How to Start Your Family History Journey

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 who have a passion for genealogy, storytelling, or both. I’m your host, Heather Haunert, and I am so delighted today—we have a super special guest on the show: Suzanne Russo Adams.

Suzanne—I just have to read all of these credentials because they’re amazing and I know I’ll forget them, so I’ve got them written down. Suzanne is an Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Family History and Genealogy at BYU. I think that’s an awesome gig! She has degrees in family history, genealogy, sociology, and history. She’s also an accredited genealogist professional in Italian research—super cool.

To me, what makes Suzanne’s perspective so valuable today is her extensive industry experience. She spent nearly 12 years at Ancestry working on strategy and content digitization, followed by 13 years at FamilySearch as a senior content strategist overseeing record acquisition across multiple global regions. Your résumé is impressive. Welcome, Suzanne!

Guest (Suzanne Russo Adams):
Thanks! It’s good to be here—I’m excited to talk to you.

Host:
And I just have to ask—you’re an accredited genealogist professional in Italian research. What does that look like?

Guest:
So this kind of goes to my origin story, I suppose, because I’m half Italian on my father’s side. When I came to school at BYU… well, I should probably even back up. When I was younger, I actually loved to hear the stories. We’d have these big Italian family gatherings on Sundays or for holidays, and I was the kid sitting with the adults, listening to their stories. I was fascinated—especially hearing the language, because my grandparents and the older generation spoke Sicilian. I loved just sitting there and hearing stories from the old country.

Admittedly, I wasn’t super interested in names, dates, and places—it was the stories that got me. My cousins and siblings would say, “Come play with us!” and I’d say, “No, I’ve got to hear the rest of this story—it’s intriguing!”

When I came to BYU, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I started studying sociology and other things. Then I discovered there was an intro class on family history, and I decided I really wanted to know more about my Italian ancestry. That class sparked it all. There was a professor, George Ryskamp, who specialized in Spain and Southern Europe, and I changed my major, started studying with him, started learning the language.

Even in junior high I had taken Latin, and I remember asking, “What am I going to do with Latin?” Well, fast-forward to BYU—it became incredibly relevant for Italian and church records.

So, for me, it started with the stories. And now, full circle, I’m back at BYU teaching and researching where it all began.

Host:
How many times have you been to Italy to do research?

Guest:
Several! As a student at BYU, I interned at the State Archive of Naples. My family comes from Sicily, so I’ve done a lot of research there. During my time at FamilySearch, I helped with the acquisition of vital records and documents in Italy—so I’ve had multiple opportunities to go.

Host:
That’s incredible. I love hearing people’s origin stories—how they got into this work. Most people were bitten by the bug early on, as children, and hearing those family stories. So Suzanne, why do you think storytelling is such an important part of family history?

Guest:
Oh my goodness—because we all relate to stories. Even as children or adults, we love hearing them. Or maybe it’s because I’m a family historian and I’m professionally nosy! [laughs] I just love learning about people, living or dead—what motivates them.

Gathering records is one thing, and I tell my students that often. We’re so blessed to have so much online now. I was actually the first person hired at Ancestry to write instructions on how to index data. Back then, Ancestry had 50–75 employees, just getting started. So I’ve seen the rise of online access.

But a lot of people stop at just collecting records. What I love is building timelines—that shows where someone was at a certain time, with context. Why did they move? What were they doing? What were their motivations?

Host:
Yes! I’ve been creating timelines lately, especially layering timelines of direct-line female ancestors—it’s so powerful. You start to see patterns and similarities.

Guest:
Exactly. And don’t forget the laws and historical context—those things influence why people moved, what opportunities they had.

Host:
Since you work with students, what are some tools or resources you recommend to beginners—whether they’re in your class or totally new?

Guest:
Well, Storied is obviously a go-to. [laughs] If you’re focusing on stories, newspapers are fascinating. Start with yourself, but as you move back, newspapers help fill in the gaps.

Yes, vital records and censuses are important, and places like Ancestry and FamilySearch have those. But to go deeper—fill in the cracks with newspapers and city directories. I love directories—you can track people living together across time. I’ve even searched addresses as keywords to find who lived there, often discovering family members.

Host:
You are a girl after my own heart! Newspapers and directories are two of my favorites. A marriage certificate won’t tell you what they wore, but a newspaper article might.

Guest:
Absolutely. The U.S., England, Australia—Trove in Australia especially—have such rich newspaper collections. You get both the small-town details and the big picture.

Host:
Here’s a fun one: If you could meet one ancestor, who would it be? And what would you ask?

Guest:
Oh wow, hard question. I’d probably say my great-grandmother Rose Nagley. She was born in Switzerland in 1886, the youngest of 12. Her family met LDS missionaries in Zurich and joined the church. The missionaries brought her to Utah when she was just four. She was separated from her family and adopted by the McNeils. Her name in records is Nagley, Datweller, McNeil!

She married my great-grandfather in 1911, had five children. He died in 1929, leaving her a widow with young children during the Depression. I can’t find them on the 1930 census, and I want to ask her: “Where were you?”

She never remarried, went to work, raised her kids. One son died in WWII on a Japanese hell ship—the Shinyo Maru. I only know his story through newspaper letters he wrote to her.

I would love to ask her how she got through all of that. She was so strong.

Host:
She never remarried?

Guest:
No, she raised the kids on her own. And later reunited with some siblings—met them at a church conference after being separated as a child. I have a photo of them together.

Host:
That’s amazing. It’s those kinds of connections you feel in your heart—you can’t explain them. Okay, I need another story. That one was too good!

Guest:
[laughs] Okay, here’s a surprising one.

My dad’s side is all Sicilian. There’s a little bit of mafia in there. My grandfather grew up in San Pedro, California—big Italian community. He’d tell this story of a neighborhood guy who would pile all the kids in a car and take them for ice cream. Later, my grandfather realized the man was running booze during Prohibition! He was using the kids as cover so the police wouldn’t suspect anything.

Host:
No way! Someone else told me almost that exact same story on the show! [laughs]

Guest:
I didn’t believe it either until I read a book on the St. Louis Mafia. He wasn’t involved—but definitely lived among it.

Host:
When did your family come over from Italy?

Guest:
My great-grandparents came around 1907–1908. My grandfather was born in Missouri in 1915.

Host:
Last question—what advice would you give to someone just starting out in family history?

Guest:
Start with yourself. Write your story. But then pick one line of your family—just one. Pick one ancestor and flesh out their story. It’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to do too much. Focus on one person.

Then build a timeline—where they were born, where they lived, what happened in between. Fill in the gaps. Don’t just look at that person in isolation—expand to family, friends, neighbors. They’re part of the story too.

Host:
That’s perfect. I always say—you’re never done. Even after 25 years, I’m still finding new things.

Guest:
Exactly. You’re never done.

Host:
Well, Suzanne, thank you so much. This has been a real treat. I love your knowledge and passion—it’s just so evident talking with you.

Guest:
Thank you! It’s been a lot of fun.

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 family stories today and let their voices echo through the generations to come.

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Have a great day, everyone!