The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke - Your Family History Show

The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke - Your Family History Show

Genealogy Gems Podcast shows you, the family historian, how to make the most out of your family history research time by providing quick and easy to use research techniques. In addition, you will learn creative ways to share your family tree and the legacy of your ancestors. Lisa Louise Cooke guides you through the exhilarating process of discovering your family tree. She scours the family history landscape to find and bring you the best websites, best practices, and best resources available. And Lisa's interviews with the experts in the field of genealogy make the Genealogy Gems Podcast your own personal genealogy conference. Guests include genealogists such as Dick Eastman, DearMYRTLE, Curt Witcher, Arlene Eakle, and the folks from Ancestry.com, as well as celebrities such as Tukufu Zuberi of The History Detectives, Kathy Lennon of the Lennon Sisters, Tim Russell of Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, the band Venice, and Darby Hinton of the Daniel Boone TV series from the 1960s. Your family history is world history.

Episodes

November 7, 2025 68 mins
AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In this episode of the Genealogy Gems Podcast, Lisa Louise Cooke explores takes a trip down memory lane sharing highlights from the last 300 episodes, and some of her personal favorites. Genealogy Gems Premium Members Exclusive Download: Download the ad-free show notes for this episode from the show notes page. (Premium Member subscription required.) Not a Premium Member? Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Me...
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Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 301with Lisa Louise CookeNovember 2025 GEM: The Return of Elephind.com Imagine having the power to access centuries of history at your fingertips. Elephind.com is making this a reality for genealogists and history enthusiasts alike. In this interview, we explore how this innovative platform is transforming the way we search for historical newspapers. Show Notes for Full Text Search and video replay. G...
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Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 299with Lisa Louise CookeSeptember 2025 GEM: FamilySearch's Full Text Search Newly released from FamilySearch Labs, Full Text Search is now available under the Search menu on the website. Show Notes for Full Text Search and video replay. GEM: FamilySearch's AI Assistant in Labs Avoid the pain of easy mistakes and get the most out of the new FREE AI Research Assistant at FamilySearch. Here's the new ge...
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August 13, 2025 35 mins
AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In this episode of the Genealogy Gems Podcast, Lisa Louise Cooke explores exciting developments in the world of historical newspapers, including the revival of a beloved search engine and major enhancements to a key U.S. archive. Discover the latest innovations from MyHeritage that can supercharge your family tree research and photo storytelling, along with a spotlight on Ancestry's exclusive new membershi...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In this episode, we're diving headfirst into the fascinating world of Artificial Intelligence — and how it can seriously boost your genealogy game. In Segment 1, we're cutting through the jargon with 10 AI Vocabulary Terms You Need to Know. Whether you're just getting curious about AI or already experimenting with it in your research, this will help you speak the lingo and understand what tools like ChatGP...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Native American genealogy research follows the same path that all good genealogy research does, but it also includes some unique records along the way. It's a fascinating journey, and in this episode professional genealogist Judy Nimer Muhn (Lineage Journeys) joins Lisa Louise Cooke to pave the way. Judy covers: Tribal and personal naming conventions Tribal-specific resources How geography impacts research...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Get started climbing your family tree with these 10 steps to genealogy success. Whether you're looking for Beginner Genealogy 101, or you are coming back to genealogy after a break, these steps will get you on track. And if you're a seasoned researcher, it's a good time to review the basics and make sure you haven't missed anything along the way. Get the full show notes on the Genealogy Gems website. Genea...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: This episode shines a spotlight on 15 under-the-radar websites that serious genealogists should know about. Lisa Louise Cooke reveals powerful resources like AI tools capable of deciphering old handwriting in unindexed records, clever ways to hunt for unique family artifacts and ephemera online, specialized digital libraries perfect for finding memoirs, how obscure fashion archives can help date your myste...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In episode 291 of the Genealogy Gems podcast, host Lisa Louise Cooke interviews genealogy author Sunny Morton about her article "Three's Company" from the March/April 2025 issue of Family Tree Magazine. They dive into a detailed comparison of the top three genealogy websites—Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and MyHeritage.com—focusing on historical records, DNA tools, family tree features, and more. Sunny s...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Lisa Louise Cooke discusses the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on genealogy research, exploring its evolution, ethical considerations, and the importance of data privacy. Genealogists need to understand AI's capabilities and limitations and develop a balanced approach to its use in research. She also covers the significance of being aware of data privacy when using AI tools. This video comes from o...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In episode 291 of the Genealogy Gems podcast, host Lisa Louise Cooke discusses the launch of the 1921 England and Wales census on Ancestry. Crista Cowan, Ancestry's corporate genealogist, discusses the census that covers 38 million people and it's significance due to its 100-year privacy law. Cowan highlights the importance of understanding the context, including the delay in census day due to a potential ...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Lisa Louise Cooke shares 5 genealogy gems from 2024 that you can use to boost your family history. Get the show notes for Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 290. Check out Lisa's LiveMemory™ video on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page: https://fb.watch/w5MU3TyxrD/ Genealogy Gems Premium Members Exclusive Download: Download the ad-free show notes for this episode from the show notes page for this...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Lisa Louise Cooke covers the groundbreaking LiveMemory™ tool from MyHeritage, a revolutionary advancement that harnesses the power of AI to transform still photos into mesmerizing short videos. Check out Lisa's LiveMemory™ video on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page: https://fb.watch/w5MU3TyxrD/ Then she shares a story of the curious publication of a 19th century photo by a news organization...
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October 22, 2024 39 mins
AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Finding the maiden names of your ancestors can be challenging, but with the right research strategies they can be found. Author Shelley Bishop joins me in this episode to discuss 12 strategies for finding elusive maiden names of female ancestors. Then I'll cover additional resources to help you track down the records. Genealogy Gems Premium Members Exclusive Download: Download the ad-free show notes for th...
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September 24, 2024 36 mins
AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Food has always been at the center of family life, so if you want to know more about your family's history, a logical and tasty place to start is with your family's culinary heritage. The food they ate and the recipes they cooked can actually tell you a lot about them, and my guests today can help you uncover those stories. Ashley Covelli is the food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor ...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: When you find family history information online it's important to make every effort to find the original genealogy record. There are 5 reasons to find original records. I'll explain what they are, and what to look for so that you get the most information possible for your family tree. Then I'll help you get the most out of those genealogy websites that you pay for. Avoid randomly searching in hopes of find...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Cemeteries have some of the most intriguing stories to tell us about our ancestors. In this episode, Joy Neighbors (The Tombstone Tourist), author of the book The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide joins me to discuss: How to prepare for a successful cemetery research trip The meaning behind tombstone symbols The most surprising things she has discovered at cemeteries This episode is also available in video ...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Learn the 5 steps to successfully finding marriage records for genealogy research. This episode is also available in video form on the show notes page on our website. Genealogy Gems Premium Members Exclusive Download: Log into your Premium membership and download the ad-free Show Notes handout that complements this episode: Downloadable ad-free Show Notes Marriage Records Worksheet for Premium Members. Bec...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Do you have a revolutionary war ancestor? Have you thought about joining the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)? I've invited Barbara Jurs of the DAR to explain the process. In this video, you'll learn the answers to the questions: What is the DAR? What do I need to do first? How much genealogical proof do I need? How do I apply for the DAR? How do I find local DAR chapters near me? These interview...
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AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: In our first segment, Lisa Louise Cooke and her guest Jenny Ashcraft from Newspapers.com discuss how to use newspapers to fill in the missing stories in your ancestors' lives. Jenny shares strategic tips on finding unique information many researchers miss. In the second segment of this episode, Shannon Combs-Bennett, the author of the article A Genealogist's Guide to Finding and Using Historical Obituaries...
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