Discover the people, places, and stories that shaped your family history.
Rooted is the only genealogy school built specifically for African American and First American descendants — guiding you step by step through the records, DNA, and oral histories that bring your people's story back to life.
Your ancestors survived the unthinkable to get you here — the very least we can do is learn their names and make sure they're never lost again.— Your Knowledge Team
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Build a documented, source-verified family tree stretching back at least three generations using genealogy software and research timelines.
- Navigate specialized African American records — including Freedmen's Bureau files, Freedman's Bank records, and plantation documents — to trace ancestors across the 1870 research wall.
- Identify and research potential First American tribal connections using Dawes Rolls, Bureau of Indian Affairs records, and reservation files while respecting tribal sovereignty.
- Interpret DNA ethnicity estimates and match lists to break through brick walls and map the African diaspora roots of your family.
- Conduct, record, and preserve oral history interviews with living relatives so no memory is lost.
- Create a lasting legacy project — a family history book, digital archive, or video history — to share your discoveries with the next generation.
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
10 modules · 50 lessons
Welcome to Your Ancestry Journey
Build a strong foundation of mindset, vocabulary, and planning before the first record is pulled.
- 1.1Why Family History MattersIncluded
- 1.2Setting Realistic ExpectationsIncluded
- 1.3Understanding Genealogy TermsIncluded
- 1.4Creating a Research PlanIncluded
- 1.5Avoiding Common Beginner MistakesIncluded
Start with What You Know
Mine your family's living memory, photos, and documents before opening a single database.
- 2.1How to Interview RelativesIncluded
- 2.2Questions to Ask EldersIncluded
- 2.3Collecting Photos, Bibles, Certificates, and LettersIncluded
- 2.4Recording Oral HistoriesIncluded
- 2.5Preserving Family MemoriesIncluded
Building Your Family Tree
Transform gathered information into a well-organized, source-verified family tree using the right tools.
- 3.1Choosing Genealogy SoftwareIncluded
- 3.2Building Generations SystematicallyIncluded
- 3.3Documenting SourcesIncluded
- 3.4Identifying Gaps in Your ResearchIncluded
- 3.5Creating Research TimelinesIncluded
Finding Ancestors Through Public Records
Locate and interpret the major historical document types available to all genealogical researchers.
- 4.1Census RecordsIncluded
- 4.2Birth, Marriage, and Death CertificatesIncluded
- 4.3Military RecordsIncluded
- 4.4Land and Property RecordsIncluded
- 4.5Newspaper ArchivesIncluded
African American Genealogy Research
Navigate the specialized records and strategies required to trace African American ancestors across the 1870 wall.
- 5.1Research Before and After 1870Included
- 5.2Freedmen's Bureau RecordsIncluded
- 5.3Freedman's Bank RecordsIncluded
- 5.4Plantation and Probate RecordsIncluded
- 5.5Enslavement-Era Research StrategiesIncluded
First American (Native American) Ancestry Research
Understand the unique records, institutions, and cultural responsibilities involved in Indigenous genealogy research.
- 6.1Tribal Citizenship Versus AncestryIncluded
- 6.2Dawes Rolls and Other Tribal RollsIncluded
- 6.3Bureau of Indian Affairs RecordsIncluded
- 6.4Reservation RecordsIncluded
- 6.5Respecting Tribal Traditions and SovereigntyIncluded
Understanding DNA Testing
Use DNA evidence as a powerful complement to paper records for breaking walls and mapping diaspora roots.
- 7.1Types of DNA TestsIncluded
- 7.2Understanding Ethnicity EstimatesIncluded
- 7.3DNA Matches and Relationship PredictionsIncluded
- 7.4African Diaspora DNA InterpretationIncluded
- 7.5Using DNA to Break Through Family MysteriesIncluded
Breaking Through Research Roadblocks
Develop targeted strategies for the most common and frustrating obstacles in African American and Native American genealogy.
- 8.1Missing RecordsIncluded
- 8.2Name Changes and Spelling VariationsIncluded
- 8.3Adoption and Unknown ParentageIncluded
- 8.4Researching Migration PatternsIncluded
- 8.5Verifying Family LegendsIncluded
Connecting the Dots
Synthesize records and DNA into richly contextualized ancestor stories and family narratives.
- 9.1Creating Ancestor ProfilesIncluded
- 9.2Understanding Historical ContextIncluded
- 9.3Mapping Family MigrationsIncluded
- 9.4Writing Family NarrativesIncluded
- 9.5Identifying Themes Across GenerationsIncluded
Preserving Your Legacy
Package your discoveries into lasting legacy projects that share your family's story with generations to come.
- 10.1Creating a Family History BookIncluded
- 10.2Organizing Digital ArchivesIncluded
- 10.3Building a Family WebsiteIncluded
- 10.4Recording Video HistoriesIncluded
- 10.5Planning Family Reunions Around AncestryIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
The Brother Tracing His Roots
You've inherited old photos and a family Bible with names you can't quite place — Rooted shows you exactly how to turn those fragments into a documented, living family tree.
The 1870 Wall Hitter
Your research grinds to a halt before emancipation — this school teaches you the Freedmen's Bureau files, plantation records, and DNA strategies built to push through exactly that wall.
The Grandchild on a Mission
Your grandparents are aging and their stories are irreplaceable — Rooted gives you the oral history tools to capture those voices before they're gone forever.
The DNA Results Puzzle
You've taken a DNA test but the ethnicity percentages and match list feel like a foreign language — learn to read them through the specific lens of African diaspora and First American research.
The Family Story Preserver
You've gathered years of research notes and want to turn them into something real — a book, a digital archive, a video history your whole family can hold onto for generations.
The Tribal Connection Seeker
Family lore says there's Native American ancestry somewhere in your line — Rooted teaches you to research Dawes Rolls and BIA records honestly and respectfully, separating legend from documented truth.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Your Knowledge Team
If you've ever stared at a census record and felt the ache of a name you almost recognize — or sat across from an elder and realized you never asked the questions that mattered most — then I know exactly where you are. I've been there too. And I want you to know: what you're feeling isn't just curiosity. It's calling.
Our communities carry histories that were systematically disrupted — through enslavement, forced removal, name changes, burned courthouses, and records that were never kept in the first place. The mainstream genealogy world wasn't built with us in mind. Most of the advice out there works beautifully until about 1870, and then it just… stops. I built Rooted because you deserve more than that. You deserve a path that was made for your story.
This school teaches the specific records, strategies, and tools that actually work for African American and First American research. We go into Freedmen's Bureau files and Freedman's Bank records. We work through Dawes Rolls and BIA documents thoughtfully and honestly. We interpret DNA match lists through the lens of the African diaspora. And we start — always — with the living: the relatives who hold pieces of this story in their memory right now, and the interviews that can capture those pieces before they're gone.
I want to be honest with you about something: this work is not always easy. You will find things that hurt. You may sit with a plantation inventory and see your great-great-grandmother listed as property. You may discover that a family legend doesn't hold up to the records. I teach you how to move through those moments — with clear eyes, with historical context, and with the deep respect these ancestors deserve. The difficulty of the work is part of the honor of it.
What I promise you is this: by the time you finish Rooted, you will not be the same researcher — or the same family member — you were when you started. You'll have a documented, source-verified tree. You'll have skills that will serve you for the rest of your life. And you'll have something to hand to the next generation: proof that your people existed, that they endured, and that someone cared enough to find them.
Your ancestors kept themselves alive through everything the world threw at them. The least we can do is learn their names. Come learn them with me.
— Your Knowledge Team
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- 10 modules, 50 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed