Genealogy Secrets with David Allen Lambert

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 am your host, Heather Haunert, and today I have a very special guest — David Allen Lambert with American Ancestors.

David has been with the organization for more than 30 years. He is their Chief Genealogist, an internationally recognized speaker, and has published 11 books — my personal favorite being A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries. I could go on and on about your amazing accomplishments and résumé.

Welcome to the show, David! So excited.

Guest (David Allen Lambert):
I am honored, thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, you know, I’ve been doing genealogy for so long the résumé just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I joke with my spouse that the eulogy is going to take days.

Host:
[laughs] Oh, I think it’s great! I love it — you just have so much. I could go on all day. That’s amazing. Love it.

Guest:
Well, brevity is perfectly fine.

Host:
Glad to have you on the show today. Why don’t you start by telling our audience about your background and how you got started in family history, storytelling — genealogy in general?

Guest:
Sure. Well, actually, that’s how I got started — hearing a story.

We have to go back in time. I’ll be 55 this year, so back when I was seven, during the bicentennial in 1976, I was home from school. My grandmother lived with us, and I was very fortunate to have this grandmother who was born in 1896 and whose parents were born in 1848 and 1850. So her parents were teenagers during the Civil War.

Her father almost served, but he was just a little too young. However, her uncle did serve as a drummer boy in the Civil War, which was a fun story to tell in school — until the teacher told me I was a liar and I had to bring my grandmother in for show-and-tell.

But I’m digressing.

An uncle came over and brought a published genealogy — a book written in 1881 called A Memoir and Genealogy of John Poor. My grandmother’s last name was Poor. In fact, her “poor” father — no pun intended — used to get a lot of business because the shingle outside of his house read “A. Poor, Paper Hanger.” People felt bad for him, so they gave him business.

Anyway, my uncle handed me this book. He was taking his coat off — it was winter — and I saw something sticking out of it. Being a nosy kid, I pulled it out. It was a metal photograph, maybe 5×7 inches, made out of tin. I was intrigued — it was slightly hand-painted, and I had never seen a metal photograph before.

I went over to my grandmother and said, “Nana, Uncle brought this over. Who is this?”

She said, “Oh, that’s my father.”

At seven years old, I had only experienced the loss of a goldfish, so the idea that my 80-year-old grandmother had a living father seemed perfectly rational to me. I said, “Can I meet him?” She replied, “No, he died in 1921.”

She explained he was in the book because it was a genealogy of our family, written before she was born. She opened it up and showed me her father, her mother, and her oldest siblings. Then she put the picture back in.

I said, “Wow — it tells his entire story? That’s pretty small.”

She replied, “Oh no, his story was bigger than that. In fact, he was on a whaling ship.”

And that stopped me in my tracks. In school we had just learned a child-friendly version of Moby Dick, where the whale and the whaler became friends. I thought, How amazing would it be to tell my classmates my great-grandfather could have been friends with a whale!

So my ears perked up, and I started asking questions. Within a week, I told my grandmother, “We have to write a new book — you’re not in it!” We started asking questions, writing letters — long before email and texts — to her nieces and nephews. She was the youngest in her family, so some of her nephews and nieces were only six or seven years younger than she was.

I visited people, collected stories. I was blessed to have my grandmother until I was 11. By the time I was 12, I had typed up and created my first 133-page genealogy book. It’s like a glorified book report, but at NEHGS, where I work, it’s in the archives because I donated it as a teenager.

Every so often someone pulls it out because the cover has a hand-drawn picture of my great-grandfather. Needless to say, I’m a better genealogist than I am an artist.

As a kid growing up, instead of climbing trees in my backyard, I traced them. I asked questions about stories. I was very fortunate, because by the time I was 11 all my grandparents were gone, by the time I was 30 both my parents were gone, and a few years later all my aunts and uncles were gone.

If I had waited until my 50s to start asking questions, I’d be relying solely on online research, cemeteries, and the old-fashioned way. But I have the stories — and that, to me, is the most important element of family history.

Host:
Kind of going off that comment you just made, my next question is: what makes storytelling so important versus just having the records? Do you see it as equally important, more important — how do you view that?

Guest:
I think stories are the most important part because, one, they knit everything together.

We’re stuck in genealogy with a lot of online databases and charts that have space for a name, a date, and a place. But I like to go back to something — I think it’s been a song, it’s been a poem — The Dash.

