In this episode, Tami and Elizabeth discuss the concept of "reverse genealogy" with Cheri Hudson Passey, who has recently authored a book on the subject. They explore the methods of finding living relatives, the differences between researching living individuals and ancestors, and the emotional aspects of connecting with family. Cheri shares her experience of writing her book and the importance of clear communication when reaching out to relatives.
Afterward, Tami demonstrates how easy it is to open multiple websites simultaneously by using the browser extension “Open Multiple URLs.”
During Teatime, the hosts discuss recent changes to what the VA is sending when one makes a FOIA request through birls.org. Elizabeth compares the file she received in February with the useless letters genealogists are receiving now. Then, Tami discusses the reasons behind the upcoming closure of the Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. Those planning to attend the 2026 RootsTech Conference should consider making hotel reservations sooner rather than later due to this closure!
Finally, Tami shares a couple of Family History Month announcements regarding upcoming events by Vivid-Pix. If you are in the area, you won’t want to miss these!
______________
TIMECODE CHAPTERS
00:00:00 - INTRO
00:00:38 - Introduction to Genealogy Podcast
00:01:27 - Thank you to our Listeners and to WikiTree Challenge Elves
00:02:57 - Tami's Milo Allen Update
00:04:31 - Sponsor Break
00:05:01 - Introduction to Cheri Hudson Passey
00:05:49 - Interview with Cheri Hudson Passey
00:28:11 - Tech Tip: Open Multiple URLs
00:30:54 - Teatime
00:33:15 - Changes in how VA Fills FOIA Requests from birls.org
00:40:38 - The Plaza Hotel Closure and Future Plans
00:43:55 - Vivid-Pix Event Announcements
00:46:18 - OUTRO
__________________
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
➜ https://www.facebook.com/branchingoutgenpod
➜ https://www.instagram.com/branching_out_genealogy_pod
➜ https://x.com/branchingoutgen
➜ YouTube Channel @BranchingOutGenealogyPodcast Website ➜ https://branchingout.show
Email us at hello@branchingout.show
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode, Tami and Elizabeth discuss Elizabeth’s participation in the August WikiTree Challenge with special guest Eowyn Langholf, WikiTree Community Manager. They delve into the unique aspects of WikiTree, emphasizing its community-driven approach.
In the What's Happening segment, Elizabeth shares news about babies born recently using a 3-parent IVF technique. Tami discusses creating AI biographies and videos using tools from Storied and MyHeritage.
During Teatime, Elizabeth spills the tea on the California Digital Newspaper Collection receiving needed funding and then letting all the employees go. Tami spills even more tea on strange genealogy job postings.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Intro
00:03:08 What Elizabeth is working on: DAR Applications and the Inheritance Project
00:05:52 What Tami is working on: Visualizing Genealogy Data
00:07:33 Interview with Eowyn Langholf, WikiTree Community Manager
00:20:09 About the WikiTree Challenge
00:22:37 Preparing for the Challenge
00:27:36 The WikiTree Challenge Process
00:32:21 The Growth and Accuracy of WikiTree
00:32:50 Future Aspirations for WikiTree
00:38:44 What’s Happening: Three-Parent IVF
00:40:52 What’s Happening: The Internet Archive and the GPO
00:42:29 What’s Happening: Enhancing Biographies with AI using Storied and MyHeritage
00:52:50 Teatime: California Digital Newspaper Collection
00:55:22 Teatime: Genealogy Jobs
01:00:26 Outro
RESOURCES
KEYWORDS
WikiTree, genealogy, family history, community, AI, research,challenges, collaboration, ancestry, DNA, jobs, genetic genealogy
After a three-month hiatus involving a variety of life's ups and downs, Elizabeth and Tami are back in the studio! In this episode, they catch up on the past couple of months, including a few unexpected setbacks, some personal updates, and a few bright spots of good news.
