My Love Letter to South Carolina Researchers

My secret goal for this year is to write a blog post every week. This week my blog post got away from me due to client work (more about that soon!) and finishing up a research report on one of my own projects. So instead of a full blog post, I made a meme for

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Webinar: Tap Into Tax Records to Enrich Your Genealogy Research

You’re invited! Sign up for my free presentation Tap Into Tax Records to Enrich Your Genealogy Research via the Allen County Public Library. The live event takes place Thursday April 25, 2024 from 6:30-7:30pm. Now I may be showing my biases here, but I think this totally free, online event is especially relevant to two groups:

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How My Baby Sister Inadvertently Named My Genealogy Business

Last fall, the “situation” was hurtling violently toward “emergency.” I really needed a website for my genealogy business. I’d done a project with a local cemetery preservation committee and had a speaking engagement coming up with some opportunities for more. Now, I’d been self-employed for 18 years by that point. One of the lessons I

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The Joys of Returning to Old Genealogy Research Notes

One part of getting my history degree involved an oral history class where I interviewed several elderly relatives. Recently I went back to my handwritten research notes from that day and discovered something unexpected. First off, I’m going to keep things a little vague here since this was in the 20th century, took place in

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My 2024 Genealogy Game Plan

Last year, 2023, was the year I got serious about genealogy education, with the ultimate goal of becoming a professional genealogical researcher, writer, and educator.  Then last summer, I started implementing my 3-year plan toward pursuing Board Certification. Now, not every genealogist is certified or accredited nor do they need to be. There are plenty

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My 2023 Genealogy Recap

I got interested in genealogy when I was fourteen-years-old and discovered a weathered lime green vertical file in my grandparents’ hutch. This folder of wonders was full of little booklets, family group sheets, and various other scraps of paper of dubious origin.  To me, that was like finding a treasure chest. Who are these people?

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I wrote a book!

I’m thrilled to announce that the book I wrote, SALTY DOG GOES TO DENIM DAY, is now on sales at the Cherokee County (Georgia) History Museum! Synopsis “When Mama forgets her lunch before work, her clever canine Salty Dog goes on a journey through 1960s Canton to return it to her. His final destination? The

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A Spot of Grave-Robbing in 19th Century Spartanburg, SC

I’ve been doing genealogy for 29 years and I just made my spookiest discovery yet. And on Friday the 13th! I’m in the middle of the Research Like a Pro Study Group with FamilyLocket (highly recommend), and one of my research plan action items involves Spartanburg District, SC Court of Common Pleas cases for a

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Huts, tents and WHATS?!

Came across a funny Ancestry transcription error today that I, clearly a 11-year-old at heart, had to preserve for posterity. Reader, the original record says “Tents, Huts and Shelters.” But this was a chain gang so…

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