Ohio Roots

It's our 50th episode of the Ohio Roots Podcast! We celebrate by speaking with Drew Smith—genealogist, librarian, author, and co-host of The Genealogy Guys Podcast—to explore his lifelong passion for family history and the intersection of genealogy and technology. Drew shares stories from his early days in online genealogy forums, insights from his books, and advice for researchers at all levels.

On this episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast we speak with Dante Weisend, Site Manager of Fort Laurens. Dante shares the history of Ohio’s only Revolutionary War fort, the upcoming archaeological excavations, and their acquisition of the Patricia Hinkle Shemanski Fort Laurens Research Collection. The collection documents all of the men who served at Fort Laurens. 

On this episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast we speak with Steve Lake about how his interest in the 1782 massacre at Gnadenhutten, Ohio was sparked while researching his own ancestor's involvement. It led to the creation of Wikitree project to document the men who took part in the massacre. We discuss the project, its status, and the what it means to those with ancestors who may have been involve...

We spoke to Brian Rhinehart of CivilWarRecords.com while attending the 2025 OGS Conference and he shared with us how he got his start in genealogy, the interesting things he discovers in the course of his research, and how he helps people learn more about their American Civil War ancestors. 

Join us for this episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast as we speak with Jen Narramore, meteorologist and host of the podcast Tornado Talk, about the Virtual Tornado Memorial Project and how your family’s history could aid them in documenting historical tornados and their impacts. 

It’s OGS Conference week as a treat we have a special DOUBLE episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast! Join us as we discuss genealogy and the conference with presenters Maureen Brady and Michael John Neill. Discover their starts in genealogy and what they have planned for us at the conference.

We speak with Aimee Rose-Haynes, genealogist and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, about her start in genealogy, DNA analysis, and what she will present at the 2025 OGS Conference this year.

You don't want to miss this episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast! We speak with Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage about what inspired his interest in genealogy and what he has planned for us at the upcoming 2025 OGS Conference. 

Join us as we speak with genealogist and military historian Michael Strauss on the latest episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast. Michael shares with us what he has planned for his presentations at the 2025 OGS Conference and much more. 

Join us for a discussion with 2025 OGS Conference presenter and genealogist Denyse Allen. Denise shares with us how she got her start in genealogy, previews her presentations for the conference and much more!

Continuing our discussions with 2025 OGS Conference presenters this week with a conversation with genealogist  Kate Penney Howard . We discuss her own start in genealogy and what she’ll be presenting at the conference.

This episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast is an interview with the 2025 OGS Conference keynote speaker Judy Russell. Don't miss this conversation with "The Legal Genealogist" about her own start in genealogy and the challenges of researching courthouse records. 

Our preview of the 2025 OGS Conference continues on the OGS Ohio Roots podcast. This episode we hear from presenter Kelli Jo Bergheimer about where her interest in genealogy came from and the presentations she will be giving at the 2025 OGS Conference.

Over the next several episodes of the Ohio Roots podcast we preview the 2025 OGS Conference with conversations with this year's speakers. First up in this series of episodes is our Jim Beidler, a longtime attendee and presenter, about what he has planned for the 2025 conference. 

On this episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast we speak with the Ohio History Connection's Cemetery Preservationist Krista Horrocks about the importance of cemeteries in genealogical research, their care and support, and more.

We spoke with Lili McCutchan of the Ohio Genealogical Society. Lili is the Vice President of Development for the OGS Board of Trustees and Chairperson of the OGS Technology Committee. We talked about the Ohio Genealogical Society, what we do, where we’re headed, what we need to be successful, and more.

We speak with the co-chairs of the 2025 OGS Conference, Cheryl Abernathy and Becky Plank, about the theme of the 2025 conference, what speakers and programs attendees can expect, and information on how to register. Don’t miss this if you are planning to attend next year’s OGS Conference.

Ohio Roots speak with Betsy Hedler, Executive Secretary of the Ohio Local History Alliance (OLHA), about the history of the OLHA, how it promotes local history throughout the state of Ohio, the programs and benefits it offers its members, and how your organization can join hundreds of others with similar missions. You can learn more about the OLHA at their website: https://ohiolha.org/ (28 minutes...

For this episode of the Ohio Roots podcast we speak with Tammi Shrum, Historic Sites Director for Historic Zoar Village and Fort Laurens Museum, about Historic Zoar Village. Tammi shares the history of the site, the museum’s history and programs, how genealogy is an important part of that history, and the genealogical resources available there. 

This episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast we speak with Kim Rammel, Site Manager of the Fort Recovery Museum and Christine Thompson an Archaeologist with Ball State University about the history of Fort Recovery, St. Clair's Defeat, recent discoveries, and their positive efforts working with Ohio's indigenous peoples. Hard work well done and worth a listen.

On this special episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast, we present audio from a recent Q&A webinar with OGS Archivist Jenna Kish. She discusses the OGS archives and answers questions from webinar participants.

Join us for the latest episode of the Ohio Roots podcast when we speak with Curt Witcher, the Manager of The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We discuss the library’s history and program offerings as well as their approach to assisting patron with their personal family history efforts. You won’t want to miss this one!

This episode of the OGS Ohio Roots podcast we speak with Carol Swinehart of the  Ohio Chapter of Palatines to America – German Genealogy Society and learn about Carol’s start in genealogy, the group’s history, efforts, programs and more.

Celebrate the Ohio Roots podcast's 1st Birthday by listening to our latest episode with author and family historian Allison Barnhart! She discusses her new book "The Record Keeper: The Unfolding of a Family Secret in the Age of Genetic Genealogy" and how it has impacted her understanding of her own family history.

This episode of the Ohio Roots podcast we speak with Shenley Puterbaugh of inspirefamilyhistory.com about how she became inspired to pursue family history and genealogy and techniques for how she inspires others to do the same.