
Family Locket Blog
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We are a Mormon mother/daughter team sharing ideas for finding ancestors and keeping them close to the heart.
Family Locket Blog
8h ago
In Episode #344 of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss Colonial American Research. Diana explains the difficulties of finding the original immigrant for ancestors who immigrated during the colonial years. Nicole suggests learning from historians who have studied immigration patterns and developing a hypothesis based on what is known about ancestors and their groups. They introduce the book “The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction” by Bernard Bailyn as a resource for ..read more
Family Locket Blog
22h ago
This week’s Come Follow Me lesson is about Oliver Cowdery. I was surprised to learn that my husband’s third cousin five times removed married into the Cowdery family. My husband’s fourth great grandmother, Anna Nash, was born in Butternuts, Otsego, New York, 16 years before her second cousin, Aaron Nash Jackson, had a son named Daniel Jackson, also born in Butternuts. Daniel would grow up to marry Phebe Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery’s half sister, in Kirtland ..read more
Family Locket Blog
22h ago
Do you remember your first job outside the home? You may have flipped burgers, pumped gas, or babysat. Our ancestors also may have taken a job outside the home at some point. This would have brought challenges of answering to a boss, perhaps moving to a new location, and learning new skills. Learning about an ancestor’s first job can be a fun way to add context to their life. For this 52 ancestor post, I’m ..read more
Family Locket Blog
5d ago
With the release of the new DNAGedcom 4, many are wondering the best way to use the tool. David Grawrock, CG, one of our Family Locket Genealogists team members is sharing a helpful tutorial for using this tool. After gathering DNA matches and shared matches into a spreadsheet, you can make network graphs with Gephi and perform other analyses. -Nicole Matches Congratulations, you’ve got your DNA results back and you want to use them in ..read more
Family Locket Blog
5d ago
Today I’m writing about my husband’s 4th-great-grandfather, Phinehas Richards. This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson, “My Work Shall Go Forth,” Doctrine and Covenants 3-5, includes a revelation to Joseph Smith Senior, who was an associate of Phinehas. I enjoyed learning about both of them. I received an authored source that has been extremely helpful for learning about the Richards family, Richards Family History, edited by Joseph Grant Stevenson. The book is out of print, and ..read more
Family Locket Blog
1w ago
Nicole and Diana interview Rebecca Shamblin, genealogist, speaker, author, and blogger, about turning your family tree into a book. Rebecca gives an overview of her two books, “Leaving a Legacy: Turn Your Family Tree into a Family Book” and “Building a Legacy: A Guide to Combining Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker.” The hosts and Rebecca discuss the five phases of creating a family history book: planning, researching, writing, printing, and distribution. They talk about choosing ..read more
Family Locket Blog
1w ago
Have you inherited family heirlooms that are a mystery? We might inherit Grandma’s china or Grandpa’s stopwatch and know something about their use and importance. Other items might challenge us to research them in an effort to understand more about our ancestors. I recently took Gena Philbert Ortega’s institute course, “Material Culture” and am now inspired to use the physical objects I’ve inherited to further my knowledge and understanding of their past. At the end ..read more
Family Locket Blog
1w ago
I’m excited to share some enhancements to my Research Like a Pro with DNA genealogy research log template in Airtable. You can access the new templates here: RLP with DNA Research Log 4.1 (2025) RLP with DNA Research Log 4.1 (2025) – Blank The blank base does not include example data that you need to remove before using. If this is your first time using my Airtable templates, I recommend practicing with the base that ..read more
Family Locket Blog
2w ago
In this episode, Nicole and Diana discuss Joseph Lee Robinson and the Book of Covenants. Joseph Lee Robinson was Nicole’s husband’s 4th-great-grandfather, who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1836. He wrote an autobiography in 1883, where he described his conversion and testimony. The hosts explain the religious fervor in the United States during that time, known as the Second Great Awakening. They discuss Joseph’s conversion experience, his brother Ebenezer’s role ..read more
Family Locket Blog
2w ago
Spiritual manifestations were recorded among early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Like Joseph Smith’s vision of an angel, my ancestor, William Henry Kelsey recorded spiritual manifestations that occurred to himself and others in his diary during his time as a young missionary in England. This is the third post in my series about my ancestors and church history following this year’s Come Follow Me curriculum. This week’s lesson is titled ..read more