In this episode you'll discover the best places to locate records that can substitute for the lost 1890 census. You'll learn: what happened to the 1890 census which parts of the 1890 census survived Information that was provided in the 1890 census the best substitute records and where to find them From Lisa: “I use MyHeritage for my own genealogy research. It makes all the difference!” Get your Get 20% off.  and use coupon code genealogygems   Become a Genealogy Gems Premium...

In this episode we're talking about this unique moment in time where we have access to the 1950 U.S. Census but we don't yet have the full index.    The 1950 census must be indexed so that we can search for relatives by name, location and much, much more. You can help with this exciting project, and no special skills or background are required. Jim Ericson of FamilySearch  explains what’s happening and how you can get involved.   Resources mentioned: (How to find and use them)   From...

When you’re working on our genealogy, you’ve got data and records coming from all directions: websites, interviews, archives, downloadable documents, and more. Some of it you’re actively working on, some of it you need to save for later, and the rest has already been analyzed and is ready for archiving. This variety of data requires a variety of storage locations.   In this audio podcast episode I’m going to share with you my genealogy data workflow. We’ll talk about how it all fits together...

Researching ancestors in another country can be a little daunting. Challenges include foreign languages, moving boundaries, and spelling variations. This is certainly true for German genealogy. If you’re new to German genealogy or your research has stalled, this episode is for you. In fact, even if you don’t have German ancestors I think you will still find the principles and ideas covered very helpful. Translator, author and German handwriting expert Katherine Schober shares her 10 Top Tips...

Th National Archives releases the 1950 census in April 2022. Before you start searching for your family, familiarize ourselves with this important records collection and start preparing for success.    This episode brings you the audio from Elevenses with Lisa episode 51 PLUS important updates. You will learn: the interesting and little known stories behind the 1950 census, what it can reveal about your family, (and who you will NOT find!) the important documents associated with it that you...

Join me for an inspiring conversation with Tom Hegg, author of the New York Times best-selling book “A Cup of Christmas Tea”. Genealogists from around the world gathered together for this special live show to share a cup of tea and hear a story of the importance of touching base with our fellow man. It’s a message we can benefit from any time of year, and especially in a year where we’ve spent more time apart than ever. It’s also a wonderful reminder of the importance of family and how our...

Visit the show notes page at Genealogy Gems. This episode is brought to you by our wonderful sponsors: StoryworthGive your relatives a meaningful gift with StoryWorth. Get started right away with no shipping required by going to   You’ll get $10 off your first purchase!  From Lisa: “I use MyHeritage for my own genealogy research. It makes all the difference!” Episode Topic: DNA Problem Solving  Maybe it’s as simple as having a ton of matches and not knowing what to do with them. How do you...

The top 10 genealogy records you can find for free at the Internet Archive website.

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 256 with Lisa Louise Cooke September 2021 Visit the show notes page at Genealogy Gems. This episode is brought to you by our wonderful sponsor: From Lisa: “I use MyHeritage for my own genealogy research. It makes all the difference!” Episode Topic: Interview with Nathan Dylan Goodwin, author of The Chester Creek Murders Author Nathan Dylan Goodwin () joins Lisa Louise Cooke for a conversation about writing, DNA, Criminal Cold Cases, and his new book The...

Lisa demystifies how to find genealogy records at the National Archives online catalog. Discover what you can find, what you will NOT find, how to use search operators, and how to use the Record Group Explorer.

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 254 with Lisa Louise Cooke July 2021 Visit the at Genealogy Gems. This episode is brought to you by: From Lisa: “I use MyHeritage for my own genealogy research. It makes all the difference!” Today’s Topic: Google Photos for Beginners Have you thought about using Google Photos but just weren’t sure how it worked or where to start? This episode will answer your questions and give you the confidence to use it effectively. In this introductory tour to Google...

In this episode we head back to 17th century New England with Lindsay Fulton of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org Lindsay Fulton is with American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society where leads the Research and Library Services team as Vice President. She is a frequent contributor to the NEHGS blog and was featured in the Emmy-Winning Program: Finding your Roots: The Seedlings, a web series inspired by the popular PBS series “Finding...

Lisa Louise Cooke explains step-by-step how to use a new tech tool at Chronicling America to help you find family history related photos and images. The tool is called Newspaper Navigator and it will not only help you find images, but it will also teach you about machine learning and AI.

How to get free online genealogical records for your family history at the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center website. It’s the second largest genealogy library in the country next to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Librarian Allison Singleton joins host Lisa Louise Cooke.

Google Books has millions of free digitized items, and many of them can help you find your family history. I'll show you how to find genealogy records that can help bust your brick walls and learn more about your family's story.

Lisa Louise Cooke asks you 10 important questions to help you rate your readiness for a year of genealogy research success. The answers will ensure that you're ready to find and preserve your family history.

Learn the best strategies for finding free genealogy records online and offline.

Do you need a little help with a genealogy brick wall? A consultation with a professional genealogists can help! I'll show you how I filled in the blanks and updated my research plan after my consult. We'll discuss valuable genealogical records and strategies you can use.

How to Make a Video for Free with Adobe Spark Video In last month's episode we talked about how to construct a great story for video. In this episode I've got the ideal tool for you to use to make your video: Adobe Spark Video. Video is the perfect medium for sharing your family’s history. It captures the interest of the eyes and the ears. Adobe Spark Video is a free app and website tool that makes it easier than ever to create shareable videos.  Watch the companion video and read the full...

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 245with Lisa Louise CookeSeptember 2020 Don’t just gather genealogical information. Take the time to tell your ancestors’ stories! Video is the perfect medium for sharing your family’s history. It captures the interest of the eyes and the ears. In this episode my special guest is Kathy Nielsen. She’s a librarian from California who recently started creating videos. She’s going to walk you through the simple yet effective process she followed. Then I will share...

Top Tips for Searching at Ancestry.com You will find the complete notes for the topics discussed in this episode (and more) in the .  Getting Your History Digitized Our family’s history comes in many forms, and some of them over time can become obsolete. I shared in this episode my continuing progress on my own project of converting the rest of my old home movies that are in a variety of formats (8mm, mini DV, High 8, and VHS.)  I use Larsen Digital and have been extremely pleased with the...

Daniel Horowitz shares this powerful and inspiring story, discovers things along the way, and reveals why we all have lessons to learn from history.

Research Plans and Avoiding Distractions You will find the complete notes for the topics discussed in this episode (and more) in the show notes page here.  Getting Your History Digitized Our family’s history comes in many forms, and some of them over time can become obsolete. I shared in this episode my continuing progress on my own project of converting the rest of my old home movies that are in a variety of formats (8mm, mini DV, High 8, and VHS.)  I use Larsen Digital and have been...

Interview: Caryl Kidd-Osborn of the Shrubs to Trees – A Pay-It-Forward Genealogy Group on Facebook.

Genealogy expert Lisa Louise Cooke interviews: Lisa Lisson, Are You My Cousin? on Organization Andrew Lee, Family History Fanatics on DNA Kate Eakman, Legacy Tree Genealogists on Evidence & Proof