The conversation turns to lineage society applications, with a focus on joining the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Why might genealogists want to apply? How do you find a chapter, and what do you need to get started? Tami shares her personal application journey, including what documentation she already had, what still needs to be tracked down, and tips on what kinds of evidence are most useful.
This episode's "What's Happening" segment covers several key updates:
During Tea Time, Tami spills the tea about a scary use of Artificial Intelligence for building family trees. Elizabeth sweetens things up by spotlighting GEDmatch's "Honor the Fallen" initiative, which pays tribute to those who served.
Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and follow us on social media for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and more genealogy goodness.
Got a question or an idea for a future episode? Email us or leave a comment—we'd love to hear from you!
*****
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/branchingoutgenpod
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/branching_out_genealogy_pod
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BranchingOutGenealogyPodcast
*****
TIMESTAMPS
Opening
Tami Joins the DAR
What’s Happening
Tea Time
*****
RESOURCES
In this episode, co-hosts Elizabeth and Tami talk about their experiences at 2025 RootsTech Conference, from the Expo Hall to the Forums, what’s new at FamilySearch, and what other industry leaders are up to.
The show begins with a follow-up to Tami’s Ancestry Pet DNA testing and Elizabeth’s FOIA BIRLS request.
Next up are highlights from RootsTech, followed by a visit with Gena Philibert-Ortega, who shares her enthusiasm about GRIP and her passion for reading.
What's Happening includes news about upcoming events, changes, and scholarship deadlines.
During Tea Time, Elizabeth provides an update on NY Vital Records, and Tami discusses genealogy in the virtual world of Second Life.
TIMESTAMPS
2:23 Tami shares results of her pound pup’s DNA test, which included a close shared match.
7:00 Elizabeth talks about receiving one of her FOIA BIRLS files.
RootsTech Wrap Up
14:06 RootsTech online
14:47 Relatives at RootsTech
17:58 FamilySearch's Global Tech Forum
19:21 FamilySearch Family Group Trees
20:23 FamilySearch Tree Integrity
23:26 FamilySearch New Change Log
24:00 Full Text Search Updates
25:01 FamilySearch AI Help ChatBot
26:44 Industry Highlight Forum
28:50 MyHeritage: New Cousin Finder, phone app update
29:57 Storied: Memory books; creating a new census index
31:50 SOAR
32:18 Remento
34:38 Ancestry’s phone scanner and AI tools
35:38 MyHeritage Ancient Origins
39:29 Gena Philibert-Ortega's RootsTech Experience
40:54 Her role at NGS
41:55 GRIP
46:05 Gena’s courses at SLIG
47:47 How Gena fits it into her schedule & reading goals
52:20 What Gena’s currently reading
WHAT'S HAPPENING
56:30 The National Genealogical Society 2025 Family History Conference “Tales & Trails” May 2025.
59:20 BCG adoption of two-part portfolio for CG application process
1:00:50 APG scholarships for the Professional Management Conference
1:02:27 NYG&B seeking volunteers and interns for their digitization team
1:03:21 Scholarship and awards deadlines on Conference Keeper
TEA TIME
1:04:00 New York vital records availability update.
