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Discovering Your Roots: An Introduction to Genealogy
Genealogy is a journey of self-discovery that can teach you as much about yourself as about those who came before you. But there's an obstacle that holds many of us back from unearthing our family history: uncertainty about how to go about it. With Dr. Colletta's 15 lectures, you'll learn the same skills and methodologies the experts use to solve genealogical mysteries, to create compelling nonfiction narratives, and to uncover information from the long-forgotten past in the most effective ways possible.
These lectures provide you with smart and savvy ways to find-and use-the most helpful online and print resources available today, including U.S. population censuses, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), and the National Archives and Records Administration. You'll also learn tools of the trade for working with these and other sources, as well as countless tips for making your own research more useful.
You'll also discover how to write engaging historical narratives that can inform and entertain family members or general audiences. You'll explore seven steps for personalizing biographical facts; specific ways to construct and narrate the timeline of an ancestor from birth to death; four fundamental questions you need answers to before you start writing about your ancestors; and more.
So grab that old photograph, sit down with an elderly relative, comb through old records, and prepare to embark on a personal adventure that can dramatically reshape how you think about your past - and yourself.
These lectures provide you with smart and savvy ways to find-and use-the most helpful online and print resources available today, including U.S. population censuses, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), and the National Archives and Records Administration. You'll also learn tools of the trade for working with these and other sources, as well as countless tips for making your own research more useful.
You'll also discover how to write engaging historical narratives that can inform and entertain family members or general audiences. You'll explore seven steps for personalizing biographical facts; specific ways to construct and narrate the timeline of an ancestor from birth to death; four fundamental questions you need answers to before you start writing about your ancestors; and more.
So grab that old photograph, sit down with an elderly relative, comb through old records, and prepare to embark on a personal adventure that can dramatically reshape how you think about your past - and yourself.
Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2014
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62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 19, 2023
I wish I could have this in paper or digital copy. There are SO many wonderful resources listed that I want to come back and access in the future.
November 2, 2019
I enjoy watching shows about people searching for family history, but my long-standing complaint about them is that they make genealogy look quick and easy. "Who Do You Think You Are" is the worst for making it sound like all you have to do is go to Ancestry.com and click on a few things, spit into a test tube, and voila!, instant family tree.
Side note: Seriously, never trust on-line family trees, even on paid sites. Maybe especially on paid sites. I've found more impossible things on a certain highly-advertised site that sponsors one of those genealogy shows than The Queen claimed to Alice in Wonderland. In recent years, most on-line family trees are more fiction and wishful thinking than fact.
This GC series is a remedy for the false impressions given by those shows. The presenter uses his own family, whom he has researched for many decades, to show how genealogy research really works. This series provides a much-needed reality check about genealogy taking time, patience, and a willingness to question everything and assume nothing. And what an interesting family Mr. Colleta brings with him for illustrative use, with recent and distant immigrant branches from the German Empire, Italy, France, and more. It has tragedies, successes, mysteries, and even a possible murder. In each lecture, he tells a short but interesting story from his family, then describes how he found the information using various types of records. He describes what each class of records is, where they are found, how to access them, and how to make sense of the information in them.
The course contains 15 sections. The first is an introduction to the hobby. The second is a warning about on-line material (Junk and Gems). Lectures three through ten cover records: military, homestead, ship lists, immigration, naturalization, state and county courthouse records, census, etc. He also covers the genealogical proof standard and putting information from records in context. The next four lectures cover organizing research into coherent form and writing family history. The last lecture is a brief overview what researchers must consider when extending the search beyond the United States.
There is a lot of material here and many, many suggestions of archives, sources, and databases. There is also a lot of historical information. Even though I've dabbled in genealogy for years, I don't think I really understood exactly how the Homestead Act documentation worked or exactly what remains of the "lost" 1890 census. (Spoiler alert: Not much, but more than most sources claim.) The lecture on immigration and naturalization laws and how they changed over time was the most clear explanation of that convoluted mess, and it was particularly helpful about why records might or might not exist for female immigrants.
Side note: Seriously, never trust on-line family trees, even on paid sites. Maybe especially on paid sites. I've found more impossible things on a certain highly-advertised site that sponsors one of those genealogy shows than The Queen claimed to Alice in Wonderland. In recent years, most on-line family trees are more fiction and wishful thinking than fact.
