Testimonials
IGGP Conference 2019: Entertaining and unlike any other presentation that I heard while attending the conference. National Homestead Monument 2015: Gail is the first one I call when I have a conference to plan. Client Card: Thanks for all of your work on my family ancestry!! You are so much fun to work with. Client Card: Words cannot express enough gratitude I have for all the help you gave. You were instrumental in solving the biggest mystery of my life. And many more...

Publications/Media
?Using Theses and Dissertations to Enhance Your Family History,? National Genealogical Society Magazine, 49, no. 3 (July-September 2023). ?Journey to Freedom from Nebraska Territory,? Nebraska History, no. 2 (Summer 2022), 78-95. This article won the James Sellers Award for Best Article in a volume of Nebraska History. "It's All in the Family: The Benefits of Family Associations," National Genealogical Society Magazine, 47, no. 2 (April-June 2021). 13-18. ?What?s in a Name?: Sources for Name Changes,? Nickerson Family Association, Fall 2020. ?A Comfortable Place to Live In: Using Homestead Files in Family History,? National Genealogical Society Magazine, 45, no. 1 (January-March 2019), 17-23. ?A Nickerson May Have Influenced Hemingway?s Old Man and the Sea,? Nickerson Family Association, Fall 2017. ?Nickerson Portraits from the Past,? Nickerson Family Association, Fall 2016. ?The Cotuit Ghost,? Nickerson Family Association, Fall 2015. "Women Homesteaders," National Genealogical Society Magazine, Vol., 40, No. 2, April-June 2014. "Sergeant John Smith of Rhode Island, with Descendants in Early Ohio." The Genealogist, Vol. 26, No. 1, (Spring 2012). ?Prayer Cards and Funeral Cards in Genealogy,? Nebraska AncesTree, 2012. "April Fool's for Genealogists, " Family Chronicle, Mar/Apr 2010. "Portraits from the Past," Internet Genealogy, Apr/May 2010. "Some Descendants of Nathaniel Mead of Greenwich, Connecticut, through his son Josiah Mead," New England Genealogical Historical Register, Jan 2009 - three parts. "Abraham Daniels Family Bible with annotations," Ohio Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 3. Sep 2008 p. 161-162. "Rich Resources for Poor Ancestors," Family Chronicle, (Nov/Dec 2008), Moorshead Ltd., Canada. "Using German Parish Records," Everton's Genealogical Helper, (January 2009) Logan UT, Everton Publishers. "Signature Style," Family Chronicle, (Mar/Apr 2009), Moorshead Ltd., Canada "When the Irises Bloom," Family Chronicle, (Jul/Aug 2009), Moorshead Ltd. "Keeping Up with the Smiths," Family Chronicle, (Sep/Oct 2009), Moorshead Ltd. "19th-Century Photos: How to Spot a Copy," Family Chronicle, Nov/Dec 2009, Moorshead Ltd. I also published in mainstream publications such as NebraskaLand, Nebraska Alumnus, Country Victorian Accents, Field and Stream, and more.

Lectures
Beginning: ? Genealogy 101 ? Hunting and Gathering ? Genealogy 102 ? The Journey ? Stories in Stone: Cemetery Research ? Keeping up with the Smiths and Joneses ? Researching those common surnames ? Who is Hiding in Your Drawer? Dating and Identifying Photographs (also a short version ? 20 minutes) ? Beyond the Basics: Hands on Practice with Genealogical Research (Computer Lab) ? The Good, The Bad and the Ugly ? Citations for Your Family History ? A Family Odyssey: Marriages, Murder and Vigilantes Beginning-Intermediate ? Break Through Brick Walls Using Land Record ? Break Through Brick Walls Using Land Records Part II ? Who Is Hiding in Your Drawer? Dating and Identifying 19th Century Photos ? 1849-1900 ? Dating and Identifying Photos ? 1880 to 1910 ? Rich Resources for Poor Ancestors ? Tumbleweeds in the Window ? Women Homesteaders: Three Case Studies (UPDATED!) ? Searching for Answers to Real Research Questions: DNA Case Studies Intermediate-Advanced ? Proof or Consequences: Change How You View Evidence ? Connect the Dots with a Family Migration Study ? Probing the Probate German Heritage Series: ? Finding Your Germanic Ancestral Village ? Deciphering Old German Script ? Using German Parish Records Part I ? Digging Deeper into German Parish Records Part II ? Find Your Roots in German Farm Histories ? Beyond the Bauer [Farmer]: Your German Ancestor?s Place in the Social Structure ? What?s in a Name? Deciphering German Given Names and Nicknames ? Dating and Identifying Your German Ancestral Photos ? Germans from Russia ? An Introduction ? Unexpected Union ? a Tale of Two Soldiers in the Great War ? Peopling the Prairie: Germans in America?s Heartland ? Marrying the Farm: It?s Complicated (Intermediate ? Advanced) Nebraska Focus: ? Researching Nebraska Ancestry Online ? Take All to Nebraska ? How They Came

Repositories
History Nebraska State Library (former Nebraska Historical Society); local courthouses/societies in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. I also travel to the Family History Library and the National Archives.

Research Time Periods

• 20th Century
• 19th Century
• 18th Century

Languages
French near fluency, working knowledge of German, including old German script.

Certificates
IGHR: Advanced Methodology 2015 Genealogical Institute on Federal Records 2016

Affiliations
Association of Professional Genealogists New England Historical and Genealogical Society Alden Kindred Life Member
Shaffer Y-DNA project co-administrator Board Member Germanic Genealogy Society Nebraska Historic Newspaper Advisory Board

Degrees
MA in History, with honors; MA International Studies; BA French and English, with honors Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Phi Alpha Theta History Honorary Alpha Mu Gamma Foreign Language Honorary