The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke - Your Family History Show Episode 305 - 2 Top Factors in Genealogy Research and How to Leverage Them
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Mar 23, 2026 They spotlight time and place as the two biggest clues for untangling common names. Practical search tactics for FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage and Google are demonstrated. Tips for building locality guides and timelines to separate lookalike ancestors are shared. Ways to use Google Earth Pro and AI tools to accelerate locality research are explored.
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Use Site Place And Year Filters
- Fill the place and year fields on genealogy sites like FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and Ancestry to improve result relevance.
- Start broad with name, approximate birth year, and place then tighten filters as you spot likely matches.
Build A Precise Google Query
- Craft Google queries with quotes, an asterisk between names, quoted town, optional state, and a numeric year range to cut noise.
- Example: "Lars * Larson" "Winthrop" Minnesota 1871..1937 genealogy.
Make A Locality Guide For Each Place
- Create a locality guide listing historical background, boundary changes, repositories, record types, and maps for a specific town and timeframe.
- Include clickable links, FamilySearch wiki, and personal notes or trip logistics for future research.