Purchasing the 2024 RLP webinar series gives you lifetime access to the twelve lectures presented in 2024. The researcher’s report will be provided with each lecture.
How it Works
After you purchase the case study series, you will have access to the Research Like a Pro Webinar Series 2024 private page on FamilyLocket.com. Using the username and password you created during checkout, you can log in, view the schedule, and get information about how to watch the presentations live via Zoom. The webinars will be recorded and placed on the webinar series private webpage along with the research report that goes along with it. We will send you an email each month to remind you about the upcoming webinar.
Schedule
Lectures will be presented via Zoom on the following schedule for 2024. All times are 11am Mountain Time (Utah):
Saturday, January 20 – Who Was Robert Steward’s Wife: Using DNA Clusters and Genealogical Research
Amanda Sherwin
Robert Steward, born 1785 in Virginia, had his first son in 1819 in Missouri. One of his 3rd-great-granddaughters searched for 50+ years for the name of his wife. There were no records of any kind – marriage, land, wills. DNA shared clusters identified several DNA matches with similar last names that had never been part of the family. By building out the DNA matches and using traditional records, two cousins were able to put the Stewards and the new family in the same place when Robert and his wife would have met and married. Further research helped identify which of ten men was the likely father-in-law.
Topics: Tennessee, Missouri, atDNA, Shared DNA clusters, pre-1850 census, land, military and marriage records
Tuesday, February 20 – Identifying Henry Jacob Vann’s Mother: a 19th-Century DNA Case Study
Melanie Whitt, MSc, QG
Autosomal and Y-DNA analysis established Jesse Vann as the most likely father of orphan Henry Jacob Vann, born about 1867 in Arkansas or Missouri. But who was “Susan,” the mother reported on Henry’s death certificate? Did the informant merely misremember the name of Jane Davis, Jesse’s known wife? Autosomal DNA analysis revealed both maternal and paternal genetic networks for Henry’s mother, while the synthesis and mapping of indirect geographic, chronological, and onomastic evidence corroborated the DNA findings and refined her identity. This case study features analysis of DNA network graphs created in Gephi using AncestryDNA match data.
Topics: 19th-century US Research, Identifying Unknown Females, Orphans, Burned Counties, Arkansas, Missouri, Genetic Genealogy, DNA Network Graphs, Gephi, Multiple Relationships, McGuire Charts, Indirect Evidence, Census Matrices, Land Records, Tax Records, Probate Records, Mapping, Google My Maps
Saturday, March 16 – Using RLP to Trace an African-American Ancestor back through Enslavement
Allison Kotter
Allison Kotter is professional genealogist at Family Locket Genealogists pursuing accreditation through ICAPGen in the Southeast United States. Her professional genealogy skills and processes have been honed through a variety of genealogical education including the Research Like a Pro Study Group, Research Like a Pro with DNA Study Group, the ICAPGen Level 1 Study Group, the Becoming An Accredited Genealogist Professional SLIG course, multiple Family History courses as BYU, and work as an heir investigator for Lauth Investigations. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in psychology with a minor in statistics. She loves using the research skills she learned in college to solve family mysteries. When she is not doing genealogy, she is focused on spending as much time with her three children as possible.
Tuesday, April 16 – Parents of Maria Terwilliger in New York – DNA Case Study
Alice Childs, AG
Documentary evidence revealed Maria Terwilliger as the wife of Solomon Dunn and placed a woman likely to be her in his New Paltz, New York, households in the early 1800s. A baptism record for their son Robert Solomon provided Maria’s maiden name, and census records provided Maria’s birth year range. Baptism records from local churches documented several Maria Terwilligers born in within this range. Following the RLP with DNA process helped outline a plan and identify the correct Maria Terwilliger. Rather than creating problems, pedigree collapse proved helpful in solving this case.
Topics: New York, census records, Dutch Reformed Church records, probate records, Gephi network graphs using Ancestry DNA data, LucidChart diagrams, pedigree collapse, the shared cM project
Saturday, May 11 – Who was Mary F.E. Deshazo? A Case Study using Indirect Evidence in Burned Counties
Scott Dickson
Scott Dickson is a graduate of the Research Like a Pro study group.
Tuesday, June 18
Jessica Taylor Morgan, AG
Jessica Taylor Morgan is an Accredited Genealogist® (ICAPGen) who loves helping people discover their past. She worked as a professional genealogist at Ancestry for nine years, helping both clients and Ancestry’s Public Relations team. She provided genealogy research for shows such as “Who Do You Think You Are?”, “Long Lost Family,” and “A New Leaf,” as well as the award-winning Sundance film “Railroad Ties.” A graduate in Medieval History, she specializes in U.K., Irish, Scottish, U.S., and immigration research. She is also a professional writer and loves creating stories that help people engage and explore their family tree.
