The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast

Today Diana and I are going to wrap up our discussion of locality research. In last week's episode we talked about the first two question to ask: "What happened?" and "Where did it happen?" Today, we are talking about the last question: "Why did it happen?" This episode is all about the historical context that affected our ancestors lives. What is your favorite way to learn about historical context? We suggest several ideas, including county histories, biographical sketches, periodicals, and newspapers. Diana tells how she found a county history that explained why her ancestors moved around so much within Indian Territory. I am going to share an example of how I ordered a regimental history for my first project in the Research Like a Pro study group and how that helped me find the answer to my research question. Diana talks about PERSI and how the articles in the index are being digitized. They are an excellent resource for understanding the history of a location. Newspapers are a huge part of locality research. They can give you clues for more records about your ancestors, but can also reveal what it was like to live during that time period. I'm excited to share my story of researching in the British Newspaper archive's website and the shocking information I found about my black sheep ancestor. We'll also go over how to create a locality guide in more depth so you can get started on that assignment. To sign up for the Research Like a Pro Study Group or eCourse, click here. The sale on the eCourse ($89) and study group ($150) ends August 19. That's $10 off each! Registration ends Aug 31. Links Purchase our book Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide on Amazon to receive the locality guide template. Research Like a Pro Part 3: Where Did They Live? blog post by Diana Google Books FamilySearch Catalog Internet Archive Pioneers of Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory by Nova A. Lemons WorldCat for finding histories to order through inter-library loan PERSI (periodical source index) at FindMyPast Chronicling America – Historic American Newspapers The Ancestor Hunt website Elephind.com Newspapers.com, an Ancestry.com website Genealogy Bank British Newspaper Archive Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States (this is an affiliate link. If you make a purchase through this link, we receive a commission). Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Leave an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

Today we're talking about preparing to research by learning more about the where your ancestor lived. Doing locality research is absolutely essential! Previously, we talked about objectives in epsidode 2, and analysis in episode 3. Those are the first steps in a research project. Today, Diana and I are going to dive in to the next step, locality research, and talk in depth about all the ways you can learn more about a location. Before creating a research plan and digging into sources, it's so important to prepare by learning about the location. Diana will tell about a mystery in her timeline and how location researched helped solve it. Have you tried making a locality guide yet? In Research Like a Pro: A Genealogists Guide, we assign that project after Chapter 3. This episode will go into detail about how to find the resources you'll want to include in your locality guide. We are going to tell you all about the three questions to ask when you do locality research, and sources online and offline that can help. We'll talk about maps, boundary changes, jurisdictions, geography, history, county histories, biographies, the FamilySearch catalog's listing of records by location, and more. We had so much to talk about, that we decided to split this episode into two! Locality Research Part 2 will come out next Monday. To sign up for the Research Like a Pro Study Group or eCourse, click here. The sale on the eCourse ($89) ends August 19. Registration ends Aug 31. Links Search – Places: FamilySearch - details about any place in the world, including research links, jurisdictions, etc. Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States - historical, cultural, and geographic info from 1492-1931 Cyndi's List - genealogical links by location David Rumsey Map Collection - thousands of historical maps for locations worldwide Google Maps - street view, lakes, rivers, cemeteries, schools Google Earth - view area topographically; mountains, valleys, rivers that affected migration Library of Congress Maps - thousands of U.S. historical maps England Jurisdictions 1851 - counties of England with Parish and civil jurisdictions from FamilySearch Vision of Britain through Time - Contains topographic, boundary, historical maps and more for the British Isles FamilySearch Wiki - great starting point for location research; migration routes, etc. Google books and Internet Archive - sources for digitized gazetteers Atlas of Historical County Boundaries by the Newberry Library - boundary changes in the United States FamilySearch Catalog - great source for finding location specific records; many digitized county histories Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Leave an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes. The image of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition used in the podcast episode image is from the NYPL Digital Collections website, here.

Analyzing genealogy sources is essential for unveiling hidden details and ensuring accuracy. The hosts discuss creating timelines to identify inconsistencies in records. They emphasize the importance of using original documents over digital representations to avoid errors. Exploring census records reveals the need for supplemental sources, while authored documents require careful scrutiny. There’s also a compelling story about a transcription error that changed everything, highlighting the value of thorough research methods.

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 I did to fix it. We discuss example objectives that are narrow in focus. We go through the three steps for making objectives - analyze your pedigree and choose a question, formulate a research objective, and then write it down. Diana tells about how she always puts the client's objective at the top of the report and in front of her computer when she's researching. We also dive more deeply into unique identifiers and what to do if you don't know the birth, marriage, or death dates and places, and then go over a few more examples of research objectives. When you're done listening, you'll have everything you need to know to make a research objective for your research project! Links: Purchase our book: Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide on Amazon Research Like a Pro Part 1: What's Your Questions (Research Objectives), post by Diana Am I Researching the Wrong Person? Research Objectives Can Help, post by Nicole Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment section. Share the show Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Leave an honest review on iTunes. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

Diana and I tell about our background in family history and give an overview of the Research Like a Pro process. Diana got started in genealogy research when her father gave her a suitcase full of family history papers. Diana shares her journey in accreditation and tells about how she came up with the Research Like a Pro process, which resulted in a series of blog posts, a study group, book, and eCourse. The steps for researching like a pro each correspond to a chapter in the book: Create an objective, analyze sources, locality research, research planning, source citations, research logs, and report writing. I tell about my first time trying the RLP method with my Isenhour Brothers project. We discuss the ideal project size when trying the RLP method for the first time. The Research Like a Pro process is for everyone - not just those who want to become professionals. I read part of Nancy Brown's foreword in Research Like a Pro about how using this method helps you feel that you can finish a specific project, even though family history work may never be fully "done." Links: Purchase our book: Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide on Amazon Diana's blog post about receiving a suitcase full of her dad's papers: The Suitcase: Getting Started One Paper at a Time. Diana's blog post about accreditation - Becoming an Accredited Genealogy Professional – Diana Elder, AGⓇ ICAPGen Website Blog post about the first step in Research Like a Pro - What's Your Question? (Genealogy Research Objectives) Nicole's blog post about her first RLP project: Doing a Genealogy Research Project from Start to Finish Nancy Brown's blog post: Am I Up to It? A Novice's Questions About Joining a Research Study Group. Nicole's blog post about her Keaton brick wall - Solving a Brick Wall with the Research Like a Pro Method Sherri's experience with learning to research like a pro: My Research Like a Pro Study Group Experience. Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment section. Share the show Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Leave an honest review on iTunes. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.