Welcome to Appalachian Genealogy & History
I am Misty Hamilton Smith, and for decades I have been the person who goes looking anyway. Some families left almost nothing behind, just a name scratched into a deed or a mark on a census page, sometimes only a grave with no stone. I have spent my career chasing those scraps through courthouse basements, land-grant archives, and the deep cultural memory of the mountains because the people behind them deserve to be found.
I founded Appalachian Genealogy & History in 1998. My work rests on a BA in American History, more than 28 years of professional genealogical research focused on the Appalachian region, and more than 40 years as a storyteller.
Free Subscriber Benefits
Every post, every issue, every series. The Research Vault, Appalachian Life and Lore, and Migration and Settlement all arrive in your inbox without restriction. The podcast is yours. So is the full YouTube channel and the Facebook community.
Paid Subscriber Benefits
Everything free subscribers receive, plus three things that go deeper.
The Resource Library. A research companion publishes alongside nearly every post, covering the full breadth of Appalachian genealogy across thirteen states. Standalone ebooks from Appalachian Press are included as well. The library has been building for two years and it keeps growing.
Subscriber Chat. Specific record problems, county-level questions, brick walls that need a second set of eyes. This is where the real research conversations happen.
The Ancestor Deep Dive. Once a year, paid subscribers may submit an ancestor for a full research investigation, published as a dedicated post. Professional genealogical research, worked through primary sources, with the findings shown in full.
Paid subscription: $15 per month or $144 per year
Read more about the project at appalachiangenealogy.com/about.html.
Come Find Your People
If your family came from these mountains, or passed through them on their way somewhere else, there is something here for you. Subscribe and bring your brick walls. The records know more than you think.
Thank you so much for supporting our publication.
The mountains remember because people like you refuse to let them forget.
🎙️ The Podcast — free for everyone
📺 The Videos — free for everyone
📚 The Resource Library — downloadable research companions included with every paid subscription