This GC series is a remedy for the false impressions given by those shows. The presenter uses his own family, whom he has researched for many decades, to show how genealogy research really works. This series provides a much-needed reality check about genealogy taking time, patience, and a willingness to question everything and assume nothing. And what an interesting family Mr. Colleta brings with him for illustrative use, with recent and distant immigrant branches from the German Empire, Italy, France, and more. It has tragedies, successes, mysteries, and even a possible murder. In each lecture, he tells a short but interesting story from his family, then describes how he found the information using various types of records. He describes what each class of records is, where they are found, how to access them, and how to make sense of the information in them.
The course contains 15 sections. The first is an introduction to the hobby. The second is a warning about on-line material (Junk and Gems). Lectures three through ten cover records: military, homestead, ship lists, immigration, naturalization, state and county courthouse records, census, etc. He also covers the genealogical proof standard and putting information from records in context. The next four lectures cover organizing research into coherent form and writing family history. The last lecture is a brief overview what researchers must consider when extending the search beyond the United States.
There is a lot of material here and many, many suggestions of archives, sources, and databases. There is also a lot of historical information. Even though I've dabbled in genealogy for years, I don't think I really understood exactly how the Homestead Act documentation worked or exactly what remains of the "lost" 1890 census. (Spoiler alert: Not much, but more than most sources claim.) The lecture on immigration and naturalization laws and how they changed over time was the most clear explanation of that convoluted mess, and it was particularly helpful about why records might or might not exist for female immigrants.
June 29, 2023
Very informational. I do agree with others that a written option would be very helpful in order to access all of the shared resources.
July 8, 2025
This presentation had some great information about researching your genealogy and writing a biographical sketch of family members. There is so much good information that I didn't know about.
November 4, 2018
So, I initially picked this book because it was brief and I thought it would give me a look behind the scenes at services like 23andMe. So, I expected something dry, impersonal, technology and science driven. What I got was not that at all and something much more interesting and useful. A beginner's guide to constructing your own genealogy and family history through oral tradition, and reconstructing events from public records. There are instructions on interviewing, from set up to closing out, research, from sources to pitfalls, and everything in between. I really enjoyed this and think I took away some things I can use for a related project (since I already know to a scientific certainty about my family tree).
Side note: From the perspective of someone trained in the ethics and methods of ethnography, this was spot on.
Side note: From the perspective of someone trained in the ethics and methods of ethnography, this was spot on.
August 3, 2021
Author John Philip Colletta has produced, probably the best series looking in to, and teaching the intricacies of genealogical research. (He also narrates the audio version, superbly.)
There are multitudes of resources discussed, examples and plenty of inspiration for anyone looking to explore their roots. Colletta believes in being very detailed with sourcing and recording where data is found. (It may seem daunting to new researchers.) I fully agree that keeping notes is essential. I can't even count the number of times I've been stalled and had to backtrack and re-investigate, pieces of information that I failed to document completely.
No matter what the purpose, or desired depth of your search- this series of courses will definitely set you on your way to unraveling the past.
There are multitudes of resources discussed, examples and plenty of inspiration for anyone looking to explore their roots. Colletta believes in being very detailed with sourcing and recording where data is found. (It may seem daunting to new researchers.) I fully agree that keeping notes is essential. I can't even count the number of times I've been stalled and had to backtrack and re-investigate, pieces of information that I failed to document completely.
No matter what the purpose, or desired depth of your search- this series of courses will definitely set you on your way to unraveling the past.
August 2, 2018
This is mostly the story of how the professor tracked down his own genealogy. While doing so in an very entertaining way, he demonstrates how he did it, and thus we learn how to track down our own ancestors. It is all reasonable and fascinating. I took off a star because the professor occasionally stumbles over his words. It is not annoying, but it is noticeable.
I might go through this course again if I had an inkling of tracing my family tree but for now, no.
I might go through this course again if I had an inkling of tracing my family tree but for now, no.
August 24, 2015
A pretty fair series on lectures on getting into genealogy. One could do far worse as an overview course of instruction on the subject. It appears that the accompanying PDF file is comprehensive if not verbatim from the lectures. Plus, the PDF contains the references from the lectures, it appears.
June 20, 2019
I am very fortunate to have come from a very large (maternal) family that has had an extensive genealogical study reaching back to ancient Wales (three volumes, no less)...the Morgan clan is an interesting one. My relatives managed to put together a very readable (well at least the narrative parts) story, with many chapters and many, many interesting characters...sadly I'm not one of the interesting kind. It must have been an exhausting study. After Dr Colletta's lectures, I've come to appreciate that work.
