We share ancestors with every one of our DNA matches. Sometimes, we can identify the exact shared ancestor(s) without much effort. Other times, we need to put in more time and energy to discover the ancestral connection. A lot of our time working with our DNA matches involves building family trees or seeing where a previously made family tree intersects with ours. Family tree building by researching ancestors back in time is the primary effort made by amateur, intermediate, and advanced genealogists. We use DNA information in addition to documentary research to build family trees. Tracing the ancestors shared with...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about how FamilySearch hints can point you to new record collections you may not have known about. We discuss some essential considerations for using hints and suggestions for doing additional research after attaching a hint. Links The Value of Family Search Hints by Diana Research Like a Pro eCourse Study Group – more information and email list Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com Thank you Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about managing your family trees. Do you have your tree on several websites as well as your software program? How many places do you need to put your tree? Join us as we discuss the purpose behind sharing a family tree online, having a working tree, and using trees as tools for DNA research. Links 3 Reasons to Have Personal Genealogy Software and How to Choose by Diana at Family Locket RLP 27: Personal Genealogy Software How to Transfer a Family Tree to FamilySearch by Nicole at Family Locket WikiTree RootsMagic and...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about using RootsWeb and FamilySearch Genealogies to view family trees that users have uploaded to the internet. These resources are helpful in your “literature survey” – the search you do at the beginning of a research project to determine what has already been uncovered about a research subject. Join us as we discuss our experience with using these free family tree platforms to search and share our family trees. Links Online Genealogies: Discovering the Source by Diana at Family Locket 2018 article about how RootsWeb [was] Unavailable by Dick Eastman at EOG...
At RootsTech in February, Nicole and I had the opportunity to participate in an interview with the executive director of the family history department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Elder Kevin S. Hamilton. Among the topics he discussed was a new FamilySearch feature called Learn About Your Family. It’s built right into the FamilySearch home page. You will see it prior to login. This tool is available on the desktop version as well as in the Family Tree app. Just remember you have to be logged out to access it. How to use Learn About Your Family...
The Research Like a Pro process created by Diana and Nicole is a brilliant method that has helped me break down some brick walls in my research. I have become a much better researcher by participating in their study group. The skills I have learned have helped me understand how to really analyze my existing research and then dig in and find elusive records that I had previously been unaware of in my attempts at pushing beyond dead ends in my family tree. However, not all family history research involves breaking down brick walls. In many cases, records are readily...
In the Fall of 2018 FamilySearch introduced a feature for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints called Ordinances Ready. Ordinances Ready is designed to help church members complete temple work that has already been shared with the temple system by other members around the world. Ordinances Ready works by searching up your tree for 15 generations, then searching back down the tree. Simply stated, Ordinances Ready performs automated descendancy research, finding ordinances in need of completion for people who are related to you. It is an amazing program that facilitates extended family members helping one another...
Have you been wanting to learn how to use the FamilySearch Catalog to make new discoveries about your family? I taught this class twice at RootsTech and both classes were full, so you’re not alone. I use the catalog every day in my client research and I was excited to teach over 2,000 people how to become better researchers. Today I’m sharing an overview of my presentation and including the slides and syllabus at the end so you can learn as well. Diana after teaching The FamilySearch Catalog: A Researcher’s Best Friend at RootsTech 2019 Why Use the FamilySearch Catalog?...
I’m excited to introduce our new guest blogger, Alice Childs. Alice is a temple and family history consultant for her stake in Highland, Utah. Her passion for helping consultants succeed led to the creation of her blog, Souls to Bless, where she regularly posts ideas and inspiration for Temple and Family History Consultants from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. – Nicole A few years ago, my daughter was assigned to complete the Meyers-Briggs personality test for a high school psychology class. After the students had completed the test, the teacher grouped the students according to personality types...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss how to use the FamilySearch Catalog to find record sets in your locality, search for genealogies that include your surnames, and filter records that are available online. We’ll discuss all our favorite tips for using this incredible repository. Links The FamilySearch Catalog: A Researcher’s Best Friend Research Like a Pro eCourse Study Group – more information and email list Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com Thank you Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and...
