Many of us would love to start our research by locating a book talking about our family and giving us great clues, such as DNA, as to our heritage. Well, if you belong to the Gist, Guest, Guess and McNeil families, you are in luck. After many years of research, Sheri McNeil Savory has released three volumes about these family lines! I recently had a chance to read her first release, "Volume I - A Face to My Name: DNA, Gist, Guest, Guess, McNeil Families and Ties to Royalty".

In her preface she write, ”Come along with me as I share the details of my life as a genealogist on this fascinating journey, and explore with me throughout this work. It will be a wild ride for everyone who reads this book. I have dedicated my entire life to the study of Y-DNA with an emphasis on the bloodline and history of the Gist and McNeil families, and I totally support my findings with Y-DNA evidence. What is this DNA technology that I am referring to here? Let me explain it through my work."

What got me personally interested in Sheri’s book was the name of Christopher Gist. I knew it sounded familiar, so I went to review my own family history. My grandmother’s youngest brother married a Gann, and her 2nd great grandfather was Christopher Gist born around the 1800’s. I became interested in extending her lines and these books will be the key in helping me break through this brick wall.

The table of contents reads as follows:

• Dedicated
• Table of Contents
• Table of Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Family Connections
• Chapter Two: Gist Y-DNA Study Group 1
• Chapter Three: Gist Y-DNA Study Group 2
• Chapter Four: McNeil and Gist FTDNA Communication
• Chapter Five: Royal Lines
• Chapter Six: Clan McNeil, Campbell and DNA
• Chapter Seven: Y-DNA and Research Worksheets
• About the Author
• Bibliography
• England and Spanish Personal Worksheets
• Index

As I read through the book, I found the family lineages to be very helpful. Some of the families discussed are

• Richard Gist & Zipporah Murray
• Christopher Gist & Mary McNutt
• Aaron Gist & Nancy
• Major Thomas Gist
• Harold Wallon Gist
• Many other families & names

What makes this so fascinating is the use of DNA in the documentation. Sheri has an index to Volume I on her website.

Sheri McNeil Savory is a professional genealogists and author for over twenty-five years. Some of her articles have been published in the Gest-Guest Quarterly and genealogy blogs. She works closely with the FamilyTreeDNA projects and is a sought out speaker in this field. The study of DNA and family bloodlines dominate her presentations as she inspires others through her tenacity and persistence while searching for clues to the past. She is the owner of Stars Publishing. Through her website, you can find services she offers in Print (Books, Book covers, Packaging, Promotion, Marketing, Education, Book design, Advertising, Success), Film (Consultation, Concept, Development, Production, Budget, Funding, Promotion, Writing, Film making, Photography, Success) and Boot Camp (Writing, Editing, Publishing, Production, Graphic design, Travel, Research, Webinars, Speaking engagements).

You can purchase her books direct at Stars Publishing. So, if you are researching the Gist, Guest, Guess ( or other variations of this surname) or McNeil, this is a must have book in discovering your family heritage. Reviews of Sheri McNeil Savory’s other volumes of work will be published soon at Genealogy at BellaOnline.com:

• Vol. II - A Face to My Name: Identifying the American Gist, Guess, Guest families - A Study Companion to Vol I
• Vol. III - A Face to My Name: Allen Love, Colbert, Powell, McVay, Gist, Guest, Guess and Related Families of NC, SC, GA, TN, AL, MS, AR, OK and TX - Murder, Slavery, Chickasaw Leaders, Chickasaw Treaties and Removal,- Family of William Still "Father of the Underground Railroad"