Susan Brook started seriously delving into her own family history in 1995 becoming an expert in both British and German research. She painstakingly taught herself to read old German script in order to translate documents which soon morphed into a love of paleography (reading difficult handwriting). She volunteers at an LDS Family History Center and is utilized there as the German research expert including teaching the German course. She has a Master’s Degree in Nursing Education, experience presenting at several local and national conferences, and has taught as a nursing professor at Idaho State University. She loves learning, is seeking certification as a genealogist, and attends many genealogy institutes including completing a course on advanced DNA research. This enables her to utilize DNA evidence along with paper documentation to break down brick walls in genealogy research. Susan graduated with a degree in Family History from BYU-Idaho in 2017 and simultaneously developed a professional genealogy business, Chasing Your Ancestors. Her business name speaks of two of her favorite things: running and genealogy research. Susan has set a goal to run a marathon in all 50 states and has currently completed 27. She lives in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho and is married with six grown children, and three grandchildren.

Unlock the Past cruises – 14th

Topics

German

  • Top Ten Tips to Deciphering Old German Handwriting (with hands on experience reading actual documents); Could be extended to 1.5-2 hrs with more practice reading documents; beginner and intermediate
  • Planning a Research Trip to Germany (tips and my fabulous success story); beginner and intermediate
  • Hesse: Land of Fairy Tales (history, military, culture, where to find online records); beginner and intermediate
  • Familienbuch Research: A Gold Mine; beginner
  • Finding the Place of Origin in Germany: A DNA Success Story; all levels
  • Using Meyer’s Gazeteer Online: Finding the Right Place is Everything! beginner
  • Illegitimate Children in Germany (history, culture, and finding the father); beginner and intermediate

British

  • British Civil Registration: New Changes to the Index; beginner and intermediate
  • Cornwall’s People (history, culture, mining, emigration); all audiences
  • Illegitimate Children in England: Finding Parentage; intermediate
  • Poor Law in England: Apprenticeships, Orphanages, and Workhouses; intermediate