Finding Families and Building Branches
Welcome! The Record Lady is Vanessa Wood, a professional genealogist and First Prize winner of the 2026 Missoula Public Library Family History Writing Contest. Vanessa does genealogical research and writing to solve family history questions and work through genealogical brick walls. She has 25+ articles published in journals including the NGS Quarterly, Tennessee Genealogical Society, Maryland Genealogical Society, and California Genealogical Society. She is the author of Pryor Wives, a unique surname study, and Board in Venice, highlighting the story of a Southern California boarding house, its landlords and boarders.
What question sprouted from your family tree? Ask Vanessa
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