Register

Genealogy Week! What Your Ancestor's Neighbors Can Tell You

Your ancestors did not live in isolation, they were part of a community of neighbors, friends, classmates, and even co-workers. Whether they lived in big cities, small towns, or rural farming communities, their contact with these groups can help with your research. Using records in archives might just be the key to finding out more about your ancestors.

Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Manager and Public Historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives & Museum. She is affectionally known as "The Archive Lady" to the genealogy community. She lectures, teaches, and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation. She conducts virtual presentations across the United States and other countries for various genealogy groups and societies. She writes a popular blog entitled A Genealogist in the Archives and is a well-known published book reviewer. She has been a Professional Genealogist for the past 19 years with expertise in Tennessee records. She has been researching her own family history for the past 33 years.