What I Do
Overview
Genealogy is a rapidly growing hobby in the United States and around the world. However, many individuals don’t know where or how to begin their family history. Many people have some idea of their family history but would like to learn to do more with what they know. My purpose is to help my clients overcome their personal obstacles to dive into their family history armed with the knowledge and confidence to succeed and to become engaged, contributing members of the genealogical community.
Each individual has a set of questions or challenges as unique as their pedigree. Some have errors in their research or no research at all. Others don’t know how to find or correct information in their family trees. Some researchers are looking for ways to share their genealogy with family members and preserve it for future generations. Some avid researchers aren’t as tech-savvy as they’d like, or are wondering how emerging DNA technology can help them. My personal approach tailors coaching sessions to the needs of each individual.
Professional researchers can help break down brick walls in family trees and solve difficult research problems effectively. But many beginner genealogists just need a push in the right direction. I firmly believe that educating genealogy hobbyists can improve the quality of their research throughout their lives, which benefits the genealogy community as a whole. I operate based on the old adage Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
Because I will be working one-on-one with individuals, we can use their own family trees as research examples, adding meaningful information and organization to their research as we go. This approach also allows flexible scheduling, rather than a fixed time commitment. Because each session provides unique assistance for each client, each client can decide how much time and money they want to put into these lessons. They can take a one-time session designed to help with one specific problem, or we can work together to create a series of lessons based on their specific skill set and the skills they’d like to develop. Individual learning plans can be tailored to go in-depth on one aspect of genealogy, or to give a broad overview of basic research methods and tools.
The purpose of my coaching is not to create professional, certified genealogists but to empower individuals to accurately and effectively curate their family history. I am committed to helping my clients learn skills which will enable them to research without limit and to make invaluable family connections across generations.
Services
I offer online one-on-one personalized lessons to individuals looking to increase their knowledge and effectiveness in family history. Using video chat software, I am able to teach clients in the comfort of their own home. Video chat enables me to interact face-to-face with clients, regardless of their location. With screen sharing technology, I can assist them in learning online research and digital storage techniques. The one-on-one format of these lessons allows clients to purchase one lesson or continuing lessons catered to their own unique needs and interests and set at their own learning pace.
Lesson topics could include:
Starting a family tree
Collecting information from living relatives
Recording your own history
Finding and correcting errors in your family tree (Pedigree analysis)
Organizing your information
Organizing physical records
Sharing your family history
Online research
Nondigital research
DNA for genealogy
Research techniques for adoptees
Digital resources for the tech-newbie
And more!
