Do you have a feeling there is more to your genealogy than a shaking leaf?

Do you want to keep exploring, but aren’t sure what to do or where to go next?

We’ve all had that feeling. You know that there is more to discover about your family’s history, but you aren’t sure what your next step should be beyond getting information from Grandma and finding a few things online.

That’s what I want to help you with.

I help family history enthusiasts with practical advice so they can make more discoveries and have more fun doing it. (Yes, genealogy is fun!)

How can I help you?

I regularly speak at the industry’s top events throughout the year, including RootsTech, as well as state and regional events. I previously served as series editor for the National Genealogical Society Guides, published by Rutledge Hill Press and have served on several national and state boards.

I hold a Masters degree in Library and Information Science. Though I don’t work in a “traditional” library setting, I put my library skills to work helping people find the information they’re looking for.

(And since you’re probably into genealogy if you’re reading this, I feel like I should share that my roots run deep in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic and have a special interest in military research. If you have people from Perry County, Ohio, let’s talk. We’re probably related.)

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    • Publications

Books:

  • Online Roots: How to Discover Your Family’s History and Heritage with the Power of the Internet with Pamela Boyer Porter, CGRS, CGL. National Genealogical Society Guides Series. 310 pp. (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 2003)

Articles:

  • “Being a Beginner Again.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 29, number 1 (Jan/Feb 2003).
  • “Choosing the Right Camera.” Genealogical Computing volume 26, number 1 (July/Aug/Sept 2006).
  • “Church Records.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 28, number 3 (May/June 2002).
  • “Civil War Records of State Adjutants General.” Heritage Quest volume 16, number 4, number 88 (July/Aug 2000).
  • “The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System.” Genealogical Computing volume 22, number 4 (Apr/May/June 2003).
  • “Cleaning Out Your Digital Shoebox.” Genealogical Computing volume 23, number 2 (Oct/Nov/Dec 2003).
  • “Creating Web Pages with Genealogy Software.” Genealogical Computing volume 21, number 4 (Spring 2002).
  • “Deaf School Admission Records.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 27, number 5 (Sept/Oct 2001).
  • “Documentation: Why Bother?” Indiana Genealogist volume 17, number 2 (June 2006).
  • Ethnicity and Our Ancestors’ Records.Ancestry volume 25 [sic], number 2 (March/April 2006).
  • “Finding Civil War Soldiers in Cyberspace.” Genealogical Computing volume 24, number 1 (July/Aug/Sept 2004).
  • “Finding Family History on the Internet.” Genealogical Computing volume 22, number 2 (Oct/Nov/Dec 2002).
  • Finding the American Dream: The Family Business.Ancestry volume 24, number 1 (Jan/Feb 2006).
  • “Genealogical Research on the Internet.” The Hoosier Genealogist volume 44, number 1 (Spring 2004).
  • “Genealogical Societies: The Benefits of Membership.” Ancestry volume 18, number 4 (July/August 2000).
  • “Here’s How to Document Your Civil War Ancestor: Society of Civil War Families of Indiana.” Indiana Genealogist vol. 16, no. 4 (Dec 2005).
  • “How Long Will Your Data Last?” Genealogical Computing volume 25, number 2 (Oct/Nov/Dec 2005).
  • “Identifying Civil War Soldiers.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 27, number 6 (Nov/Dec 2001).
  • Keeping Up With the Joneses.Ancestry volume 26, number 2 (March/April 2008).
  • “Lessons from a Jigsaw Puzzle.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 29, number 2 (Mar/Apr 2003).
  • “The Life Span of Compact Discs.” Genealogical Computing volume 19, number 3 (Winter 2000).
  • “Looking Locally for Military Records.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 29, number 4 (July/Aug 2003).
  • “Making Good of the Inevitable – Taxes.” Ancestry volume 25, number 2 (March/April 2007).
  • “A New View: Using Timelines in Your Research.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 28, number 5 (Sept/Oct 2002).
  • “Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphans’ Home Ex-Pupils Have Indiana Ties.” Indiana Genealogist vol. 17, no. 1 (March 2006).
  • “Online, Statewide Death Record Indexes.” Genealogical Computing volume 20, number 2 (Fall 2000).
  • “Opportunities for Online Learning.” Genealogical Computing volume 23, number 4 (Apr/June 2004).
  • “Picking up Breadcrumbs.” Ancestry volume 24, number 4 (July/August 2006).
  • A Place in the Country: Living at the County Home.Ancestry volume 25, number 6 (November/December 2007).
  • “Playing the Name Game.” Ancestry volume 24, number 6 (November/December 2006).
  • “Publishing with Genealogical Software.” Genealogical Computing volume 21, number 3 (Winter 2002).
  • “Reaping a Harvest from Land Records.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 28, number 1 (Jan/Feb 2002).
  • “Researching Deaf Members of the Family.” New England Ancestors (Spring 2008).
  • “Researching Your Indiana Civil War Ancestors.” Connections volume 46, number 2, 2006.
  • “Students Buried in the Indiana School for the Deaf ’s Plot at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis.” Indiana Genealogist (published by the Indiana Genealogical Society), volume 26, number 1 (March 2015).
  • “Using Timelines to Re-Evaluate Data.” Genealogical Computing volume 21, number 1 (Summer 2001).
  • “The Virginia Military District.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 28, number 4 (July/Aug 2002).
  • “Vitally Important Vital Records.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 28, number 2 (Mar/Apr 2002).
  • “When This You See, Remember Me.” [Using yearbooks.] Ancestry volume 25, number 4 (July/August 2007).
  • “A Wider View of the Census.” NGS NewsMagazine volume 29, number 5 (Sept/Oct 2003).

Awards and Recognition:

  • Social Media Maverick (Twitter category), Family Tree Magazine, 2014.
  • Fellow, Ohio Genealogical Society. Awarded in 2012. Given for lifetime contributions to OGS and to the field of genealogy.
  • First Place, 2003 International Society of Family History Writers and Editors Excellence-in-Writing Contest (Category 2: Published Articles and Magazine Articles) for “Finding Family History on the Internet,” published in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2002 issue of Genealogical Computing.
  • Third Place, 2002 International Society of Family History Writers and Editors Excellence-in-Writing Contest (Category 3: Original, Unpublished Research Story).
  • Distinguished Service Award, Federation of Genealogical Societies, presented August 1999. For work as Ohio’s state coordinator for the Civil War Soldiers System project.
  • Resolution of Appreciation, The Ohio Genealogical Society, March 1999. For efforts as the state coordinator for the Civil War Soldiers System project.
  • Resolution of Appreciation, The Ohio Genealogical Society, November 1998. For efforts as the first editor of Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal.