The Family Tree Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Uncovering Your Ancestry and Researching Genealogy

The popularity of studying our family history has been fueled by popular TV shows like Genealogy Roadshow, Finding Your Roots, and Who Do You Think You Are? The ability to access records online has opened up the one time hobby for genealogy enthusiasts to the mainstream.

Companies like Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, Findmypast.com, and MyHeritage have spent millions of dollars making records available around the world. DNA technology continues to evolve and provides the instant gratification that we have become use to as a society. But then the question remains, what does that really mean?

Knowing your ancestry is more than just ethnic percentages it’s about creating and building a story about your family history. The Family Tree Toolkit is designed to help you navigate the sometimes overwhelming and sometimes treacherous waters of finding your ancestors.

Here is a roadmap to help you on this journey of discovery, whether you are looking for your African Asian, European, or Jewish ancestry. The Family Tree Toolkit guides you on how and where to begin, what records are available both online and in repositories, what to do once you find the information, how to share your story and of course DNA discoveries.

Kenyatta D. Berry began her genealogical journey whilst in law school studying at the State Library of Michigan in Lansing. A frequent lecturer, writer and television personality, Berry focuses on African American Genealogy, Slave Ancestral Research, and DNA. She has been featured in numerous publications, most notably, Black Enterprise and Wall Street Journal. Berry serves as the 2019 Honorary Chair of Preservation Week for the American Library Association.

Berry is also the host of Genealogy Roadshow, which is generating quite the buzz surrounding her expertise in the field of genealogy by colleagues and supporters. She consistently surprises and inspires people across the nation with information about their lives that they may not otherwise have access to. As the demand grows for people to learn more about their lineage and DNA, Berry remains deeply engrossed in her pursuit of knowledge and uses it to continually educate and inform. She lives in Santa Monica, California.