1:06:18 Second Life chapter APG reorganization
RESOURCES
Ancestry Pet DNA - https://petdna.ancestry.com
BIRLS - https://www.birls.org/
RootsTech https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/
Elizabeth's Blog about Relatives at RootsTech - https://www.thefamilyheart.com/relatives-at-rootstech/
Imagetotext.io - https://www.imagetotext.io/
FamilySearch Labs - https://www.familysearch.org/en/labs/
FamilySearch Group Trees - https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/family-group-trees-learning-center
FamilySearch New Change Log - https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/using-the-improved-person-changelog-experiment
FamilySearch AI Help ChatBot - https://www.familysearch.org/en/labs/
Content Authenticity Initiative - https://contentauthenticity.org
MyHeritage Cousin Finder - https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/03/introducing-cousin-finder-gain-dna-level-insights-without-a-dna-test/
Storied - https://storied.com
SOAR - https://try.soar.com/team
Remento - https://www.remento.co
Ancestry Scanner - https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Scanning-Images-with-the-Ancestry-App?language=en_US
Vivid Pix - https://www.vivid-pix.com
GRIP - https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org
SLIG - https://slig.ugagenealogy.org
GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com
The Quest for Annie Moore of Ellis Island - https://www.amazon.com/Quest-Annie-Moore-Ellis-Island/dp/0996599312
NGS 2025 Family History Conference - https://conference.ngsgenealogy.org
BCG Springboard - https://bcgcertification.org/springboard
APG Scholarships - https://www.apgen.org/apg_awards_and_scholarships.php
NYG&B Internships - https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/content/internships
NYG&B Volunteers - https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/volunteer
ConferenceKeeper Awards/Grants/Scholarships - https://conferencekeeper.org/grants-scholarships
SL-APG https://slapg.wordpress.com
Ready to set your genealogy goals? In this episode, co-hosts Elizabeth and Tami share strategies for setting and successfully reaching your goals, from education plans to specific research results. Elizabeth and Tami talk about their own goals for 2025 and how they plan to achieve them, including tips and tricks to ensure success.
During What’s Happening, they discuss the availability of the RootsTech Schedule and the RootsTech app for 2025, as well as the recently released BIRLS database from Reclaim the Records. Then, Elizabeth spills the tea on the extreme wait times when requesting NY State vital records. Tami brings the sweet tea, discussing FamilySearch’s goals for 2025.
Finally, during Listener Mail, Elizabeth shares where to find closed captioning for the Branching Out Genealogy Podcast.
TIMESTAMPS:
Genealogy Goals
04:34 Setting goals for the new year
05:03 Types of Genealogy Goals
08:35 Elizabeth’s goals for 2025
09:41 Tami’s goals for 2025
10:20 How Elizabeth sets and achieved a significant genealogy goal
15:43 How Tami sets and achieves her genealogy goals
What’s Happening
23:54 RootsTech Schedule & App
29:48 Reclaim the Records - BIRLS database
Tea Time
35:44 New York State Vital Records ordering wait times
40:43 FamilySearch’s Goals for 2025
Listener Mail
44:28 Where to find closed captioning for our podcast
RESOURCES:
GRIP Genealogy Research Institute (GRIP) - https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/
Jill Morelli's Certification Discussion Group (CDG) - https://thecdgseries.wordpress.com/the-series/
Click-Up App - https://clickup.com/
Notion - https://www.notion.com/
Google Tasks - https://tasks.google.com/
RootsTech 2025 Class Schedule - https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/schedule?day=2025-03-06
RootsTech 2025 mobile app (Android) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.familysearch.rootstech&hl=en_US
RootsTech 2025 mobile app (Apple) - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rootstech/id6474192974
Relatives at RootsTech - https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/relatives-at-rootstech-faqs
Reclaim the Records - https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/
BIRLS searchable database (Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem) - https://www.birls.org/
CBS6 Albany Video on NY Vital Records - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYGSG5PmquY&ab_channel=CBS6Albany
FamilySearch's goals for 2025 - https://www.familysearch.org/en/newsroom/what-to-expect-from-familysearch-in-2025
African Oral History project - https://www.familysearch.org/africa/sve/select-country
FamilySearch Labs A.I. Full-Text Search - https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text
FamilySearch "Get Involved" app - https://www.familysearch.org/getinvolved/
FamilySearch "Together" app - https://www.familysearch.org/discovery/together/welcome
Branching Out Podcast on Apple (live transcripts) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/branching-out-genealogy-podcast/id1782416781
Branching Out Podcast on YouTube (live transcripts) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCswrxVYz2y65xXJve-e35WA
_______
We would love to hear from you at hello@branchingout.show with your questions and comments!
This episode is sponsored by Vivid Pix.
In this episode, co-hosts Elizabeth and Tami share the stories that got them hooked on genealogy.
