Are you wondering how to blend DNA and traditional genealogy research? Have you been thinking you'd like to try a DNA project to solve a brick wall or prove a conclusion in your research? With my southern U.S. heritage, I have a lot of empty spaces on my pedigree chart. These brick wall ancestors are brick walls for a reason. Records connecting them to parents haven't been discovered and may not exist. I've used indirect evidence to hypothesize parents for these ancestors and with the advent of DNA, I can make even more conclusions. But how to go about it?...
If you've been following this series of DNA blog posts, you are ready to create a research objective and move ahead in your genetic genealogy journey. With access to DNA results and information about matching relatives, you now have a tool that is like a sledgehammer that can break down brick walls in your family history research. DNA alone does not tell you anything about your family history. But when it is used in conjunction with time-honored, traditional genealogical research you have a powerful tool that will help you find your ancestors. With DNA, you need to understand what you’ve...
Today, Diana and I discuss research objectives. Focusing your research with a question is an important step when getting started in any research project. We'll talk about the three types of research objectives (identity, relationship and actions) and the best type to start with. Diana talks about writing down your objective and including unique identifiers. This is so important when you're doing a project to identify a person. When I started my first project in the Research Like a Pro study group, I had a large objective covering three brothers. I tell about why this was a problem and what...
In my research project to discover the actions of my relative during the Civil War, I learned the importance of starting with the right objective. There are three kinds of research objectives that most genealogy research projects fall into: - Identify an individual - Prove a family relationship - Discover ancestor actions I had chosen the objective to discover Moses W. Isenhour's actions during the Civil War. Moses is the brother of my 4th great grandfather,...
Are you ready to improve your research techniques? Do you have a difficult research problem in your family tree? Is it time to move to the next level of genealogy research? Whether or not you are a professional genealogist, you can adopt the same practices that a professional uses. In short, you can learn to research like a pro. This is the first in a six-part series designed to help any level of researcher grow their genealogy skill set. Each post will have a specific task that you can do. Join me for brick wall busting as we tackle our...
How would you like to produce a research project in three hours complete with a research log, report, documents, family group sheet, and pedigree chart? That is exactly what each Accreditation candidate is asked to do for the final stage of testing. To be honest, this part of the process scared me the most so I was very glad to cover it in depth in my study group. I've now completed two practice projects and I'm gaining confidence in my ability to do this. Why a three-hour research project? A genealogy professional needs to produce high quality research in a...
Have you ever been sucked into the whirlpool of internet record searches and an hour or two surfaced wondering where you’ve been and what you’ve accomplished? It is so easy to get distracted by all the goodies that are available online: census records, birth certificates, cemetery records, and so much more. How can you put some order into your research? Try formulating an objective and watch your efforts come into focus. I recently started my Accreditation Study group with ICAPGen and my latest assignment was to craft an objective for my Four- generation Project. I readily admit that until lately I...
