Extreme Genes

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org.  Family "Histoire" News this week is really one huge story in the family history world… the story about FamilyTreeDNA. The company is said to be "working with" law enforcement. The guys share the story along with founder Bennett Greenspan's rebutt...

We all have family secrets. And if you're concerned about how to handle those secrets in a history, Fisher has some thoughts.

Over 40 years before photography became a thing, a printing process paved the way for the publication of numerous images, some of which may help tell your family story.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. Fisher begins the segment reviewing David's recent honor… a genealogical library in Brockton, Massachusetts is naming their genealogical section the "David Allen Lambert Library." (And David isn't even dead yet!) Hear David's reaction to the news....

Your old home movies may be a treasure trove of photographs you didn't even know you had. Here's how to get to them!

Have you ever been told that you are a cousin one or more times removed? What that means is simpler than you may think.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. The guys begin their Family Histoire News with word that our Neanderthal DNA is not reducing over time. David explains what science is telling us. Then, they share the wonderful story of how a baby was found in an ash can in Korea in the early 195...

Have you been hesitant to write your own history? Everyone has a story to tell! Don't deprive your descendants of the lessons and events of your life.

Are you considering writing an ancestral history, but feel their life story is "spotty?" Here is how historical context can help you fill in the gaps.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. The guys begin their "Family Histoire News" with the story of a family that has been in the same unique business for 400 years! Hear what they make and how many generations this covers. Then, it's DNA again that reveals some unexpected ancestry in...

Most people have records, photos, or heirlooms in their homes. But other relatives almost certainly do as well. And often the things they have are different than what you've had passed down. Perhaps it's time for an inventory of all the Family Archive "Branch Offices!"

Imagine a library that stores billions of webpages from sites that no longer exist, and digitized texts of millions of books and other assets. It's not in Greece, and it costs you nothing to visit.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. In the first new show of 2019, Fisher shares with David his first big find of the new year… a treasure trove of family newspaper stories from the 1920s and 1930s. David has also already had a major discovery. Hear what it is. David then shares a h...

There's a time for collecting and a time for distributing. While you're still here, it's time you figure out how that's going to happen. Fisher shares some thoughts on protecting your life's family history work.

Genealogy and family history, believe it or not, are actually defined very differently. Hear why the two terms are not the same.

(Show first aired in April 2018.) Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org.  Fisher begins with his personal story of another brick wall coming down thanks to a pair of family DNA kits. And this one goes back quite a ways! David then shares the story of a woman who took a DNA test and lea...

Wondering why you can't always find articles you believe should be there in a digitized newspaper? Here are some tricks for squeezing it all out of digitized newspapers!

If you've ever dug into Swedish ancestry, you know the issue. Tons of people have the same name and live in the same places. Well, Swedish Church records can at least help a little in sorting out which Hans Olsen might be yours. Fisher explains.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. The guys begin Family Histoire News with the story of a remarkable new find… a type of xray that can reveal the image beneath the damage on a daguerreotype photo.  ( See ExtremeGenes.com .)  Then, the guys tell the story of a DNA match that led a...

Two key census record sets were destroyed in Ireland in 1922, but some of that information was preserved in another way. Fisher explains why your ancestors' data from those census records may still be available.

Within the United States, it was not uncommon for churches to give a "letter of transfer" to a member of their congregation who is moving to a new location. But sometimes they came with immigrants from across the ocean. What can this mean to you? Fisher explains.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org . David begins with an all too brief accounting of his recent astounding genealogical find in an archive. (We'll get into detail in January!) Then the guys kick around (pun intended) the story of the 500-year-old skeleton found with his boots intac...

Obituaries often reveal connections to the Free Masons. If you have an ancestor that belonged to this organization, his membership application may provide great information on him. Fisher has more.

Slave research is hard enough, and this little nugget, unfortunately, might make it harder. Not all slave names come from the most recent slaveholder. Fisher shares some other possibilities.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. Fisher speaks briefly about a recent breakthrough he has made through DNA, opening a previously unknown descent line from an immigrant ancestor. David opens Family Histoire News with word of special markers being places on the graves of participan...