Category: Faces of NextGen

Becky Zoglmann, 27, Georgia

Why genealogy? I have always been interested in history–my grandad lived through World War II and has always told me stories that fascinated me. I was also lucky enough to attend a school with a long, rich history and beautiful old buildings. My interest in genealogy started in one of the history classes I took at this school. I started to research my family tree in my spare time as a teenager, but only began to take it seriously as a future career a couple of years ago. The sense of satisfaction I get when I help other people find ancestors they knew nothing about, makes it all worth it.

What are you working on this week? This week, I am working on a side project that I have been researching for the last few months entitled “The Donoghues of East London.”  My great-great-grandparents were Irish immigrants living in the East End of London in the late 1800s. In an attempt to differentiate between my ancestors and other families who share the same name, I decided to research all the different Donoghue families who lived in the same area and time period. It has been fascinating discovering how they are all connected.

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? Consistency and determination have been key in my genealogy journey. It can be very frustrating hitting brick walls in your research, but consistently revisiting your research and reevaluating it can uncover things you have overlooked before.

What superpower would you want to help you uncover your family history? The ability to time travel! Then I would be able to go back and see for myself how my ancestors lived, what they looked like and hear their stories.

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? When I am not researching, I am taking of my two young children who are my whole world, spending time with my husband of seven years and our four cats and binge watching Netflix shows!

Anything else you’d like to share? Take advantage of social networking! There are hundreds of genealogy groups on Facebook that specialize in all different areas–DNA, photo recognition, etc. I have found so much great information from these groups.

The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

Shelby Ward, 30, Tennessee

What five words would you use to describe yourself? Creative, passionate, purpose driven, contextual

Why genealogy? My mom is a natural storyteller, so I grew up hearing family stories. My overall interest in history coupled with my upbringing contributed to my involvement in genealogy.

What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? Professionally, I am a lawyer. In my genealogy research, I discovered that an ancestor was a plaintiff in civil litigation that went up to the federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in the early 20th century. I think it’s pretty cool to learn how my ancestor came to pursue his case and to explore court records older than I normally see in my everyday work.

What are you working on this week? A relative gave me a cache of funeral programs. I am scanning them and entering information from the programs into a spreadsheet for additional analysis.

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? Always learning from others. I would not have grown as much as I have over the years without learning from other genealogists, reading books, etc.

What superpower would you want to help you uncover your family history? I was going to suggest an automatic interview transcriber (I’m in the process of transcribing oral history interviews). But if I want to uncover new information, I would say a device that magically presented unknown family artifacts and heirlooms.

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? Listening to podcasts, reading, spending time with my family, scrapbooking, or modern quilting.

Anything else you’d like to share? Join your local genealogy societies! The local resources and information they offer are invaluable. I have joined societies based in Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

Brandy Fulton, 19, Canada

Why genealogy? Well, I grew up around my dad being a part of a couple different genealogy groups, eventually my mom got into it as well, and I guess it just kind of took over our family. I have always liked history and learning about weird things in my family is always interesting.

What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? My dad was trying to find some background on some land behind a church downtown. They were trying to build there but found human bones. My dad and I, alongside Mark Cripps, spent the afternoon in the library. I was reading through a book that said the workers from the Welland Canal would often spill out of the church and into the cemetery to listen to the service on Sundays. This helped my dad prove that there was a gravesite there and that they couldn’t build.

What are you working on this week? Right now I am working on a lot of stuff that isn’t genealogy. I do a lot of work for people who are swamped with work for their organizations. But I am working on a video that will show people they might be missing messages sent to them on Facebook. It will be sent to people within the genealogical world because I have had a personal experience where my dad has missed a lot of messages from people asking about family information.

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? I don’t quite know if I have a huge reason for success in genealogy. I write the articles for the Welland Canal and a lot of that information is given to me. My dad helps me a lot with those articles as well. I’m not sure if it would sound weird if I said the fact that I am driven makes me more stubborn and thus I end up finding what I need and getting the job done.

What superpower would you want to help you uncover your family history? I feel like the obvious answer here is time travel. You would be able to talk to your ancestors, see what they did, and experience life. It would make family history so much easier.

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? I am a journalism student at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario, so a lot of my life consists of writing and photography. I listen to a lot of music as well. Luckily I am able to do those generally all at the same time.

The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

Dustin Austin, Ohio

What five words would you use to describe yourself? Enthusiastic, funny, energetic, friendly, outgoing.

Why genealogy? It’s just a lot of fun! I live in a small and rural farming community, and almost everyone in the area is related in some way. It is a lot of fun learning about the families around you, and what they contributed to make the world what it is today. Since this hobby/addiction started I have realized I am never bored, or looking for something to do, as there is always something to do, someone to visit, or something to research.

 What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? So far one of the coolest, and one of my favorites, was one of my first cousins (four times removed). He invented and manufactured the ice cream cabinet. In the process, he was able to amass great wealth and drive for success in his descendants, who have been a great joy to work with and get to know.

What are you working on this week? I am putting the final details together for our Northwest Ohio Genealogy Seminar in June 2016, which is a one day seminar with two big name speakers coming.  I have been organizing this seminar to be hosted by seven local genealogy chapters.  

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? Source, source, source!!! After this important item, I would say personal interviews, which have helped immensely.

What superpower would you want to help you uncover your family history? I would love to be able to have a time machine to where I could travel back in time to meet all these awesome people, and while I am back in time of course asking for help with those brick walls!

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? I am usually volunteering with a project, family history related or within my community. I can also be found attending a local genealogy class or teaching one!

Anything else you’d like to share? I love connecting with other young genealogists and sharing ideas, plans, research, and traveling. I am taking a trip this fall to Salt Lake City, and am very excited to learn what all this wonderful library has to offer. If you are in Ohio or close by and want to meet up, give me a shout out!

The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.