The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about chapter five of Research Like a Pro with DNA. Chapter 5 is all about source citations. We focus especially on writing citations for DNA reports and matches. We go over the five elements of a source citation - who created the source, what is the source, when was the source created, where is the source, and where in is the information cited. Join us as...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about chapter 4 of Research Like a Pro with DNA - "Create a Research Objective." We discuss how to find research questions in your tree, the limitations of different types of DNA for helping answer those questions, and how to form a written objective with unique identifiers. We also discuss phases of a project. Links To see "other relationships" on FamilyS...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Chapter 3 of Research Like a Pro with DNA, "Organize your DNA Matches Visually with Diagrams and Family Trees." We discuss diagramming your matches in Lucidchart or similar program and adding DNA matches to your family tree program. Links FamilySearch blog - Feedback from Over 4,000 Comments Helps Improve New Person Page - https://www.familysearch.or...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the first steps to take in understanding and using your DNA results. This episode is part 2 in our Research Like a Pro with DNA series. We discuss setting up a system to track your matches and the information you learn about them. Join us as we cover starting an Airtable research log, DNA testing company notes, clustering matches, and assessing amoun...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is the first in a 12-part Research Like a Pro with DNA series. We will discuss each chapter of our book, Research Like a Pro with DNA, in the series. Chapter 1 is about selecting the appropriate DNA test. We talk about different types of DNA, testing companies, SNPs, STRs, and a strategy for getting the most out of your DNA testing budget. Links Which DNA Tes...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about our ancestor, Ettie Belle Harris, Diana's paternal grandmother. Diana is doing the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. We discuss writing letters to relatives to learn about Ettie, an heirloom passed down from Ettie, and her life story. We also talk about a few tips for writing about ancestors. Links The Ancestor I'd Like T...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about endogamy, its effect on DNA analysis, and strategies to overcome these challenges. We discuss a client case with French Canadian and Acadian lines as well as making a network graph and analyzing it. Join us as we discuss calculating average segment size, sorting by longest segment, segment mapping, and more. Links RLP Mini Challenge Group on Facebook...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana's Airtable template for tracking research on her own ancestors. She has added a DNA status field in order to show which level she has reached for incorporating DNA evidence into her ancestral research. We discuss the levels for documentary research, created by Yvette Hoitink, and the DNA levels that we came up with ourselves.  Links Tracking DN...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about identifying a bondsman from a marriage bond in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, in 1860. The marriage record book included several parts, including a bond and license. The bondsman for Jacob Meyer and Sophia Schlessinger was Daniel Wilson. Who was he? Was he related to the bride or groom? Join us as we discuss. Links Identifying a Louisiana Marriage Bondsm...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about marriage bonds in the United States. We discuss the history of marriage bonds, which states use marriage bonds, and go over several examples. We also discuss researching the bondsman to figure out how he was related to the bride and groom. Links Back to the Basics with Marriage Records Part 1: Marriage Bonds - https://familylocket.com/back-to-the-bas...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Marsha Hoffman Rising's book, The Family Tree Problem Solver. Originally published in 2005, with a second edition in 2011, and a third edition in 2019, this book is a great resource for learning how to overcome challenges in our family tree. She covers difficult record types, record loss, cluster methodology, and more. Join us as we discuss several t...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana's road trip to Oklahoma to visit sites relevant to her great-grandparents, William Huston Shults and Dora Algie Royston. She shares her experiences finding cemeteries, visiting small towns, and reading her ancestors' stories as they drove around. She also shares a few tips for preparing for a family history road trip, including bringing a map a...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana's findings in the Clemsy Cline Research project. Diana shares how her research logging and report writing went and then outlines what she found. Learn more about how she used land and tax records to track Jacob, John, and Mahala Cline, possible relatives of Clemsy, despite several relevant counties experiencing record loss. Links Using the Fan...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is an interview with Deborah Keyes, a member of our recent Research Like a Pro with DNA study group. Debbie shares her research project from the study group, which focused on proving a relationship between a Slagle man of European descent and a Carrington woman of African descent who lived in Virginia in the late 1800s. Genetic networks showed that there were...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about pedigree collapse and its effect on DNA matching. We discuss the coefficient of relationship calculation and how that can help you estimate the expected amount of DNA two people should share based on the relationship in their trees. We talk about the Hopper case study with a DNA match with two individuals with multiple relationships and one of the te...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana's Clemsy Cline project. She researched three counties and made locality guides to help with research planning. Then she prioritized which collections to search.  Links RLP 226: Using the FANs to Find a Female Ancestor's Father - https://familylocket.com/rlp-226-using-the-fans-to-find-a-female-ancestors-father/   Using the Fan Methodology to Fin...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana's research project on Clemsy Cline, her third-great-grandmother. Clemsy was born about 1817 in Alabama and married Henderson Weatherford. We discuss the first steps in the research like a pro process to decide on an objective, gather and analyze known information, and create a timeline.  Links Using the Fan Methodology to Find a Female's Father...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about double cousins. Do you have any? We'll talk about how double cousins and other relatives with whom you share multiple relationships can affect DNA match analysis and genetic network analysis. Although double 3rd cousins don't always share an inflated amount of DNA, you can definitely tell they are double cousins in your network analysis. Join us as w...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the FamilySearch images page. Camera operators around the world are capturing images of records and they are immediately added to this page. Tune in as Diana and Nicole discuss how to search for relevant images and differences between the images page and the FamilySearch Catalog. Links FamilySearch Explore Historical Images - https://www.familysearch...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana's new method for tracking research on her ancestors. She shares her Airtable base that has her ancestors, ahnentafel numbers, research status, and reports she has created. Join us as we discuss tracking research projects that you've done in an Airtable base. Links Tracking Research Projects in Airtable - blog post by Diana - https://familylocke...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the difference between endogamy, pedigree collapse, and multiple relationships. We discuss examples of each scenario and how it affects DNA matching and cluster analysis. Links Endogamy, Pedigree Collapse, and Multiple Relationships: What's the Difference and Why Does it Matter? - https://familylocket.com/endogamy-pedigree-collapse-and-multiple-relat...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is a case study of how increasing coverage of Barsheba Tharp and Joanna West, Nicole was able to confirm the hypothesis that Joanna was Barsheba's mother. We talk about the challenges of working with DNA further back in time, but how adding additional test takers helps with that challenge.  Links Find More Ancestors with Autosomal DNA by Increasing Coverage P...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about autosomal DNA coverage. We define the term, discuss why it's important, and share examples and formulas. Learn how you can find more relevant DNA matches when you include additional test takers who descend through unique child lines.  Links Find More Ancestors with Autosomal DNA by Increasing Coverage - https://familylocket.com/find-more-ancestors-wi...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the challenges of colonial research in the southern U.S. We discuss two things to help, and a case study. Join us as we talk about annotating historical maps and discovering legal context. Diana shares about our ancestor John Carey Royston, his migration and divorce. Links Southern Colonial Research: Maps and the Law - https://familylocket.com/southe...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is an interview with Richard Miller, developer of the Goldie May research assistant application. He shares a new feature with us called the subway map. This tool is a timeline graph showing locations on the y-axis and times on the x-axis. It helps you see migration over time, spot errors, compare migrations of family members and FAN club members, and more. Li...