Two genealogists discover they might share a Mayflower connection - but there's a twist.

In this special Thanksgiving episode, my producer Lisa Elzey and I explore our connection to America’s founding story, take a memorable trip to Plymouth Plantation, and learn that sometimes uncovering the truth means letting go of cherished family lore. Through our journey, we reveal how the real power of family history lies not in the famous names on our family tree, but in the authentic stories we uncover along the way.

 Curious about the truth behind your own family legends? Find guidance and story prompts inspired by this episode at CristaCowan.com/blog.

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🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

Not everyone stumbles on a photo of a relative hanging in a hotel bathroom, but Nicka Sewell-Smith isn’t just anyone. And, that’s not even the most interesting story she has to tell.  From family reunions to battles for tribal citizenship, Nicka reveals an American tale that challenges common narratives about Native American and African American history.  Her persistence and use of modern technology helped her document more than 4,000 descendants of formerly enslaved ancestors and uncover her family’s deep ties to the Cherokee Nation.  Join us as she shares these extraordinary discoveries.

Follow Nicka:
On Instagram @NeekSmith

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🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

Have you ever thought about how deeply you can trace your roots with just a simple DNA test?

Listen in on my conversation with Diahan Southard, a trailblazer in consumer genomics and the founder of Your DNA Guide.  She takes us through her story, starting as a microbiology student at Brigham Young University, continuing to her work with Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, leading to her pioneering role in the field of genetic genealogy education.  Sparked by the advice of a high school English teacher and a fascination with archaeogenetics, Diahan has not only played a role in advancing the field, she has also experienced the personal and emotional impact of DNA discoveries in her own family.  In this episode, she shares her journey and invites us to discover the unexpected stories hidden within our own DNA.

Follow Diahan:
YourDNAGuide.com
Instagram

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🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

For 43 years, Becky Ellis's father refused to speak about his World War II service — until one conversation at age 89 changed everything. What started with a simple "Dad, I want to know about the war" led to seven years of profound revelations that transformed not just their relationship, but Becky's understanding of herself. As her father finally shared his experiences as a Staff Sergeant in the 104th Infantry Division, she discovered how his 172 days of continuous combat shaped both his approach to parenting and her own life. Through their journey from silence to storytelling, Becky learned that sometimes the most powerful family connections emerge when we're brave enough to ask the hard questions and patient enough to listen to the answers.

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🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

Does the veil between worlds thin as October turns to November? I certainly think so.

Born on All Saints Day, my birthday celebrations always mingled with Halloween festivities.  But, it was my 18th birthday, spent cleaning up a vandalized cemetery that changed my perspective. Then, my 47th birthday spent experiencing Día de los Muertos in Mexico City and the dozens of birthdays in between that shaped my understanding of how these religious and cultural celebrations are a powerful way to connect generations.

Join me as I explore the fascinating intersection between my birth date, my calling as a genealogist, and the belief that during these autumn days, the veil between past and present grows uniquely thin. This personal story reveals why I believe there are no coincidences when it comes to our connections with family history.

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🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

A young girl sits at her Italian family's dinner table, absorbing stories of sea monsters, witches, and prohibition-era St. Louis — while her cousins run off to play. Today, that curious child has become Director of Brigham Young University’s Center for Family History and Genealogy.

Join me as Suzanne Russo Adams shares how listening to her grandfather's colorful tales sparked a lifelong passion that took her back to her family’s tiny Sicilian fishing village and around the globe to more than 100 archives worldwide. Between stories of immigrant resilience, mafia connections, and serendipitous research discoveries, Suzanne reveals how understanding her Italian roots helped her create deeper family bonds across generations. Whether your ancestors left carefully documented paper trails or whispered stories around the dinner table, this episode will inspire you to dig deeper into your family's unique narrative.

Learn more about Suzanne and the BYU Center for Family History and Genealogy:
https://history.byu.edu/directory/suzanne-adams

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🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

What if uncovering a family story you never knew could change the way you see yourself and the world? In 2019, Ancestry's documentary Railroad Ties revealed how the Underground Railroad connected descendants of the enslaved with those who fought for their freedom. Before listening to this powerful conversation, watch the film.

My guest Gayle George's journey began with a surprising invitation to be part of this documentary. What she discovered – from emotional court records of her great-grandmother to unmarked family graves – transformed her understanding of home, belonging, and legacy. Today, through the Weems the People Foundation, she helps other families uncover and preserve their own powerful stories.

This episode will inspire you to look deeper into your family's untold stories and the profound impact they can have on future generations.

Discover more about Gayle's work and the legacy of her ancestors at WeemsThePeople.org and Awakeningho.me.

〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️

🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

When someone asks where you're from, do you think of a place or the people? For me, that question took on new meaning when I unexpectedly burst into tears on a Glasgow train platform, feeling an inexplicable sense of coming home. In this episode, join me as I share the story of my three times great-grandfather, Samuel Mulliner, who left Scotland for Canada in 1830 and eventually made his way down into the U.S. and across the country with the Mormon pioneers. Through discovering thousands of living descendants, retracing his footsteps in Edinburgh, and understanding his legacy in Utah's early settlements, I've learned that "home" lives in both the places we inhabit and the stories we inherit. His remarkable tale of sacrifice, entrepreneurship, and faith – from his Scottish roots to his pioneering spirit in America – illuminates why family history holds such a profound place in my heart – and might just inspire you to explore what "coming home" means in your own family story.

〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️

🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

"Cowans show up for each other!" When seven cousins gather in a podcast studio after their Alaskan adventure, this family motto comes alive...

Join me and "the niblings" – my six nephews and one niece – just hours after returning from their first cousins-only cruise. From Corbin's birthday fireworks to Andrew's legendary seven-pancake breakfast, and Kaitlyn finding her place as the only girl among six boys, discover how a week at sea strengthened bonds that will last a lifetime. Through stories of Disney traditions, teenage solo adventures, and promises of future world travels, we explore how showing up for the moments that matter creates an unshakeable family foundation.

Whether they're giving one-word answers (they're teenagers, after all) or sharing heartfelt memories, these seven unique personalities demonstrate that family connection isn't just about being related – it's about being present.

Featuring Corbin (20), Gabe (18), Levi (16), Kaitlyn (14), Asher (14), Andrew (12), and Phin (11).

〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️

🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

What do Lake Como, Italy, a Jewish genealogy conference, and a surprise discovery in Chicago all have in common? They're woven together in a story that reminds us why family history matters — a story I shared in front of a live audience in August 2024 at the 44th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Philadelphia.

Listen in as I recount one of the most impactful moments of my genealogy career, when a determined French woman waited hours to talk to me at a similar conference back in 2012. Our time together was about more than just finding records. It was about restoring hope. Through this story, you'll discover how sometimes the most meaningful family connections emerge when we least expect them, and why no one is truly alone once we start uncovering our family stories.

〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️

🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.

🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.

♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!