67: Why Genealogy Might Be Your Perfect Hobby (And How to Start)
Ever wondered about the stories behind your family name or if those family legends are actually true?
This week on the HobbyScool podcast, I'm sitting down with genealogy expert, Lisa Lisson, to explore how you can turn curiosity about your family history into a fascinating hobby.
Lisa shares some surprising insights about getting started - including why your best research tool might actually be a cup of coffee! She walks us through everything from having those first conversations with family members to navigating online databases and even tackles the question of whether you really need a DNA test.
Plus, she shares some incredible stories from her own research, including one about her fourth great-grandparents that sounds like it could be straight out of a historical novel.
Whether you've been thinking about researching your family history or just love the idea of solving real-life mysteries, this episode is packed with practical tips to help you get started.
Lisa breaks down:
The first steps anyone can take (no special tools required!)
Which online resources are worth your time (including free options)
How to avoid common beginner mistakes
What to do when you hit a research roadblock
Ready to discover if genealogy might be your next favorite hobby? Listen in today!
Mentioned in this episode:
Where to find Lisa: Website and YouTube
Newsletter: lisalisson.com/aymcnewsletter
Lisa's free gift: The Big Genie List: A curated collection of essential genealogy resources to your ancestors!
Key Takeaways:
[00:03:00] Essential first steps for beginning genealogy research, including the importance of family conversations
[00:05:00] Overview of online resources including FamilySearch.org and subscription-based platforms
[00:07:00] Fascinating discovery about name changes and the importance of sharing findings with family
[00:09:00] Discussion of why people are drawn to genealogy research and its rewarding aspects
[00:11:00] Insights about DNA testing and its role in family history research
Unlocking Your Family's Past: A Beginner's Guide to Genealogy Research with Expert Lisa Lisson
Have you ever wondered about the stories hidden in your family tree? Whether you're curious about your ancestors' origins or hoping to understand your family's journey through history, genealogy research offers a fascinating window into your past.
In a recent episode of the HobbyScool podcast, genealogy expert, Lisa Lisson, founder of Are You My Cousin, shared invaluable insights about starting your family history journey and making meaningful discoveries along the way.
The Power of Family Conversations
Before diving into online databases or historical records, Lisa emphasizes that your most powerful genealogy tool might be sitting right in your kitchen - a cup of coffee. "A cup of coffee or a peppermint latte is your best tool for genealogy research," she explains, highlighting the importance of starting with family conversations.
These discussions with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even distant cousins can reveal crucial information and family stories that might otherwise take years to uncover through traditional research methods.
These initial conversations help establish a foundation of names, dates, and locations that become vital clues in your research journey. More importantly, they capture the oral history that might otherwise be lost to time.
As Lisa notes, "This is the time to talk to all those relatives when it comes to getting what is known in the family, as families age, unfortunately, sometimes we lose the opportunity to do that."
Navigating Online Resources and Records
Once you've gathered initial information from family members, the next step is exploring online resources. Lisa outlines several key platforms for genealogy research, including:
FamilySearch.org - A free resource provided by the Church of Latter-day Saints
Ancestry.com - A subscription-based service with extensive records
FindMyPast - Particularly useful for UK-focused research
MyHeritage - Another comprehensive genealogical database
Census records, available from 1790 through 1950, provide a cornerstone for American family research. These records, accessible through various online platforms, allow researchers to trace families backward through time, offering snapshots of family units every ten years.
Unexpected Discoveries and Family Mysteries
One of the most compelling aspects of genealogy research is the potential for surprising discoveries. Lisa shares her own experience of uncovering that her family's surname, Howard, was originally Harwood - a revelation that even her own family members had forgotten to mention.
She also recounts the fascinating story of discovering court records from the 1840s that revealed her fourth great-grandparents lived together unmarried for 20 years - a scandal at the time but a testament to her ancestor's progressive thinking about women's property rights.
The Role of DNA Testing in Modern Genealogy
While DNA testing has become increasingly popular in recent years, Lisa provides a balanced perspective on its role in family history research. While it can be a powerful tool for breaking through research "brick walls" or helping adoptees connect with biological relatives, she cautions that DNA results can sometimes bring unexpected or challenging revelations. The key is understanding that DNA testing is just one tool in the genealogist's toolkit, complementing rather than replacing traditional research methods.