Colletta's lectures are a pure joy for the future genealogist wishing to delve into their past, as I might try for my paternal line. The good professor lays out a flow chart of the do's and don't's for a study. His lecture style is clear, concise and well-organized. I followed easily on audio. The guide follows-up with details regarding sources and hints for almost any situation. The only thing he doesn’t do is the research for you.
Very highly recommended, even if you have no interest in genealogy, since his methods of investigation (thorough, making no assumptions and leaving no stone unturned) can be applied to almost any research project, and describes a master's thesis approach perfectly.
Colletta's lectures are a pure joy for the future genealogist wishing to delve into their past, as I might try for my paternal line. The good professor lays out a flow chart of the do's and don't's for a study. His lecture style is clear, concise and well-organized. I followed easily on audio. The guide follows-up with details regarding sources and hints for almost any situation. The only thing he doesn’t do is the research for you.
Very highly recommended, even if you have no interest in genealogy, since his methods of investigation (thorough, making no assumptions and leaving no stone unturned) can be applied to almost any research project, and describes a master's thesis approach perfectly.
February 19, 2019
While there is no doubt that this course is well researched and engagingly presented, I was disappointed by its limited scope. it is entirely focused on American genealogy and family history. My interest is in discovering my English roots and there was little i could glean about researching specific records from this offering.
What I did find useful was the emphasis on how to record family history so that it could be made accessible to others. As the lecturer points out, a binder bursting with copies of documents, old letters and maps is frankly overwhelming to the person who isn't interested in history. On the other hand, a well-organised narrative that shows how one event led to another can draw the reader in. There are some good tips on choosing the right style for writing your family history. I came away inspired from these sessions.
On the whole, I would say this course is a good investment if you are researching your American family history. It lays some good ground-rules and explores some of the problems you are likely to face. If, however, your interest lies elsewhere, I think you could do better.
What I did find useful was the emphasis on how to record family history so that it could be made accessible to others. As the lecturer points out, a binder bursting with copies of documents, old letters and maps is frankly overwhelming to the person who isn't interested in history. On the other hand, a well-organised narrative that shows how one event led to another can draw the reader in. There are some good tips on choosing the right style for writing your family history. I came away inspired from these sessions.
On the whole, I would say this course is a good investment if you are researching your American family history. It lays some good ground-rules and explores some of the problems you are likely to face. If, however, your interest lies elsewhere, I think you could do better.
August 24, 2020
An excellent primer on how to do your own genealogy. Excellent structure, this is a series of audible lectures accompanied by a simple yet comprehensive text booklet. At least for this beginner, this is really excellent and useful.
August 7, 2018
So informative!
June 13, 2019
If you want to learn about genealogy, this is the book. There is so much info here!
October 28, 2022
This was my bad in picking this up - I wasn't aware before I bought it that this is only and specifically focused on the US.
December 11, 2022
I was lucky enough to access the audio through Libby although would suggest getting something visual for all the websites mentioned. Fantastic information, can't wait to start researching!
March 20, 2025
a lot of good information but slightly out of date. still used some of his suggestions
October 30, 2016
As someone who greatly enjoys listening to cds in my car from the Great Courses collection [1], and who has a strong interest in genealogy and family history [2], this course was obviously one that I enjoyed a great deal and would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone with the same interests. It is clear and obvious why this particular instructor, even with a somewhat irritating voice, received the chance to teach this course. This is a demanding course, and will challenge anyone who takes it seriously. Rather than being a peaceful and tranquil introduction to genealogy, this professor has much higher ambitions of his students, namely the hopes that they will become very serious writers of family history. If this is a mission you are willing to accept, this is a course that you will find to be both stimulating and quite daunting. Even those budding family historians who have already done a fair amount of research will find much to challenge them here--this is a world-class introduction into the techniques of archival research and writing family histories from someone who has clearly gone above and beyond and become a serious expert in the field.
Coming in at 15 lectures of 30 minutes apiece, this is not a great course that will take too long to listen to, but its assignments will take a long time to complete for those who are willing to undertake the task. Every single one of these lectures requires some demanding work, like mastering some of the language where a relative came from, planning and writing a family history, looking up records from county courthouses and state and federal records, and so on. The fifteen lectures begin closest to home with notes on interviewing and mining home sources, using online sources, going to the library, examining military service and homesteading records, building historical context, examining ship passenger lists, finding ancestors in naturalization records, living up to the genealogical proof standard, taking a trip to the county courthouse, finding relatives in state records, writing biographies, knowing the dos and don'ts of writing history, searching in ancestor's backyards, assembling accounts of family discoveries, and extending a search for one's family tree overseas. To do what the professor of this course instructs will require the listener to spend months or even years of effort in seeking to better understand their family history, but if someone is already on this quest, then the guidance and information provided here will be of immense practical use.
