The Genealogy Guru

10/23/2023

I’m happy to be back in the saddle at The Professional Management Conference of The Association of Professional Genealogists!

12/13/2022

Surprise them with The Genealogy Guru’s gift card and sample family history book now, and let the excitement build for their discoveries in the New Year. Research packages start at $10k and custom coffee table book collections start at $20k.

10/07/2022

Discovered family treasure going through my dad’s stuff today! This is my grandpa, Fred Leslie Reed Jr’s, dog tag from and his commemorative burial flag.

09/23/2021

Here is my tribute to the man who introduced me to research, writing, and family history: my dad, Fred L Reed III.

https://www.thegenealogyguru.com/in-memoriam-fred-l-reed-iii

02/03/2021

Have you taken a DNA test with 23andme? Check out this new feature.

05/10/2020

I am Rebecca, daughter of Patricia, daughter of Katherine, daughter of Clara, daughter of Minnie Maud, daughter of Elina, daughter of Ellenor, daughter of Rosanna, daughter of Hannah, daughter of Barbara, daughter of Louisa, daughter of Anna, daughter of Barbara, daughter of Margareta. And I, too, celebrate a lineage of strong, proud women.

04/27/2020

Well, if you’ve gotta work from home, at least it’s beautiful weather this month! Just completed my first client consultation via zoom. If now is a good time for you to kick start that family history project you’ve had in the back of your mind, I’m ready for you!

04/02/2020

There’s nothing like a global pandemic to re-evaluate our priorities, right? Chances are you’ve been spending extra time with your family.

Maybe now you have some time on your hands and there’s only so much binge-watching you can do before you go stir crazy?

While dealing with that box of Grandma’s old papers and photos has been on the back burner for years, perhaps NOW is the moment to seize the day and preserve your family history.

The Genealogy Guru is uniquely poised to create that family heirloom that will preserve your family history for all the generations to come. We can take over wherever you left off with your family tree research, DNA connections and best of all - present it to you in a one - of -a- kind coffee table book to enjoy now and pass on your legacy to your descendants.

During this time of social distancing, you can book a teleconference consultation to review the possibilities for your family legacy. In the meantime, please visit our website at www.theGenealogyGuru.com

01/01/2020

Happy New Year!

12/06/2019

Speaking as one who is 50% British and 25% Scottish/Irish, I am 100% for Scottish independence. Robert the Bruce is shaking his head right now.

As the UK faces its most momentous election in recent history, a key issue for Scottish voters will be whether they want to stay part of the union – or break away and become an independent country.

09/12/2019

How often do you see a “On this day, 722 years ago” headline? I saw The William Wallace Monument this summer (which opened 150 years ago) as my cousin sped around Scotland showing me the sites of our home land. The family tree I’m building for my husband points to a William Wallace born in Scotland about 1650. I bet that was a popular name for Wallace baby boys, don’t you?

On this day 722 years ago, William Wallace and Andrew Moray led the Scottish army to a legendary victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

The Scottish army was much smaller than the English forces and all odds seemed to be stacked against them…

However, the Scots took advantage of the terrain. Stirling Bridge could only accommodate the English cavalry two abreast. Despite the obvious disadvantage, the English commanders pressed on and sent their troops across the narrow bridge.

The Scots swept in and the English troops panicked. The first across the bridge attempted to turn back and many were thrown headlong and drowned.

Today, The National Wallace Monument overlooks Stirling from Abbey Craig, where Wallace himself is said to have watched the English army gather hours before the battle.

This impressive landmark first opened its doors on this day in 1869, so today is a BIG birthday! 150 years old today!

You can see the Wallace Monument, Stirling Bridge (a stone replacement of the previous timber constructions) and the battlefield from Stirling Castle.

Find out more about this notable battle on Historic Environment Scotland’s battlefield inventory http://ow.ly/Z8e550w5axV

08/15/2019

How exciting and wondrous is it that ambitious DNA projects like this are progressing in our time?!

“We can confirm direct ancestry by evaluating the Y chromosomes of male-line descendants, even if there is a lack of documentary evidence.”

A major DNA project has been launched to trace the descendants of the signatories to the Declaration of Arbroath.

08/06/2019

Found this gem while going through the loose papers in the “Perry Family File” at the Pennsylvania Historical Society. No context or source, but hey, seems legit?

’sWrittenDownItMustBeTrue

08/05/2019

In 1860, John Perry was a blacksmith in Caroline, NY with wife Eliza and 3 young children. By 1870, both parents disappear from the records and the 3 children are living with 3 other families. Since I can’t figure what happened to John and Eliza with online records, I have come to Caroline, NY, myself to see what I can find locally. This 1850 map at top left I found at the Thompson’s Center for History and Culture shows the home of “S. Perry” (Solomon, my 4th GGF) next to “J. Perry” (my 5th GGF). By comparing this drawing to a current map and the Google maps overview of the area, we were able to drive to the actual spot where they once lived. Not bad work for a Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow, we hit the county courthouse and the county library.

08/03/2019

With no idea where her grave was or if we were even in the right cemetery, we walked up and down the rows peering at bits of markers being swallowed up by the landscape when I came across the stone for my 3rd great-grandmother, Janet Gillies Smith of Scotland in Blossburg, PA, today. I knelt down and began grabbing handfuls of grass while my husband went to the car looking for plastic implements that would do the job without scratching the stone. This is what a loving husband looks like.

08/02/2019

After visiting her homeland in Scotland last month, today we found the grave of Janet Gillies Smith, my 3rd great-grandmother in Union Cemetery, Blossburg, PA. Sometime in the last 138 years, the headstone has toppled over and become overgrown. After ripping up the encroaching grass and wiping away the dirt with our bare hands, we placed a stone of remembrance and took these photos. Then I cried a bit.