Honeycomb Genealogy: Helping you to discover the “liquid gold” in your family history by providing the tools to complete your research.
WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
Have you ever wondered about your ancestry and wanted to begin researching? Or maybe you have been told to research your ancestry and you don't even know where to start? With the recent boom caused by genealogy DNA kits, many people have the desire to research their ancestry. All of us have the time and resources to do it, but the actual research can make you throw up your hands in despair if you don't know how to proceed.
Our goal at Honeycomb is to guide you through your unique research process. Every research experience is just as unique as each individual and family you will research - but the skills are the same. There are techniques and tips that you can use to make this process an enjoyable and addictive hobby! That's where we come in; we're here to help this ideal become your reality
OUR FRIENDSHIP: OLIVIA AND ARIEL
We first met while studying Family History Genealogy at BYU. Ariel completed the program's Bachelor’s degree, and Olivia completed the program’s minor. While in college, we were both hired by the Center of Family History Genealogy as researchers and eventually became Co-Student Supervisors over the entire Nauvoo Project. We spent the majority of our Saturdays (and summers!) working together in a freezing-cold computer lab researching and chatting.
Now, Ariel is a professional genealogist and spends every day helping clients tackle their difficult family history research with documents and DNA. Olivia is currently a full-time stay-at-home parent. Experienced with taking on the occasional project for friends and family, she spends the majority of her time working on her own family tree.
ABOUT ME, ARIEL:
My parents inspired my passion for family history. Thanks to my dad, our house was always full of history books, and my mom worked (and still works) tenaciously on brick walls in her family lines. I remember taking trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah with my parents. They also taught me a love for hearing the stories of older family members. We often spent Sunday evenings visiting my three living great-grandparents in the area. I enjoyed listening to their experiences.
When it was time to apply for college, I planned to be a history teacher. I didn’t know where I wanted to go to school, so I applied to all the universities in Utah and scrutinized each option. During that research, I discovered that BYU had a family history program and decided it would be an enjoyable minor. I reached out to a professor in the program, Jill Crandell, to learn more. After meeting with her, changed my mind. I decided to go all-in and complete a major in family history—a decision I’ve never regretted! I learned many valuable skills and graduated from that program in April 2021. Now I’m continuing my education by becoming a Certified Genealogist. (You can read more about that process on the Board for Certification of Genealogists website here.)
When I have time to research my own family, it’s often with my mom searching for information about our German ancestors who settled in the Midwestern United States. Hopefully, we will be able to trace them back to Germany one day! I have extensive experience with research in France and Québec; I speak and read French fluently. Client projects have taken me into many areas (geographic and otherwise)—the southern United States, DNA research (identifying biological parents or ancestors), and colonial Virginia, to name a few.
When I am not working on family history, I enjoy hiking, reading a good book, and watching baking shows.
ABOUT ME, OLIVIA:
I credit my Grandpa Brooks for getting me started in family history work. “Papa,” as we called him, knew that his mother’s family came from Ireland. He had bright red hair and freckles, all the children in his family had names of Catholic saints, and he had a large, loud family. Papa’s grandmother came to the US from Ireland and unfortunately, no one had recorded when this event happened or the specifics of where she was from. Papa’s mother shared what she knew with him, and he made it his life’s work to document his family. I was always interested in Papa’s work. I remember watching him keep careful track of all his research and notes by hand. Papa wrote tons of letters to his extended family to learn all that he could about his Irish heritage.
Many years later I bought my first DNA kit and gave it to Papa. He was ecstatic to learn that his DNA results could help us contact more extended relatives, ask questions, and potentially hint at a geographical “community” to help us narrow down our search within a smaller area in Ireland.
While in my sophomore year of college, I decided to add another minor. I saw that BYU offered Family History Genealogy courses and I immediately signed up with the hopes that I would be able to learn new skills to help me sharpen my research abilities. Well, spoiler alert- I did! Well, I did acquire the research skills necessary to complete my search - I am still working on tracking down my Papa’s Irish heritage. Unfortunately, as it does for many of us, life got busy. Between my various other hobbies, interests, and the birth of my precious son, my research pace has slowed considerably
In addition to my interest in Irish genealogy, I have also conducted extensive genealogy research in Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, and Poland). I speak and read Russian fluently which makes research in these counties considerably more advantageous for me to undertake. I also have a basic introduction to both the Polish and Ukrainian languages. Inside the US, I love to research immigration and first-generation history (my knowledge of languages helps with that as well).
Besides family history work, I also enjoy reading, cooking all types of food (but specifically Asian cuisines), writing letters, and exploring the Southern US states where I currently reside with my family.
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