One of the factors that elevates this course into such a useful one, and makes this of such lasting value is the way that the author gives a great deal of personal information that builds a sense of intimacy with the person listening. He talks about his quirky ancestors and their doings, his own mistakes such as writing about starlings in Mississippi anachronistically, and comments on his own struggles with the sources of his own family history and with their successes and failures, their struggles and their achievements. He shows a great deal of praise for the seriousness of the Mormons in understanding family history for their own religious purposes, despite his clear identity as a Roman Catholic priest, and even ends the course on a bit of a cliffhanger when he talks about a record he found of a family marriage that was marked as being with a woman and her sposo clandestine (secret husband), which sounds like the title of an awesome telenovela. This is a course well worth taking and taking seriously.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
Coming in at 15 lectures of 30 minutes apiece, this is not a great course that will take too long to listen to, but its assignments will take a long time to complete for those who are willing to undertake the task. Every single one of these lectures requires some demanding work, like mastering some of the language where a relative came from, planning and writing a family history, looking up records from county courthouses and state and federal records, and so on. The fifteen lectures begin closest to home with notes on interviewing and mining home sources, using online sources, going to the library, examining military service and homesteading records, building historical context, examining ship passenger lists, finding ancestors in naturalization records, living up to the genealogical proof standard, taking a trip to the county courthouse, finding relatives in state records, writing biographies, knowing the dos and don'ts of writing history, searching in ancestor's backyards, assembling accounts of family discoveries, and extending a search for one's family tree overseas. To do what the professor of this course instructs will require the listener to spend months or even years of effort in seeking to better understand their family history, but if someone is already on this quest, then the guidance and information provided here will be of immense practical use.
One of the factors that elevates this course into such a useful one, and makes this of such lasting value is the way that the author gives a great deal of personal information that builds a sense of intimacy with the person listening. He talks about his quirky ancestors and their doings, his own mistakes such as writing about starlings in Mississippi anachronistically, and comments on his own struggles with the sources of his own family history and with their successes and failures, their struggles and their achievements. He shows a great deal of praise for the seriousness of the Mormons in understanding family history for their own religious purposes, despite his clear identity as a Roman Catholic priest, and even ends the course on a bit of a cliffhanger when he talks about a record he found of a family marriage that was marked as being with a woman and her sposo clandestine (secret husband), which sounds like the title of an awesome telenovela. This is a course well worth taking and taking seriously.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
December 29, 2017
I "borrowed" this from my local library and listened to it during my work commute. Truly a must-listen for an amateur genealogist such as myself.
It is very intense! Jam packed with great information...one valuable gem after another. I highly suggest listening when you can totally focus and writing down relevant notes. He injects humor as well, which is nice. A fabulous teacher with a smooth voice tone (never too high or low), able to bridge a story to a point he is trying to make to drive it home. Yes, it got a little dry at times, but that does not take away from the material at all. If you are new to genealogy, this is an excellent Genealogy 101 resource for you.
Edited to add: if you borrow from the library you don't get the .pdf files. At least, my local library didn't offer them to me. Still worth listening to!
It is very intense! Jam packed with great information...one valuable gem after another. I highly suggest listening when you can totally focus and writing down relevant notes. He injects humor as well, which is nice. A fabulous teacher with a smooth voice tone (never too high or low), able to bridge a story to a point he is trying to make to drive it home. Yes, it got a little dry at times, but that does not take away from the material at all. If you are new to genealogy, this is an excellent Genealogy 101 resource for you.
Edited to add: if you borrow from the library you don't get the .pdf files. At least, my local library didn't offer them to me. Still worth listening to!
February 15, 2016
Great for beginners and stuck intermediate researchers. I have been researching on and off using the obvious and easy sources for a couple years now. I have reached a few brick walls in my research and decided to take a basic genealogy course. While looking at local course options I happened to see Audible advertising their offerings in the "Great Courses" series. This course has helped me ensure I am covering all of my bases, and given me additional websites, sources, and ideas for moving forward. In addition to the research methods this class also covers writing your family history in a way that make it readable and accessible to other family members and future researchers.
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July 23, 2016Great book for intermediate genealogists.
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