Finding Connection Through Family History
At its heart, genealogy research is about more than collecting names and dates - it's about understanding our place in a larger story. "I think it's connection... there is this innate sense that we often have of being connected to what came before, connected to something bigger," Lisa reflects. This connection can manifest in unexpected ways, from discovering distant cousins at conferences to understanding the cultural forces that shaped our ancestors' decisions.
For those interested in beginning their own genealogy journey, Lisa encourages taking that first step, whether it's having a conversation with an elderly relative or exploring online resources. The journey of discovering your family history isn't just about understanding the past - it's about creating connections and understanding yourself in the context of your family's larger story.
Remember, as Lisa points out, "We don't tend to think about our ancestors as people and that they lived normal, everyday people type lives and they did crazy things like we do today." By diving into genealogy research, we often discover that our ancestors were remarkably similar to us, facing their own challenges and making decisions that would ultimately shape future generations.
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Welcome to the HobbyScool podcast. Whether you're a seasoned hobbyist or just getting started, HobbyScool is the perfect place to learn something new. My name is Dr. Destini Copp and I'm your host of the podcast. But before we jump into our episode for today, The only thing I ask is that if you enjoyed the episode, please share with a friend and give us an honest review on your favorite podcast platform.
This helps us get out the content to more people. I also want to invite you to get on our wait list for our next HobbyScool podcast. Online Learning Summit. These are free to attend and you can find the link to join at HobbyScool.com, which is also in our podcast show notes. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the episode.
And my special guest today is Lisa. [00:01:00] Lisson, Lisa is a leading genealogy expert and the founder of Are You My Cousin, which is a comprehensive online resource dedicated to empowering family history enthusiasts worldwide through her website, engaging YouTube channel and sought after social media. Lisa equips researchers with practical strategies and clear tutorials to navigate the exciting world of genealogy.
And Lisa, I have a ton of questions for you today, and I cannot wait to get started on our conversation. I'm excited. Fascinated by genealogy research and kind of digging into that. And years ago I did like, I spent months kind of digging into this for my family. And we found that on my husband's side, they came over to America from England, from the UK in the second, the next ship after the Mayflower, which was Crazy.[00:02:00]
Yeah. So we learned a bunch of different things through that whole research, but before we get into all the questions I have for you, can you tell the good audience just a little bit more about you and how you help people? Sure. So yes, I help people find their ancestors and discover their family history.
And I do that through my blog on called, are you my cousin as YouTube channel. I'm passionate about. Digging behind the names and the dates on that family tree and really uncovering the stories behind our family history. I just think it's fascinating. And I love the story piece too, because we, when we started digging into all that, we learned things we had no idea.
Like there was a Copp’s Hill in the Boston, Massachusetts area, where a lot of them were buried. So let's say that someone is interested in getting started in researching their family genealogy, what would you say are some of the [00:03:00] first steps they should take?
Absolutely. Well, the first step to absolutely always take is really talk with your family. Talk to anybody in the family that will talk to you and get the oral history that might be there. And, you know, this is just a conversation. I often say that a cup of coffee or at this time of year a peppermint latte is your best tool for genealogy research because you want to have those conversations With not just your parents, but maybe grandparents, aunts, uncles, distant cousins, because they all have a piece of the family history.
They've all heard stories, hopefully, that have come down through the family and you're looking for clues. So that can save you a lot of time, of digging into the records if you know what is already known in the family and just make sure you're documenting that. And then at that point, really what you're doing is you're looking for.
Names, you're looking for birth, marriage, and death dates. Those are very helpful when it comes to [00:04:00] taking your research further. You're going to go online or you might have to order these from local agencies would be like the birth certificates or marriage records, death records. But once you've talked to your family, you've kind of got the basics down, one of the easiest things to do is to head into the census records.