Saturday, July 20 – Who is Grace Brown’s Mother?
Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson is a graduate of the Research Like a Pro with DNA study group and author of the blog Making Family History – https://makingfamilyhistory.com/.
Tuesday, August 20 – Who’s Eli’s Daddy: A Civil War-era Open Secret – A DNA Case Study
Steve Little
Steve Little is a graduate of the Research Like a Pro with DNA study group. All 32 of Steve’s 3rd-great-grandparents had settled into one Appalachian county by 1820 (many earlier), and 60 of his most-recent ancestors were born, lived, and died there, in Ashe County, NC. Steve is interested in genetic genealogy, especially endogamy, pedigree collapse, and teasing-apart multiple relationships using DNA segment triangulation. He is also a husband, dad, birder, chess dilettante, film & TV fan, genetic genealogist, Methodist pastor, photographer, reader, writer, regex script hacker, skygazer, and Virginian. Steve is the National Genealogical Society Artificial Intelligence Program Director and creator of the AI Genealogy Insights blog – https://aigenealogyinsights.com/.
Saturday, September 21 – Proving the Parents of John G. Winn: A 19th Century New England Study
Karen Ramon
An undocumented history gave clues to the parents of John G. Winn. Using the Research Like a Pro method, evidence in a variety of records was discovered to conclusively document John’s connection to his parents.
Topics: Massachusetts, vital records, census, newspapers, cemetery, probate
Karen Ramon began her family history research with a desire to learn about her paternal grandmother, who had passed when her father was a toddler. That curiosity grew into a passion that has driven her research for the past 20 years. Encouraged by fascinating finds, despite somewhat haphazard methods, Karen sought to refine her methodology and make more efficient progress. In early 2021, she participated in the Research Like a Pro Study Group. Since then, she has pursued many educational opportunities, including the Research Like a Pro with DNA eCourse, and in 2023, she served as a peer group leader for the Research Like a Pro Study Group. Karen is a Certified Veterinary Technician with an Associate in Animal Science and a Bachelor’s in Economics.
Tuesday, October 15
Emma Lowe
Emma Lowe is a professional genealogist pursuing a Master’s degree in Genealogical, Paleographic, and Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Family History with an emphasis in German-American immigrant research from Brigham Young University, where she also minored in Korean and Mathematics. She also enjoys British, African-American, and DNA research. In her free time, Emma enjoys volunteering as an independent genealogy consultant for the ConnectMyVariant project using her family history expertise to help reduce the risk of inherited cancer. When she is not doing family history research, Emma likes hiking, knitting, playing badminton, and spending time with her family.
Saturday, November 16 – Four Generations of the Elder Family: Verifying Documentary Research with DNA
Nicole Elder Dyer
Verifying traced research with DNA evidence is a helpful first step to using DNA evidence for more challenging cases on that line. Nicole’s father and grandfather tested their autosomal DNA at Ancestry.com. Mark’s uncle was selected for additional autosomal DNA testing. This case study shows how their DNA results were used to prove the Elder line for four generations, from Mark Elder, to his father Charles William Elder, to Charles Rudolph Elder, to Daniel O’Connell Elder, and to his parents, Charles Elder and Elizabeth Ann Medley. The Leeds Method was used to separate Mark’s matches into his four grandparent groups. The Elder matches were then evaluated with the Shared cM Project using standard deviation to further the analysis. Matches who descended through independent descent lines and who matched multiple test-takers were selected as evidence of the traced relationships.
Topics: autosomal DNA, Leeds Method, proving your pedigree, Shared cM Project, standard deviation, independent descent lines, targeted testing, Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, Washington
Tuesday, December 10 – Who Was Clemsy Cline’s Father? DNA and Indirect Evidence Provide a Candidate in this Burned County Case Study
Diana Elder, AG
Diana Elder AGⓇ is a professional genealogist accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States. Diana authored Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and co-authored the companion volume, Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence. Diana and her daughter, Nicole Dyer, are the hosts of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast and share research tips on their website, FamilyLocket.com.
Call for Presentations
We are looking for case studies showing how you have worked on a case following the Research Like a Pro process or Research Like a Pro with DNA process for the 2025 series. The Research Like a Pro and RLP with DNA steps are taught in our books, courses, and study groups. The lecture should show what you did for each step of the process (i.e. objective, timeline, citations, analysis, locality guide, research logging, report writing, etc.) The RLP with DNA process includes additional steps.
The syllabus/handout should be your completed report. Selected lecturers will be paid $125 per lecture and receive complimentary access to the year’s webinar series. Lectures should be about 60 minutes with 15 minutes of question and answers afterward. The 2025 call for presentations is available here: https://forms.gle/UgZmnU1kcBgw4U3g6
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