Melissa Dickerson, also known as "Genealogy Girl Talks" has been conducting family history and genealogy research for over twenty years. She has a love of history, family, teaching, and creativity. Those four passions pushed her to create Genealogy Girl Talks in 2014.
She wrote her first eBook, "10 Tips for Using Pinterest for Family History" in the Fall 2014. That was followed by several more quick tip eBooks. In May 2016, her first print book was self-published ("Using Pinterest for Family History and Genealogy").
Melissa lives in Northeast Ohio, but her roots find her deep in pursuit of her family history in Appalachia. Her burning desire to learn more about her family and her roots in Southwestern West Virginia has quickly become her life's pursuit.
Along her journey she has found various resources, tips, and tricks that she shares with her readers. It doesn’t matter what “family” you are researching. The majority of her advice will help you.
Melissa states, "I have been asked many questions regarding my work. Like, where did you find that? How did you find that? Where do I start?" Her simplest answer: start with a male family member who has an "odd" name, The best piece of advice Melissa gives is this:
- EXPECT the UNexpected! It happens more often than not.
- Find an older family member and talk to them! They are an immense help! Sometimes it will take them a little longer to remember, but usually a memory will trigger another memory and they just grow.
- Not EVERY family member will want to share. Just keep searching, you will find one who does.
- The internet is your friend! There are so many websites and resources available to use – most of them are free!