So census records, you know, have been taken every 10 years since 1790. So you can go a long ways back just using a census record and work your way back. Follow that family back through the census records. Now you have to start with 1950 and go backwards. The 1960 census records and forwards are not public available for public viewing just yet, but everything starting in 1950, you know, you can find your parents.
in the 1950 census, then you can find them in the 1940 census and work your way back to find them within their other families, within their family units. I love that. And all of that is just available online, [00:05:00] so any of us can get access to that. Is that correct? Absolutely. So when it comes to finding these records online, one of the things you'll notice is not everything is online, but things like census records, those types of things are online.
You can find them using a familysearch.
Org, which is the Church of Latter day Saints. website there, so that is free to use. There are subscription databases out there that I think a lot of us have probably heard about, even if you're not sure what they are, as familiar with them, Ancestry. com. FindMyPast is a UK focused database, subscription database.
And then MyHeritage is also a fantastic database to use as well. So you have some free versions such as FamilySearch and the others are subscription based. But yes, you can find. The U. S. Census records there. You can find a number of county level, state level records all through those databases.
I love those and [00:06:00] we'll make sure that all of those links are in the show notes so people can just click on it and go and start doing some initial research and kind of digging into all of that. And Lisa, I know that you've been doing this for many, many years and I know that you've helped clients do this and you have a lot of students in your programs.
Can you walk us through some of the most surprising discoveries? While researching family history, because I think that is so very inspiring. Walk us through some of the things that you found.
Oh, there are always so many fun things to find. I think one of the things that I discovered early on, I had been researching my mother's side of the family. The surname was Howard, pretty easy name, you would think, to actually research. And so, I had tracking that generation by generation, but I got stuck, I mean I got stuck not that far back, like my second great grandfather.
And I lost the family, I couldn't find the family in the records, and I knew, where they were supposed to be. I mean I had all the oral [00:07:00] history. So I dug and I dug and I dug and what I finally determined and learned is that the name wasn't always Howard. Originally, you know at one point the name was Harwood.
H A R W A R D. So I'm like, oh, wow, there was a the family changed their name. But the name has changed and evolved. So, you know, I share this with my mom and my cousins. I'm like, guess what I found. I found out that the, you know, we weren't always Howard's we have the hardwoods and they, you could have heard a pin drop.
And all of a sudden they just looked at me with this look of like, you didn't know that we didn't tell you like, no, you didn't tell me. And that was one of my first lessons to actually learn, you know, learn that I learned was to tell others. So that was a really fun negotiating name changes in the family tree as well, but, another really fun discovery that I had, and we don't tend to think about our ancestors as People and that they lived normal, [00:08:00] everyday people type lives and they did crazy things like we do today.
And I was in the basement of a courthouse up in Halifax County, Virginia, and I was actually going through grand jury indictments from the 18 hundreds and not even looking for something totally different. And I discovered a grand jury indictment from the 1840s. for my fourth great grandparents who were living in adultery.
Now the interesting thing is they'd been together for 20 years at that point so somebody had decided that there was an issue going on but basically they never got married and she actually owned property, which was unusual for a woman in that time period, and she didn't want to marry her, intended because, she would lose rights to her property, it would become his.
I thought what an interesting story and then I was like wow what an interesting woman that she could Buck society like that during that time period. That's a strong woman. So it was a really fun story to find that in the family tree. I love that. [00:09:00] That is, that is a very interesting story there.
Oh, goodness gracious. I'm sure you have tons of others as you've gone through over the years. Let me ask you this. I know there's people listening and they might be interested in exploring genealogy research as a hobby. What do you think would be, what would you say to them? What is kind of the rewarding aspects of doing all of this?
And should they go down the path of investing their time in genealogy research? That's a really good question. I've spent some time actually in the recent years thinking kind of through there about why is it we do genealogy and what is it I get out of it. And I really kind of bring it down to at the end of the day, I think it's connection.
I think that there is this innate sense that we often have of being connected to, what came before connected to something bigger and understanding of perhaps [00:10:00] Who we are in the scheme of a family unit. So I think that's been a big issue or a big thing for me that has come up with that. And when I talked to some of my cousins, they're like, that's exactly why we wanted to ask you about.
We're interested in finding out who is it that we were. So I think there's that kind of innate. Connection to a sense of community, whether it's, your actual family, some people choose to do, more of their chosen family in that Respect. And then the other fun thing is people really enjoy meeting cousins.
