We all love the thrill of the research – entering in the search terms and waiting while the website spins then returns what we hope will be the record we’re hoping for. What if it doesn’t? Do we record that search or do we keep clicking around in search of the elusive perfect record? Following a research plan and keeping a research log works wonders to eliminate the bright shiny object chase. Working with a DNA project, it is just as important to track where we’ve been and what we’ve done. In this article, I’ll show how I used an Airtable research log to track both DNA and documentary work for my project.
In the hopes that DNA can help to discover an unknown 4th great-grandfather, I’m returning to my brick wall of identifying Cynthia (Dillard) Royston’s father. The Research Like a Pro with DNA study group is a perfect way to tackle a persistent research question. The structure of the assignments helps me stay on track and the process keeps me moving forward. I’ll be sharing my progress in this series. Will I finally be able to answer the question of who was Cynthia’s father? I don’t know. But I do know that I’ll be one step closer by the end of the study group.
When working with DNA, using the DNA matches of the closest generation to the target ancestor can make all the difference. For this project, I’ll be analyzing the DNA matches of my second cousin, twice removed (2C2R), Victor Parker. While Cynthia is my third great-grandmother, she is Victor’s great-grandmother. He received approximately 12.5 % of her DNA, whereas I only received about 3% or less.
I’m working on this project in phases. Previous phases included documentary research to eliminate Dillard candidates for Cynthia’s father and analysis of the DNA to find a cluster of DNA matches to research. Here is my current objective.
The objective of this research phase is to test the hypothesized biological sibling connection between Elijah Dillard and Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Elijah Dillard was born about 1814 in Georgia and died on 6 September 1886 in Coffee County, Alabama. Cynthia was born about 1816 in Georgia and died in 1882 in Collin County, Texas. Cynthia married Thomas Beverly Royston about 1833 in Georgia or Alabama.
I’ve completed the following steps and written about them in these blog posts.
RLP with DNA Study Group: Part 1 Assess Your DNA Matches & Analyze Your Pedigree
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 2: Organize Your DNA Matches and Create an Objective
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 3: Timeline, Source Analysis, and Citations
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 4: Locality Research and Ethnicity
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 5: Exploring DNA Tools
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 6: Research Planning
The Airtable DNA Research Log
Airtable is a database/spreadsheet hybrid that adds extra functionality for complicated research. Tracking FAN club members and DNA information certainly is complicated, so I now use an Airtable research log for all my research projects. Learn more in Nicole’s blog post, Airtable Research Logs.
Nicole has designed a variety of templates for use with genealogy and DNA and shared them in the Airtable Universe. You can click on each log and make a copy to use for your own research. The most recent DNA research log template corresponds with our book, Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence.
I set up my Airtable DNA Research Log at the beginning of my Dillard project and first used the DNA Match Details, People, and Correspondence tables to record information about DNA matches. Next, I used the Timeline tables to list life events for Cynthia and Elijah Dillard. During the research phase, I tracked each search from my research plan in the Research Log table. (See the screenshot below).
The following fields allowed me to organize my findings: person or surname of interest, record type, date of the event, date of search, website or repository, URL, locality, source citation, results, FANs, comments, and next steps. The beauty of a template is the ability to easily adapt it to any project by deleting or adding any field.
One reason why Airtable is my research log of choice is the ability to easily group and sort by field. In the screenshot below, I’ve grouped my log by record type so all the land records appear under that heading. I’ve also sorted by date, so the records appear chronologically. I didn’t add a specific event date to the entries for deed index searches since many dates are noted in the results column.
I can also sort within the groups by individual, repository, locality, etc. This function turns my research log into a database for my research with many ways to view and analyze the data.

Airtable Research Log
When researching brick wall ancestors, we need to extend our research to their Friends, Associates, and Neighbors (FANs). Airtable provides a way to easily track those by allowing linking between tables.
In the screenshot above, you can see the field labeled FANs has three entries for individuals mentioned in the deeds for Elijah Dillard. As I researched I simply typed in any names mentioned in the records and because this is a linked field, those names also appear in the FANs table (see the screenshot below). The FANs table is sorted alphabetically by name and you can see that Isaac B. Welch is named in both the land record for Elijah Dillard (deed) and the land patent for Elijah. This will help me make connections I might have missed.

