In this episode, hosts Diana and Nicole share a personal and informative journey as they visit their Love County, Oklahoma, roots to walk in the footsteps of Diana’s ancestors, Richard and Nancy (Briscoe) Frazier. Diana recounts the lives of her 2nd great-grandparents, discussing their survival through the Civil War in the Ozarks, Richard’s service as a teamster for the Confederacy, and their eventual migration from Missouri to Texas and then across the Red River into...
This podcast episode focuses on the genealogy of two women, Clarinda Knapp Allen and Jerusha Barden Smith, and their connection to early settlers and significant figures in American history and the Latter-day Saint movement. Nicole discusses her husband’s ancestry, specifically how his relatives married into the Hyrum Smith family. She then shifts focus to one of her own ancestors, Clarinda Knapp, whose relationship to Hyrum Smith’s wife, Jerusha Barden, becomes the central point of discussion....
In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss several new genealogy tools and features. They cover the AncestryDNA “Matches by Cluster” feature, which is a visualization tool for Pro Tools users to identify related DNA matches. They also discuss the improved AncestryDNA feature that allows users to attach DNA matches’ lines to their family trees. Nicole explains the updates to the FamilySearch catalog, focusing on the site architecture and place standardization....
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is a case study about John D. Isenhour and surnames that can be challenging to research. The surname Eisenhower was challenging to research because of the various spellings and eventual anglicization of the name by our branch of the family. We discuss John D. Isenhour’s migration from Pennsylvania to North Carolina to Missouri, using tax and land records to learn more, and understanding the community he migrated with....
Ancestor surnames can be a challenge in research – especially when they begin with a vowel! Take, for instance, my Eisenhaur/Isenhour ancestors. My earliest ancestors emigrated from the German region of Europe in the 1700s and retained the spelling Eisenhauer until my ancestor, John, anglicized the spelling to Isenhour. Some branches of the family still use the Eisenhower spelling – such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, my 4th cousin, 5 times removed. Nicole wrote about...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is a discussion of the book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. Heidi Mathis, one of our researchers, joins us to discuss the general idea of American Nations. The book gives us a hypothesis to understand U.S. history as we research our ancestors. Also, the book excitingly has DNA evidence to back up the hypothesis it proposes...
As genealogists, we formulate a hypothesis about our ancestors to make progress in our research. That hypothesis is a lens, a way of organizing the myriad of facts we discover, which we hope will lead us to locate further records, helping us prove or disprove our hypothesis. I like to try to use the same idea to try and understand the history of an ancestor’s time. I want to avoid getting too bogged down in...
Do you have any ancestors who moved to the frontier? What was it like for them to leave their community and create a new home in the wilderness? Historian, David McCullough, provides important insight into the settling of the frontier after the Revolutionary War in his latest book, The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West. We meet five major characters instrumental in constructing the settlement of Marietta, Ohio....
Do you have any ancestors who either settled or passed through Missouri? With Missouri’s location in the center of the United States and bordering eight other states, the likelihood is high that you have a Missouri connection. Learning more about Missouri research could help you explore new avenues to break down a brick wall or add to the story of your ancestor’s life. Missouri research has so much to explore that this will be the...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about locating the route your ancestors might have taken as they traveled to a new area. Exploring migration could open up new areas of research in your genealogy brick walls. Taking a look at the historical roads and trails that our ancestors possibly traveled can add to their story and help understand more about their lives. It might even lead to more discoveries that could expand our...
