Weeks 1–2 · The living
Interview questions and recording family memory properly.
The programs, in detail
Four programs of 6 to 12 weeks, worked on your own family and your own brick walls.
Program 01 · Built to hold up
Starting your tree
Start with the living. We plan interviews with older relatives before those memories are gone, mine the documents already in your family's drawers, then work backwards generation by generation — proving each step rather than guessing. Citations from the start save enormous pain later.
Weeks 3–4 · Home sources
Documents, photographs and what's in the attic.
Weeks 5–8 · Working back
Four documented generations, one step at a time.
Weeks 9–10 · Organizing
A tree, a filing system and citations that make sense later.
Weeks 1–3 · Census
Reading them properly, including the columns everyone skips.
Weeks 4–6 · Vital records
Birth, marriage and death, and how to order originals.
Weeks 7–9 · Migration
Ship lists, naturalization and following people across borders.
Weeks 10–12 · Handwriting
Old scripts and abbreviations, practiced on your documents.
Program 02 · Finding the document
Records & archives
Most answers exist in records that aren't indexed the way you'd expect. We cover the major record sets, searching for misspellings and variants, requesting from county and state offices, and reading old handwriting — which is a learnable skill, not a talent.
Program 03 · What matches actually mean
DNA, sensibly
DNA is powerful and routinely over-read. We work on interpreting shared centimorgans honestly, grouping matches to identify which branch they come from, and combining DNA with documents — because alone it rarely proves a specific relationship. We do not interpret health or medical results; that belongs with a doctor or genetic counselor.
Weeks 1–2 · The basics
What shared DNA amounts do and don't tell you.
Weeks 3–4 · Clustering
Grouping matches by branch.
Weeks 5–6 · With documents
Combining DNA and paper evidence.
Weeks 7–8 · Surprises
Handling unexpected results thoughtfully and privately.
Weeks 1–2 · Choosing
The three or four people whose stories carry the book.
Weeks 3–5 · Writing
Narrative that includes the sources without reading like a database.
Weeks 6–7 · Images
Photos, documents and maps, credited properly.
Weeks 8 · Sharing
Printing, distributing and preserving the digital copies.
Program 04 · Before it's lost again
Writing it down
Research nobody reads is a hobby, not a legacy. We turn your findings into short written stories about specific people, place them in historical context, and produce something shareable — a printed book, a document, or a set of stories sent to the family.
Where does your tree stop?
Twenty minutes on the branch you're stuck on and what records might still exist. Free.