Next, they discuss several tools for collecting, transcribing, and sharing your family’s stories (some are low-tech and free). They also offer story-collecting gift ideas for family members who missed the holiday get-togethers, as well as those who may be shy or less tech-savvy.
During What’s Happening, Elizabeth shares a call to action to support the Bring Our Heroes Home Act, and Tami shares a reminder to submit your nominees for NGS awards.
Finally, Elizabeth spills the tea on recent genetic genealogy lawsuits, but Tami “cleans up” with good news about recently announced RootsTech keynote speakers and kudos to an amazing 92-year-old FamilySearch volunteer.
TIMESTAMPS:
02:04 Tami’s “lost” family story
03:56 Elizabeth’s “lost” family story
Collecting Family Stories
08:01 The importance of listening and collecting stories
09:18 MyHeritage Live Memory
13:33 The Oral History Association
14:03 Vivid Pix Memory Station Software
17:19 StoryCorps
19:02 FamilySearch Memories
19:45 MyHeritage Mobile App
19:53 Pixstori
20:36 StoryMaps
21:43 Nominate someone for America 250
Recording & Transcribing Tools
24:12 Voice memo apps for iPhone
25:24 Otter.ai
25:53 Zoom transcription
26:53 Google Docs voice typing
Story Collecting Gift Ideas
28:32 StoryWorth
31:47 Storii
33:32 Remento
35:03 The DIY Way (low tech & low cost)
What’s Happening
37:00 APG supports Bring Our Heroes Home Act
38:35 NGS Awards
Tea Time
40:07 Genetic Genealogy lawsuits
42:33 RootsTech Keynote Speaker announcement
43:18 Kudos to FamilySearch Indexing volunteer Marilyn Clement
RESOURCES:
MyHeritage Live Memory - https://cm.myheritage.com/livememory/
Oral History Association - https://oralhistory.org/
Vivid Pix Memory Station Software - https://www.vivid-pix.com/memorystationsoftware/
StoryCorps - https://storycorps.org/
FamilySearch Memories - https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/tag/memories
PixStori - https://www.pixstori.com/
StoryMaps - https://storymaps.com/
America 250 (nominate someone) - https://america250.org/nominate/
Voice Recorder & Audio Editor (Apple app) - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voice-recorder-audio-editor/id685310398
Zoom Transcriptions - https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0064927
Storyworth - https://www.storyworth.com/
Storii (Save 20% with code FESTIVE24) -
Remento (Save $15 with code SAVE15) - https://www.remento.co/
APG’s 1-Page Summary of BOHHA - https://members.apgen.org/ct.php?lid=346409795&mm=111054848883
Find your Senator - https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
Find your Representative - https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
NGS Awards - https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/awards/
The DNA Geek: It Just Got Real (GEDmatch lawsuits) - https://thednageek.com/it-just-got-real/
The DNA Geek: FTDNA Joins the “So Sue Me” Party - https://thednageek.com/ftdna-joins-the-so-sue-me-party/
The Legal Genealogist: Of money and chances - https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/22/of-money-and-chances/
RootsTech Keynote Speakers - https://www.familysearch.org/en/newsroom/rootstech-2025-first-four-keynotes-announced
This episode is sponsored by Vivid Pix. All product opinions are our own.
In this episode, co-hosts Elizabeth Swanay O'Neal and Tami Osmer Mize introduce themselves and discuss their (long!) genealogy journeys.
Then, they share their thoughts on the upcoming RootsTech Conference and give an overview of upcoming Black Friday sales on genealogy products.
During Tea Time, they spill some tea on the latest genealogy social media scuffles and share kudos for an esteemed genealogist who recently earned high honors.
Finally, the duo shares which websites they've been hooked on for the past few weeks.
TIMESTAMPS
About the co-hosts:
RootsTech Conference 2025:
FamilySearch
Black Friday/Holiday Sales on Genealogy Products:
Tea Time:
Fave Tech Tools of the Week:
Resources:
Please let us hear from you at hello@branchingout.show with your questions and comments!