They actually realize how many cousins they have out there. I know when I first started I was at a conference chatting with another genealogy researcher who's actually quite well known in her own special areas and My maiden name is Talbot and we started, that came up and she went, wait, I have Talbots in my family tree.
And, you know, here I am, 2, 000 miles away from home and I'm running into cousins that are actually related to me. So it's a real fun way of actually making those [00:11:00] connections in person as well as with the past. Let me ask you this. And I know there's a lot of talk in the press or just on the internet in general regarding DNA testing.
So if you were wanting to go down the path of doing genealogy research, do you also need to do the DNA testing or how does all of that fit together. That's a great question because DNA is very popular. And has been for a number of years now when it comes to finding your family, and it's not necessary.
It can be very helpful depending on the type of research problem that you are working through. So a lot of people who are taking those DNA tests are actually really Less interested in maybe building an entire tree, is they're just kind of interested in what the ethnicity is. So, you know, in my case, you know, do I have anything besides English roots?
And it turns out not much, but it's, you know, looking at where did my ancestors come from? Kind of that country of origin or that region of origin thing that has come out. I'm [00:12:00] a bit of a purist because I do think we need. So I think for the most part, we're going to have that paper research, what I call paper traditional genealogy research, but DNA can be very helpful when you hit what we call brick wall.
Sometimes, what's happened, and you and I both live in the South. A lot of times the courthouses were destroyed by fire or by hurricanes, and so the records no longer exist. So DNA can help bridge that gap by making those, family connections with that.
Perhaps adoptees, or if there is no known, they don't know who their parent was or at a certain generation, they can use DNA Sometimes that's, that's has to be used in order to make, to bridge that gap when there's a lack of paper trail there. I do like to caution people though, DNA is a lot of fun. It really is kind of cool when you can test and find out, you know, where your ancestors came from.
DNA can't be. a little disruptive. I've seen wonderful stories where people have reunited after years of being away, but I've also seen it where it's been very disruptive because, the DNA results perhaps were [00:13:00] not quite what were expected. So that could be a problem, problematic for some families.
And that makes a lot of sense. So, Lisa, thank you so much for being here today and sharing all of your wonderful genealogy research knowledge with us. For those listeners here, and they're thinking about maybe, you know, dipping their toes into this, what would you say to them? Absolutely, go for it. This is the time to talk to all those relatives when it comes to getting what is known in the family, as families age.
Unfortunately, sometimes we lose the opportunity to do that. And one of the things, if you're unsure, All of the platforms, the genealogy platforms that I mentioned, FamilySearch, Ancestry. com, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, they all have fabulous tutorials on their website. So if you choose to, you know, go to one of their sites for your research, explore their tutorials on how to get started as well and how to use their websites.
[00:14:00] And Lisa, I want to make sure that people know where they can find you. I want to get them your newsletter link. And also if you could provide them, how do they find you on YouTube to watch all your tutorials there? Sure. So my website is just my name, lisalisten.
com. It's also known as Are You My Cousin? If you just, you can Google that and You'll find it right away and so that's where you'll find my blog and links to all of the other things that I do. My newsletter is lisalisten. com forward slash A Y M C newsletter. So that way you can find my newsletter landing page.
I will, show up in your inbox every Tuesday with actionable tips for your genealogy research and some, fun opportunities there as well. And of course, I'm also over on the YouTube channel with, the easy way I tell people to remember is just lisalisten. com same website forward slash YouTube.
And that will get you right to the channel. Perfect. And I'm going to make sure that those [00:15:00] links are in the show notes. So can you tell people a little bit about the free gift that you have for them? Yes, so I have what is called the Big Genie List. It is a curated version of my best tips, my best resources, and the websites that I use for my genealogy research.
So it's a great resource for you to get started and include both links to and recommendations for paid subscription sites, but also places where you can do some free genealogy as well. Lisa, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing all of your knowledge with us.
Oh, you're welcome. Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you so much for listening today. Don't forget to sign up for the waitlist so you'll be the first to know when our next free Hobby School online learning summit launches. The link is in the show notes for this episode or you can go to HobbySchool. com and that's Hobby [00:16:00] School with school without an H in it.
Talk soon.