Being a professional genealogist requires specialized training. It also requires acquiring a pretty robust library of books specific to genealogy. I really didn't expect the amount of genealogy specific books that existed and that I would need to have on hand. Several of these books are "must-haves" for any genealogist. Those would include the most current editions of all of these: Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown

I mentioned in the post about the Barb book that I was also lucky enough to have inherited research from my father's side of the family as well as my mother's. This research was done by my dad's father, Walter Goolsby (also known as my Granddaddy Walt, and, once my son, his great grandchild, was born, he earned the new nickname, "Great," which was used by all of us.) From him, I received detailed research on both sides of his family as well as my Grandmother Ollie's Rich si

I was first introduced to author Libby Copeland when I got an email from my local public library last month that listed a webinar that was a "Meet-the-Author"-type program. The description of the event piqued my interest as she was going to be discussing and answering questions about her recent book, The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are. As someone who is fascinated by DNA, I signed up right then and there. Part of the reason I was so interested in the pr

It happens to every genealogist at some point. We run into the proverbial research "brick wall" and are unable to figure out a key bit of information on an ancestor. Sometimes it is who they married. Other times, it is who their parents were. And there can also be no records of that person's death. While I pride myself as a genealogist of being able to conquer the brick walls (and would be happy to help you conquer yours!), I do have a couple in my own family that contin