Airtable Research Log: FANs Table
Documentary Research Findings
My research plan for the documentary research findings centered on records for Macon County and Pike County, Alabama. Eliljah Dillard’s timeline showed his earliest record to be a land patent in Macon County, where he was a resident in 1848. He also patented land in Dale County, resided in Pike and Barbour Counties, then died in Pike County. In trying to connect him to Cynthia (Dillard) Royston, I hoped research in the earliest and latest known counties of his residence would prove fruitful.
Macon County Research
Elijah’s earliest known record to this point was in Macon County, so I started the search there in the land, probate, and court records. I hoped to find a possible Dillard family that would connect with Elijah and Cynthia. Interestingly, the only Dillard family I found was that of George W. Dillard. His son, Frances W. Dillard died in 1866 and left a large estate file naming his brothers, wife, and children as heirs. I had previously proven that Cynthia (Dillard) Royston was not a daughter of this family, but could she and Elijah still be connected in some fashion, or was this a coincidence?
The Macon County deed index included a large list of deeds for Dillards, both as grantees and grantors. Again, all the references were for Frances W. Dillard or his brothers. I did find three deeds for Elijah that I correlated with the land patents I had previously discovered. I used the results column of my research log to record each instance of Dillards in the deed index with the name, date, volume, and the page number. I bolded those for E Dillard. Then I was able to use this list to look up the deeds for E Dillard, which were for Elijah.
Pike County Research
After completing the planned research in Macon County, I moved to searching Pike County records. I created source citations for each record as I did the searches and entered data found in the results column.
The census records noted Elijah’s residence in the Spring Hill township and I discovered some information about the area’s settlement a county history by Margaret Farmer, History of Pike County, Alabama. The county history had no index but did include many names of associates of Elijah in Spring Hill. While scanning the county history, I noted the page in the results column of the research log and wrote a brief summary of the information. When writing the report, I will have an exact page number to cite and can also return to the history to verify the details.
Citation for Pike County History
Margaret Pace Farmer, History of Pike County, Alabama, (Troy Alabama, 1953); digitized book, FamilySearch.
Results for Pike County History Research
p. 6 Most of the early settlers were Scotch Irish in origin from the Carolinas. This was a poor part of Alabama with few slaves and mostly white settlers. 1830s
p. 25 The Civil War didn’t have as much effect on Pike County as other Alabama counties – it didn’t have a great many slaves. The newspaper was The Troy Messenger – established in 1866.
p. 30 The coming of the railroad brought a huge increase in population, in 1870. 500 people to 3,000 by 1880.
p. 33 Newspapers: The Enquirer [1875] and The Buzzing Bee.
p. 108 Spring Hill – first settlers came from the Carolinas, then from Georgia: surnames: Grimes, Boutwells, Sanders, and more. Government land was purchased at $46 per 160 acres – heavily forested.
I also found an entry for Elijah in the county death register. Although parents are not listed, the register does provide a date of death, Elijah’s age at death, his occupation, his residence of Spring Hill Beat 14, and his burial in the Hopewell Church Cemetery.
Citation for Pike County Death Register
Pike County, Alabama, Births, 1881-1937; deaths, 1881-1929, Death register, E. Dillard, 6 September 1886, p. 12, cert. 21, digitized image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3SC-DH9W: accessed 2 November 2021), film 008497822, image 577.
Results for Pike County Death Register
6 September 1886, Pike County, Alabama, E Dillard, born Alabama, age 68, white, male, married, cause of death not known, place of death Spring Hill, Beat 4, burial, Hopewell church, informant, C M Carlisle.
DNA Research Findings
As I worked with the DNA, I used various tools to analyze the DNA and recorded those in the research log. I entered information on DNAGedcom GWorks, the My Heritage Autocluster, the Genetic Affairs Hybrid AutoSegment Cluster, the Network Graph, and DNA match trees.
I used the generic term DNA as the record type, so when grouping by this field, all the DNA research is listed together. The research log holds the source citations for the DNA tools. Often we run tests multiple times and the log provides a place to record the results, comments, and next steps.

Airtable Research Log: Group of DNA Reports
My DNA research plan centered on working with the Dillard peach cluster discovered in the network graph. Elijah Dillard was the MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor) according to three trees of DNA matches in the cluster. I used the GWorks “Search Tree Files” tool to look for surnames in other trees that could be descendants for Elijah. Because Elijah Dillard has a fairly robust descendency tree on FamilySearch, I expanded it to four generations then searched each surname using GWorks. I was able to add an additional match to the Lucidchart using this methodology. GWorks was much faster than searching through each tree individually!
As I worked with each match’s tree, I added notes to the DNA Match Details of my Airtable log. I had already entered in the basic information, so during the DNA research phase, I recorded my findings from using GWorks, so I’d know what I had done and gave ideas of what to do next. I also sent messages again to matches who had not yet responded and logged those in the Correspondence Table. you never know when someone will see a message and respond.
With the research plan completed, the next step is to write up the research to this point and see what can be discovered. When writing the report, I always make new connections and decide on future steps. The final post in this series will include how I correlated my research findings in the report. Stay tuned!
Best of luck in all your genealogical endeavors!
Read the whole series:
RLP with DNA Study Group: Part 1 Assess Your DNA Matches & Analyze Your Pedigree
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 2: Organize Your DNA Matches and Create an Objective
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 3: Timeline, Source Analysis, and Citations
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 4: Locality Research and Ethnicity
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 5: Exploring DNA Tools
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 6: Research Planning
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 7: Research Logging
RLP with DNA Study Group Part 8: Report Writing
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