How to Start Your Family History Journey with Stories that Stick

Transcript:

Host (Heather Haunert): Hi everyone, and welcome to The Family Treehouse, a podcast series brought to you by Storied, where I chat with people that have a passion for genealogy, storytelling, or both. I’m your host, Heather Haunert, and I am super excited today to have our guest, Sadie Nelson from Tales and Trees, with us. Welcome, Sadie.

Guest (Sadie Nelson): Hi! Thanks for having me.

Host: Super excited that you’re here and chatting with us today. So let’s just start with having you tell us about your background. How did you get started in the field of family history and/or storytelling?

Guest: I think every genealogist has a good story about how they got started. Mine was…
I grew up less than a mile away from my maternal grandmother’s house. I was lucky enough to be babysat by her when my parents were at work for quite some time, and I would spend hours at her kitchen table looking through her photo albums—old scrapbooks from when she was a child.

I remember seeing photos of her mother, old cabinet cards from Austria-Hungary, and I was always very interested in those pictures. I had so many questions for my grandma.

She passed away in 2014 and—even though she had nine children, all of whom are living—I was lucky enough to inherit all of those albums. Her children… you know, I asked them, and they were happy to let me have them. I’ve kind of acted as the family genealogist since then.

Host: I think every family has that person, don’t they? And I just always feel such honor that it gets to be me.

Guest: Yes, me too.

Host: I’m lucky that you had your grandmother for that long—to be able to ask her and have the wherewithal to ask those types of questions. Not everybody’s that forward-thinking.

So I’m going to ask some more genealogy-based questions. For our listeners out there—I love Sadie’s Instagram, it’s amazing. She has some very cool tips and tricks and just general genealogy things on there.

The first thing that caught my attention a while back was Google Lens. How do you use Google Lens with genealogy?

Guest: I started using Google Lens… not really for genealogy at first, but for antiquing—which I think is kind of related to genealogy.

I love to go to estate sales. My favorite thing to look for is something that has a name on it—an heirloom that’s for sale. I started using it for objects because sometimes it’s too hard to Google an object. If you have a necklace that looks a certain way, it’s hard to find words to type that into Google. Google Lens is fabulous for that.

Then, the more I got into collecting photographs—cabinet cards of not even my own family, but from other individuals—I thought, “A lot of these have landmarks.” A lot of early photography was taken outdoors, and sometimes there’s nothing written on the back. How can I find out where this was taken to maybe place it to an individual if there’s a name but no location?

I started messing around with Google Lens, and it’s surprisingly helpful—not only for landmarks where pictures were taken, but even sometimes for photography studios, the backgrounds used in old cabinet cards. If there are corresponding images online, it can match them up. It’s been a really useful tool—kind of fun to play around with.

Host: Yeah, I immediately thought of the example you had on Insta—it was kind of a resort hotel in New Jersey. That immediately made me think of a photo from my great-grandfather. It’s like a resort where rich people went to in the summer. I’ve never been able to figure out what it was, so I can’t wait to dig that photo out and try Google Lens.

Guest: Yes—give it a try. You could solve a few mysteries out there.

Host: That’s a great tip for estate sales or antiquing, too.

Another thing on your Instagram that spoke to me personally—you have an unintentional hobby of collecting cabinet cards, and you specifically do it from your ancestors’ village. Tell us a little about that.

Guest: Yes. I’m familiar with my ancestors’ village—it’s in present-day Czech Republic, but back in the day it was called Mariánské Třebová, and it was part of Austria-Hungary.

From my grandma, I have a few cabinet cards, and they’re great because they have the town where they were taken written on the bottom. My favorite thing to do—especially when I’m between projects—is search eBay (especially German eBay) for the village name plus “portrait” or “photo” in German.

Since it’s such a small town, I feel like I need to adopt all these images. Even if they’re not direct relatives, it was such a small community. I’ve bought quite a few, and there are still more I’d love to adopt when discounts come along.

Host: I love that. People like us want to adopt those people and be the steward of those items. I’ve done that with family Bibles—if no one else is going to, somebody should.

Another part of your site that I loved was your Ancestral Eats. Are those family recipes or recipes from the area?

Guest: It’s a combination. I only have two recipes from my grandmother’s side. One of them is liver dumplings—my family will never eat those. [laughs]

So I try to find cultural recipes relevant to the area where my family lived—both my mother’s and father’s sides. It’s also a great way to incorporate genealogy early with my kids. They’re young—they don’t fully understand a family tree yet—but if we bake something my mom’s great-grandma used to bake, it’s a fun way to make it real for them. And then they get to eat it, so we’re all happy.

[Music]

Host: Let’s share some storytelling questions. Why do you think storytelling is such an important part of family history?

Guest: Storytelling has been around as long as people have. We’re lucky now—we can Google our ancestry, check multiple websites for documents. But before that, before writing, we told stories.

Some of the most important things I’ve learned about my family came from stories passed down. They fill in the gaps between records—maybe you only have a 1910 census and a 1920 census. Stories can help fill in the decade in between.

Even though they change over time, I’ve had good luck finding the truth in them. They’re a great starting point for research—like if you know your grandmother was “born in Russia” from a family story, you can use that to guide your search.

Host: How do you go about writing a story? Any tips beyond census records?

Guest: Sometimes it’s easier to focus on an important piece of someone’s life rather than try to write their whole biography when records are missing. I love to research the town they lived in to fill in gaps—it paints a more complete picture.

Host: I’m a big proponent of historical and social context—putting yourself in your ancestor’s shoes.

This can be a hot-button topic—how do you balance telling a factual story with adding details you can’t fully confirm?

Guest: As a professional genealogist pursuing certification, accuracy is critical. We don’t assume—we use facts, data, and citations. But that doesn’t mean stories have to be dull. Even small details—like someone being a farmer their whole life—can bring them to life.

For me, there’s no need to give up accuracy for interest. The truth is interesting enough.

Host: Do you have a favorite ancestor you feel most connected to?

Guest: Yes—my grandmother’s mother. She didn’t know her father and was raised by her grandparents. Even my grandmother knew little about her own mother. I’ve pieced things together from my grandma’s handwritten notes—even ones on napkins.

I’ve traveled to her hometown in the Czech Republic to learn more. Women’s stories especially interest me because they’re so often under-documented.

Host: Is there a favorite family story that always comes to mind?

Guest: One passed-down detail is that my great-grandmother’s grandfather had a long white beard and kind eyes. He was born in 1829, and there are no photos of him, but that image has survived through storytelling. Without it, I’d have no mental picture of him.

Host: Those visuals are powerful.

What are a few tips you’d leave with our audience?

Guest:

1. Go through family notes and photographs—ask to see them if you don’t have them. Make note of any names, even if you don’t know where they fit yet.
   
   
2. Don’t just rely on vital records—use newspapers. Older papers often included social details (“So-and-so visited so-and-so for lunch”), which help fill out stories.
   
   

Small-town newspapers are especially rich, even if you have to access them on microfilm.

Host: I agree—they’re one of my favorites. Well, Sadie, thank you so much for your expertise and passion. I’m honored you spent time with me this afternoon.

Guest: Thank you so much for having me. It was a joy.

Host: Well, until next time, friends—embrace the power of your family’s untold stories and embark on a journey of discovery. Start writing your family stories today and let their voices echo through the generations to come at Storied.com.

And that brings us to the end of this episode of The Family Treehouse, where we celebrate the power of storytelling and preserving our family legacies.

Storied is more than just a platform for sharing stories—dive into historical records and newspapers, add branches to your family tree, and connect the dots between generations. Your stories matter, and through Storied, they can resonate across time. Keep uncovering your family’s history, and keep the spirit of storytelling alive with Storied.