At one time or another, every genealogist has been baffled by the inability to take those next vital steps in our family research. Due to historical discrepancies, hard-to-find documents, misidentifications, boundary changes, and a general lack of helpful relatives, we often lose patience when it comes to locating the resources we need for reconstructing our family histories. This is where Lisa Vogele’s case study presentation can steer us in the right direction by showing us how to correctly apply research methodologies.
Lisa’s presentation on “Moonshine & Coalmines: Unraveling Stories & Secrets to Reconstruct a Family Through Oral History, Documents, and DNA,” showed us how to use every available resource to piece together our family histories. Using her 19th century Polish immigrant family as her template, she showed us how to combine DNA analysis, historical and vital records, migration timelines, family memories, photographic evidence, and stubborn persistence to reconstruct our family history.
When working with a surname that may have spelling variations within or between generations, Lisa cautioned us to forgive our ancestors who were just trying to acclimate to a new country and language. We need to remind ourselves that these intrepid individuals were starting over from scratch and not focused on making our genealogical lives easier. Remember, they obviously succeeded because we are the proof!
One of the things Lisa stressed was using a very deliberate approach to our research. Beyond the tools that we already know, we need to expand our scope to every available repository even if it seems like a long shot. Historical societies and State Archives, newspaper articles, land deeds, probate records, local and international maps, and immigration information can open up new avenues of research. Lisa also encouraged us to include first-person accounts and oral histories into our search criteria. Even old photographs can contain clues that may have been overlooked in the past.
Once we’ve organized our hard-won research, it is time to write the stories that will separate fact from fiction. Lisa recommends using a timeline to organize our findings so that when we construct our family narrative – using our own words or asking AI for help – we know without a doubt that what we write will be true and accurate. Bringing our ancestors back to life is the best reward.
Tell us about your most difficult-to-trace ancestor and how you succeeded in bringing them back to life.