast

Discovering and Writing a Family Secret: Review of Unearthed: A Lost Actress, A Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust

What would you do if your aunt gave you the charge never to forget your family’s history and then gave you a book about the family but forbade you to read it? For years, author, Meryl Frank, kept her promise to her aunt but did start researching the events during World War II in Lithuania that resulted in the death of her Jewish family. Eventually, her research led to uncovering the stories and finally to […]

By Diana Elder May 7, 2023 Book Club, Creating and Sharing Family History

Uncovering the True Identity of James William Johnson: Part 2 Comparing Sibling Timelines

When researching the identity of an ancestor who may have changed his name, examining the people he associated with can lead to important connections. In part 1 of this series, we looked at using the FAN methodology (comparing Friends, Associates, and Neighbors). The timeline clearly showed that Patrick Alford changed his name to James William Johnson between 1879 and 1885 to hide from Texas law. With a clear understanding of James’s relationship to his […]

By Michelle Mickelson May 3, 2023 Research Tips

RLP 251: Florence Matilda Creer – A Favorite Photo

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about one of Diana’s favorite photos of an ancestor – Florence Matilda Creer. Florence was Diana’s grandmother. They had a lot in common, from reading, to music. The photo appears to depict three friends in the early 1910s, possibly traveling somewhere together. The man has his arms around the two women, but each woman appears to be trying to remove his hand. Diana shares her research […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer May 1, 2023 Podcast

Proving an Ancestor with DNA: Benjamin Cox (1791- After 1870)

Do you have an individual you’ve researched and have many pieces of indirect evidence pointing to him as your ancestor? Perhaps you’re unsure of the connection though, and wondering what to do next. With DNA now giving us a way to prove biological relationships, we can use this new tool to add evidence to our conclusions. Years ago, I hypothesized Benjamin Cox as the father of my third great-grandmother, Rachel Cox. Records in Texas in […]

By Diana Elder April 30, 2023 DNA, Research Tips

Uncovering the True Identity of James William Johnson: Part 1 Examining the FANs

Have you ever suspected your brick wall ancestor may have changed their name? Understandably, name changes hinder typical research practices that connect us to our ancestors. Research can come to a halt when our subject seems to disappear from the records. For example, women often change their surname after marriage. Immigrants may change their name to blend into American culture. Orphan children may have taken on the surname of a family after adoption. Individuals may […]

By Michelle Mickelson April 25, 2023 Research Tips

RLP 250: RLP with DNA 12 – What’s Next

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Chapter 12 of Research Like a Pro with DNA, “What’s Next? Publishing, Productivity, and Further Education.” We discuss updating family tree software at the completion of a project, sharing reports, anonymizing living individuals, asking DNA matches for permission to be included in a publicly shared report or proof argument, and ideas for how to share your written conclusion. We also discuss DNA proof arguments and meeting […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 24, 2023 Podcast

Making ChatGPT a Valuable Genealogy Assistant

By Laura Clark Murray Since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, this artificial intelligence “bot” has been wowing users by engaging in detailed conversations, answering questions, and even writing stories and essays. But at its core, ChatGPT lacks the ability to distinguish between fact and fiction. Since facts are critical to what we do as genealogists, it’s important to understand how to keep the tool in the realm of reality. If you do that, […]

By Laura Clark Murray April 20, 2023 Research Tips

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Memories of an Animal Lover: My Mother, Anna Mae (Kelsey) Shults (1928-2021)

Uncovering the True Identity of James William Johnson: Part 3 Adding DNA Evidence

RLP 252: How Accurate are Thrulines?

Discovering and Writing a Family Secret: Review of Unearthed: A Lost Actress, A Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust

Uncovering the True Identity of James William Johnson: Part 2 Comparing Sibling Timelines

RLP 251: Florence Matilda Creer – A Favorite Photo

Proving an Ancestor with DNA: Benjamin Cox (1791- After 1870)

Uncovering the True Identity of James William Johnson: Part 1 Examining the FANs

RLP 250: RLP with DNA 12 – What’s Next

Making ChatGPT a Valuable Genealogy Assistant

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