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Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist

Beyond-beginner Genealogy Skills for Busy Family Historians

Have you enjoyed researching your family history only to find you’re stuck?

Never enough time to get your tree growing again?

Congratulations, you’re an Occasional Genealogist! To get your research to flourish, you’ll need some essential skills.

Written by a professional genealogist and chronic Occasional Genealogist, Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist will teach you the beyond-beginner skills you need.

You'll learn:

  • How to save time while making progress on breaking the toughest genealogy brick walls.
  • The importance of identifying what to focus on so you’re not constantly searching, searching, searching.
  • How to fall in love with clues, including several lessons about sources.
  • What it takes to find consistent research success, and enjoy doing it!
  • So much more!

Too often, hobbyists think these essential skills are just for professionals and a waste of time. Essential Skills was written for hobbyists. Follow along with the story of two avid amateurs, Gene and Jenni.

See how great genealogy is possible for anyone and why it is essential for everyone that enjoys researching their own (correct) family tree. Gene shares shortcuts and tips with her frustrated friend, so Jenni can get her family tree growing again. You’ll learn to apply Gene’s shortcuts and templates to your own research.

Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist lays out the steps any genealogist can take to do great genealogy, despite the interruptions. Stop wasting time and energy trying to figure this out yourself. Everything you need is inside Essential Skills.

Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist

Beyond-beginner Genealogy Skills for Busy Family Historians

Have you enjoyed researching your family history only to find you’re stuck?
Never enough time to get your tree growing again?

Congratulations, you’re an Occasional Genealogist! To get your research to flourish, you’ll need some essential skills.

Written by a professional genealogist and chronic Occasional Genealogist, Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist will teach you the beyond-beginner skills you need.

You'll learn:

  • How to save time while making progress on breaking the toughest genealogy brick walls.
  • The importance of identifying what to focus on so you’re not constantly searching, searching, searching.
  • How to fall in love with clues, including several lessons about sources.
  • What it takes to find consistent research success, and enjoy doing it!
  • So much more!

Too often, hobbyists think these essential skills are just for professionals and a waste of time. Essential Skills was written for hobbyists. Follow along with the story of two avid amateurs, Gene and Jenni.

See how great genealogy is possible for anyone and why it is essential for everyone that enjoys researching their own (correct) family tree. Gene shares shortcuts and tips with her frustrated friend, so Jenni can get her family tree growing again. You’ll learn to apply Gene’s shortcuts and templates to your own research.

Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist lays out the steps any genealogist can take to do great genealogy, despite the interruptions. Stop wasting time and energy trying to figure this out yourself. Everything you need is inside Essential Skills.

Buy It Now!

amazon.ca | amazon.com.au and wherever books are sold

What readers say

"Your way of describing the 'hunt' for ancestors is not only easy to read, but entertaining and extremely useful! How I wish I'd had this book when I first started digging into my family's stories, maybe I would not have created so many "glitches" that now need to be cleaned up in order to proceed!"

-Constance

reader in the U.S.

"I really love this book. It tells an interesting story, especially about how to do Great Genealogy, despite the lack of time in our daily life. Step by step. From essentials to get started, to solutions. There are free digital bonusses too! I’m beyond a beginner and I found this book very pleasant to read. I’m sure this book will help me to super-charge my research."

-Johanna

reader in the Netherlands

"The book isn’t a typical how to book, but it does provide focus. As a person who has done my tree for many years I understand that sometimes it is important to know what you need to do, otherwise you end up down a rabbit hole. I recommend this book..."

-Maree

reader in Australia

Buy It Now

also amazon.ca | amazon.com.au or wherever books are sold

About the Author

Jennifer Patterson Dondero has been an avid genealogist for over 30 years. She got started when a school play led her to ask her father about where they came from. His answer was unsatisfactory and a genealogist was born.

A professional genealogist since 2005, Jennifer first worked as a verifying genealogist at the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) and then for herself.

In 2016 The Occasional Genealogist blog was launched. Since then, Jennifer has specialized in helping busy people who want to do great genealogy, despite the interruptions.

Helping readers led to creating the full-length book, Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist.

Jennifer lives with her husband and two children in Georgia, where she enjoys reading and writing mystery novels, Irish dancing, and clogging.

You can learn more from her at her blog The Occasional Genealogist.

Jennifer Patterson Dondero

Buy your copy of
Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist today!

Available in ePub:

Available in Paperback at the following retailers:

And also amazon.ca and amazon.com.au.

Buy your copy of
Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist today!

Available in paperback wherever books are sold.

amazon.ca | amazon.com.au