When I brought my daughters to visit my parents’ grave, my oldest daughter had been three when my mother died and four when my father died, so she didn’t know them well. My youngest daughter was born after they passed. We’d put flowers on the grave, and they’d ask me about my parents.

I told them, “It’s more than just these names and these birth and death dates. There’s the dash — and that’s the story.”

In fact, when my oldest was little, I’d read her bedtime stories, and one night she was remembering her Papa — she was four when he died — and she asked, “What stories did Papa tell you?”

Honestly, Heather, I couldn’t remember my dad reading me a bedtime story. I remembered him telling me funny stories — but not reading bedtime books.

So I said, “Why don’t I tell you a story about Papa?” That became a Papa story, then a Nana story, then a Great-Grandma story. By the time she was seven or eight years old, she could recite them.

She’d say, “Oh yeah, is this the story where you talk about Papa being in the war? Or when he was on a boat and got seasick?”

It brought them to life again.

I think people never truly die as long as we say their names — but even more so if we know their stories. As a family historian and genealogist, I feel like being a sentinel of their memory is my role — keeping their stories alive for the next generation, so they can pick up the torch and continue.

Host:
When you go to write a story, do you have a process you use? I think a lot of people struggle with knowing how to start. They’ve got all these stories in their head and have told them orally to family members — but how do you get it down on paper?

Guest:
Sure. At American Ancestors — originally the New England Historic Genealogical Society — we use a formula called the Register Style. We’ve published The New England Historical and Genealogical Register quarterly since 1847, uninterrupted.

You can download the template from American Ancestors. It helps you get the main facts: primary sources, names, birth dates, birthplaces, death dates, marriages. Then you add the narrative — the story.

So I suggest people start with the hard facts you can back up with records, documents, or gravestones — the birth, marriage, and death. Then think about what happened between the dash.

Where did they go to school? If you’re a genealogist, find out what schools were open in 1905 in that small Oklahoma town. See if the school records exist.

Start building a timeline, even filling in details you weren’t told.

For example, my grandmother was the first in her family to graduate high school. Most of her siblings went to work at 15 or 16. I contacted her school and they said, “Oh, I think we have those report cards in the basement.” They mailed me her original report cards from 1909 to 1914 — and she was right, she was much better at math than I was!

Now I know what classes she took, and it adds another layer to her story.

The best gift an ancestor can give us is a journal. One of the books I wrote is the genealogy for David McCullough. At the honor dinner, he said, “If you want to be remembered in the 22nd century, leave a journal in the 21st.”

That’s true. We all intend to keep a journal, but then vanity creeps in — “Who’s going to read it?”

During COVID, I kept a journal for eight months, not knowing what would happen. I figured if it was my last story, I’d better share it.

I also keep a datebook — not just with birthdays, but with events like “Gave a lecture” or “Interviewed with Heather on Storied.” That way, if I write my own story, I have those details.

Your own story matters, even if you’re just someone’s collateral relative — your story fits into the fabric of family history.

When I write:

1. Gather the main facts.
   
   
2. Create a timeline.
   
   
3. Embellish with primary sources.
   
   

From there, I can write the story — whether it’s someone born in 1896 or 1696.

Host:
Yeah, agreed. I love the idea of the timeline — I use that a lot myself just to get things in perspective. I like to do that even with historical context, just to give me an idea of things that were happening when my ancestors were alive, to put a little more credibility to it, I guess.

Guest:
Exactly.

Host:
David, talk to us about — you have journals and things like that — but as far as tools or resources, do you just use a regular Word document, or what kind of tools and resources do you use for actually putting it on paper?

Guest:
Well, long ago it was index cards and three-ring binders with pedigree charts.

Now I use the technology of word processors. When I write in Register format, I download the template from American Ancestors and start writing in that.

I find there’s more flexibility in Word — I can save the document, open it elsewhere. That’s not to discredit genealogy programs like Family Tree Maker, Reunion, or others — they all allow cross-pollination with GEDCOM files so they can “speak” to each other.

But I got tired of always having to update one program, then another, then finding some data didn’t translate well across formats. So I use genealogy programs for basic birth, marriage, and death data — and to produce charts. That way, when a cousin’s grandchild needs a family tree for a school project the night before it’s due, I can print it without hand-writing everything.

For writing, though, Word gives me more flexibility. I can use that template, post online, or share in other formats.

