The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast

RLP 387: Revisiting the Father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston - Part 1 Objective

Dec 8, 2025

Diana shares her intricate journey to uncover the father of Cynthia Dillard Royston. She discusses testing the hypothesis around George W. Dillard, eliminating several candidates along the way. A breakthrough occurs with DNA analysis pointing to a cluster linked to Elijah Dillard. The discovery of Cynthia's husband in Cass County, Georgia, shifts the focus, sparking a new objective: to find a Dillard candidate from the 1830s in that area. It’s a masterclass in tackling genealogy's toughest challenges through rigorous research.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Set A Focused Research Objective

Define a clear research objective before diving back into a case.
Review past work thoroughly to know what to test next.

INSIGHT

Proximity Isn't Proof Of Parentage

Documentary proximity and plausible interactions create reasonable hypotheses but don't prove parentage.
Absence of direct records means you must eliminate alternatives, not assume the nearest candidate is correct.

ADVICE

Eliminate Candidates Systematically

Systematically identify and eliminate all plausible candidates using available records.
Use census, wills, and local marriage registers to rule people in or out.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Nicole and Diana give an overview of Diana's multi-phase research to discover the father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Diana first reviews four past phases of her research. She discusses Phase 1, which initially focused on George W. Dillard as a strong candidate, and Phase 2, which identified and eliminated ten other Dillard candidates in the area. Both of these documentary-based hypotheses are eventually disproven. She then outlines Phase 3, where she successfully tests and disproves a false ThruLine DNA hypothesis that suggested Hopson Milner was the father. Next, Phase 4 adds DNA analysis to the quest, leading to a cluster of matches with a most recent common ancestor of Elijah Dillard, who is a possible brother or cousin to Cynthia. The project then pivots to Phase 5, based on a new record that places Cynthia's husband, Thomas B. Royston, in Cass County, Georgia, around the likely time of their marriage. This new location in Cass County, where early records were destroyed by fire, provides a new research objective: to discover a Dillard candidate residing there in the 1830s. Listeners learn how to methodically work through a complex brick wall by testing and eliminating both documentary and DNA hypotheses in a focused, systematic process.

This summary was generated by Google Gemini.

Links

Revisiting the Father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston: Part 1 Objective - https://familylocket.com/revisiting-the-father-of-cynthia-dillard-royston-part-1-objective/

Sponsor – Newspapers.com

For listeners of this podcast, Newspapers.com is offering new subscribers 20% off a Publisher Extra subscription so you can start exploring today. Just use the code "FamilyLocket" at checkout.

Research Like a Pro Resources

Airtable Universe - Nicole's Airtable Templates - https://www.airtable.com/universe/creator/usrsBSDhwHyLNnP4O/nicole-dyer

Airtable Research Logs Quick Reference - by Nicole Dyer - https://familylocket.com/product-tag/airtable/

Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide book by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com - https://amzn.to/2x0ku3d

14-Day Research Like a Pro Challenge Workbook - digital - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-digital-only/ and spiral bound - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-spiral-bound/

Research Like a Pro Webinar Series - monthly case study webinars including documentary evidence and many with DNA evidence - https://familylocket.com/product-category/webinars/

Research Like a Pro eCourse - independent study course - https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-e-course/

RLP Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-study-group/

Research Like a Pro Institute Courses - https://familylocket.com/product-category/institute-course/

Research Like a Pro with DNA Resources

Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist's Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence book by Diana Elder, Nicole Dyer, and Robin Wirthlin - https://amzn.to/3gn0hKx

Research Like a Pro with DNA eCourse - independent study course - https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-ecourse/

RLP with DNA Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-study-group/

Thank you

Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following:

Write a review on iTunes or Apple Podcasts. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you!

Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below.

Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

Subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcast app.

Check out this list of genealogy podcasts from Feedspot: Best Genealogy Podcasts - https://blog.feedspot.com/genealogy_podcasts/