I’m on Twitter — I don’t do the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge, but I post enough about my ancestors that my readership probably gets tired of hearing about my relatives. [laughs]

Host:
I think the more you put it out there, the better. I’ve had guests tell me that posting something on a blog or Twitter has led to finding an ancestor or story they never knew about — just by putting it out there.

Guest:
Exactly. And with AI technology and Google, it’s amazing what can be discovered — not to mention what’s possible with DNA matches.

I feel like we’re just at the tip of the iceberg. I hope I live another hundred years so I can get 10% of what I want to do in this field done.

Host:
I agree. I think it’s going to grow leaps and bounds — even in the next 10 years.

David, talk to us about how you use historical records to help you tell the story.

Guest:
The first part is to read the record — really analyze it. People find birth, marriage, and death records, maybe probate, but often overlook deeds.

FamilySearch has done a tremendous job — at least in New England — digitizing deeds from the 17th century through the early 20th.

Sometimes people ask when their ancestor died. If there’s no probate, I’ll ask if they had property. The sale of that property may say “land of my late father,” which confirms a death before that date.

Deeds are time-consuming because there’s no instant search for names (indexing is improving, but not perfect). Still, if you transcribe a deed and note the boundary markers, you can use the FAN approach — Family, Associates, Neighbors — to identify relatives.

For me, a deed connected my great-grandfather to my great-great-grandfather. It was written on a deathbed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, about land in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, but recorded later in Colchester County. It said, “For love and affection to my son…” That one phrase sealed the connection.

You can also learn from an ancestor’s inventory. Sadly, some list human property — in which case I research those individuals, too. I want their stories out there as well.

Looking at deeds alongside an inventory can show where someone lived.

And yes, sometimes that means taking the family 300 miles in an RV to stand in the middle of a Walmart parking lot — because that’s where the house once stood. [laughs]

Host:
That would be me in a nutshell. My husband has reached the point where if the cemetery is across a field, he just drops me off and says, “You can do this yourself.”

Guest:
[laughs] When I was writing A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries, my wife and I would be driving and she’d ask, “Shall we stop? Is it in your book?” Eventually, we got a bumper sticker that said, I Brake for Cemeteries. I always wanted to drive a hearse, too.

Host:
[laughs] That’s great. Well, I have to ask this question — being a former high school English teacher, I’d love to know more about the curriculum you have available for social studies teachers. Tell us about that.

Guest:
I am delighted to. My colleague, Dustin Ax, has worked really hard to develop this wonderful curriculum, which is applicable for younger or older classroom settings.

It has a lot of value. In fact, I was with Dustin recently at a Boy Scouts of America meeting in Cambridge. We sat down and showed them the curriculum, which includes activities to identify people in history based on assembling a “pack of information” — sort of like what you’d find in a treasure trunk of genealogy.

Then, we answered questions they had about their own families. I always say: if you get a group of 20 students and even one or two continue on with genealogy, you’ve done something amazing for saving history. Those stories will be remembered.

When I was seven years old, if we had this type of curriculum from American Ancestors, I would have excelled even more in school — and probably would have wanted to teach half the class myself.

I loved history because I could see where my ancestor fit into not just American history, but world history. That connection fascinated me and made me excel in social studies, U.S. history, and world history — all the way through to high school. That’s probably why I went on to get my BA in History from Northeastern.

You can find out more about the curriculum by going to American Ancestors, clicking on “Tools,” and finding the link to our curriculum page. Fill in your contact information and we’ll send you details.

Host:
That’s awesome. I’ll link that in the show notes so everyone can find it easily.

David, my favorite part of the show is asking guests to tell us a favorite family story. And everybody jokes, “Well, mine’s always different,” and I know yours probably changes over time. But right now, what’s your favorite family story to tell?

Guest:
Well, many of my family stories have evolved as I’ve found more facts.

One tip I’d like to give your listeners: when you hear a family story, write it down and footnote it — who told it to you, and when. In a hundred years, the “telephone game” of genealogy can really distort things.

For example, my great-grandfather on the whaling ship. My mother’s cousin said he served on the vessel Charles W. Morgan. That’s ironic, because the Morgan is the last surviving whaling ship. I think my cousin just connected the dots, but I still went there on a field trip to look for his initials. I stayed longer than the rest of the group just to check the boards.

So, write it down — even if you can’t prove it. Then, ask other cousins for their variations of the story.

For me, one of my best stories ties to my interest in the RMS Titanic. I used to correspond with survivors. One dear friend, Millvina Dean — “Auntie Millvina” to my kids — was the last passenger. She’d send Christmas and birthday gifts.

I always felt a connection to the Titanic. Recently, while researching my great-grandfather’s World War I service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, I learned he traveled on the Olympic, the Titanic’s sister ship, both to and from Europe.

And then I proved a family story: my grandfather had lied about his age, claiming to be 18 when he was only 15, to join the Canadian Army. The story was he joined the mounted rifles in Toronto, fell off a horse, and that was all we knew.

I found his record in the Archives of Canada — and sure enough, he had lied about his birth year. The record also revealed the rest of the story: while he was in the hospital, his commanding officer came in and said, “Jack, you thought you were going to fight in the trenches and kick some German booty — but the lady in the lobby is going to kick your booty all the way back to Toronto. Your mother’s here.”

That’s the kind of story you want written down, with both the oral tradition and the hard evidence. Even if you don’t find the proof, record your version so it’s anchored to a year, person, and place. That can help untangle the telephone game later.

Host:
That’s a great story. Thank you. I think that no matter what, just getting it written down is the key to the game — and so many people don’t do it. I think they worry about it being perfect or grammatically correct, and personally, I don’t care what it looks like. If I had something written by an ancestor a hundred years ago, I’d be thrilled no matter what.

Guest:
Exactly. One thing people tend to do is keep blinders on, looking only for direct ancestors. You also need to look at the siblings, the first cousins.

When I go to the National Archives, I’m looking for pensions and military records for cousins of my great-grandparents. Affidavits in those records are often written by family members, and you might get a completely different spin on a family story.

But the one thing I tell people: don’t just be concerned about your ancestors — be concerned about yourself. The best storyteller of your story is you. Don’t let history be the one that loses the facts.

Write your own story down. It’s not vanity. I would love to have opened a time capsule from my great-grandfather’s whaling days and learned about his entire life. I have facts and a limited timeline, but breathing life into your own story while you’re alive is a gift. Put it in a safety deposit box, upload it to Storied, or publish it online.

That gives your family a treasure they’ll never put down.

Host:
We talk about that a lot as a team at Storied — how important it is to tell your story now, because in 10 years it will be history. So, get it written down no matter what.

David, as we finish up here, do you have any last-minute tips, tricks, or pieces of advice? You’ve been full of them today!

Guest:
I think the idea of sharing your story is important. I’ve never known a genealogist to become a millionaire overnight from publishing their story. It’s about preserving it.

Assign someone in your family to be your “academic executor.” Where are your papers going?

I give a talk called What Time Is It on Your Genealogical Clock? Are you looking to publish a book? Create a timeline for that. Even without an editor breathing down your neck, you can be your own editor — but set deadlines.

At American Ancestors, we have over 28 million manuscripts, many of which are genealogies people intended to write but never finished. The hardest thing is hearing that an older family member died and their research ended up in the trash — or scattered online without context.

So, pull it together. Even if it’s just online, or written up in some format, make something of it — or find someone who will carry on your legacy. That’s the best way to make sure your work isn’t lost.

Host:
Great advice. I think that’s wonderful. So many people worry no one will do anything with their research, but there are always avenues out there, like American Ancestors.

David, thank you for your expertise and passion for our field. I’m very honored you spent time with me today.

Guest:
Well, Heather, I look forward to seeing you — and maybe some of your listeners — at RootsTech. I’ve got four lectures, and I believe you said you have a few yourself. I’m finding I have more tenth cousins there than I ever expected — my holiday gift list is getting huge.

Host:
[laughs] I’m excited to see you and everyone else there. Thank you again for spending time with me today.

Guest:
It’s an honor. Thank you for having me.

Host:
Until next time, friends — embrace the power of your family’s untold tales and embark on a journey of discovery. Let the ink flow and the words dance as you weave together the threads of your ancestors’ lives. Start writing your stories today and let their voices echo through the generations to come at Storied.com. Have a great day.

Narrator:
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 to discover the hidden gems that bring your ancestors to life. Add branches to your family tree, connecting the dots between generations.

Thank you for joining us on this storytelling journey. Your stories matter, and through Storied they have the power to resonate across time and touch the hearts of generations to come. Keep uncovering your family’s history, and keep the spirit of storytelling alive with Storied.