DISCOVER YOUR KIN.
ABOUT ME
My name is Shannon (Smith) Hames, founder of Kindred Snapshots. With more than 20 years of hands-on genealogy research and a B.A. in Anthropology from Colorado State University, I combine careful archival work with DNA-informed methods to help families discover and preserve their stories.
My work emphasizes clear documentation and practical outcomes: sourced research reports, searchable research logs, and presentation-ready heirloom books you can share at reunions. I follow ethical, professional standards and make pricing and process transparent, so you always know what to expect.
If you’re not sure where to start, book a 30-minute Research Triage and we'll work together to scope out your project and choose the best next step.
ABOUT ME
My name is Shannon (Smith) Hames, founder of Kindred Snapshots. With more than 20 years of hands-on genealogy research and a B.A. in Anthropology from Colorado State University, I combine careful archival work with DNA-informed methods to help families discover and preserve their stories.
My work emphasizes clear documentation and practical outcomes: sourced research reports, searchable research logs, and presentation-ready heirloom books you can share at reunions. I follow ethical, professional standards and make pricing and process transparent, so you always know what to expect.
If you’re not sure where to start, book a 30-minute Research Triage and we'll work together to scope out your project and choose the best next step.
ABOUT KINDRED SNAPSHOTS
Kindred Snapshots helps families discover, document, and share their histories in a friendly, no-nonsense way. Whether you want a quick viability check, a researched family line, or a reunion-ready booklet, you’ll get a clear, evidence-based report, digital copies of records found, and simple next steps.
Our packages are organized by commitment and outcome so you can pick what fits your needs. Here's the quick and simple about how our package tiers work:
All packages focus on outcomes with documented searches, copies of records found, and clear next steps. Every project is unique.
Kindred Snapshots helps families discover, document, and share their histories in a friendly, no-nonsense way. Whether you want a quick viability check, a researched family line, or a reunion-ready booklet, you’ll get a clear, evidence-based report, digital copies of records found, and simple next steps.
Our packages are organized by commitment and outcome so you can pick what fits your needs. Here's the quick and simple about how our package tiers work:
- Try it out: Book a 30-min Research Triage ($35) or Explorer micro-check ($85) to see if records are likely and scope out next steps and obstacles to your family discoveries.
- Starter: Kindred Snapshot ($180) gives a clear, documented start with a pedigree sketch and a glimpse into the identities of your ancestors.
- Core research: Foundations ($540) digs deeper across generations with a sourced report.
- Complex and/or in-depth: Ancestor Deep Dive (from $1,350) traces a family line back to the immigrant ancestors. This option is also great for more complex family mysteries.
- Heirloom Books (custom quotes) are keepsake booklets to honor the legacy of your ancestors, pass down to future generations, or perhaps have on hand for family reunions.
- Flexible options: DNA consults and hourly research at $45/hr for custom or open-ended projects.
All packages focus on outcomes with documented searches, copies of records found, and clear next steps. Every project is unique.
ABOUT THE BLOG
This site was first created to host a repository of photographs and document my research into my own family history. Since then, it has expanded to include offering to help others uncover the lives and stories of their ancestors. However, I continue to maintain the blog with its original intention, not only because I think the research may be valuable to others researching the same people, but also because it can give clients some insight into the types of discoveries that I can find.
I have thousands of physical photos that I don't want lost to time or stuck in someone's closet without others having access to them. As I continue to digitize the photos and do family history research, I also come across archived newspaper articles and other documents. When I learn the stories of our ancestors, I want to share them, so this has also become a place for us to meet our kin.
Some of the photos here have unidentified individuals and I am hoping that we can all fill in some of the mysteries. I also hope that if you are family, you find some previously undiscovered gems. Please use the comments section on each blog page frequently!
Photographs and documents hosted here are from eight main family lines, stretching both back in time as well as into the future from the couples listed here:
COLEMAN | ANDERSON - Edward S. COLEMAN (1873-1947) and Lizzie Ellen ANDERSON (1877-1900)
CARR | MOORE - Thomas James CARR (1871-1920) and Bessie May MOORE (1878-1928)
KIDDER | FREEMAN - Albert A. KIDDER (1869-1946) and Grace Elton FREEMAN (1879-1972)
McGINNIS | HASSTEDT - John Luther McGINNIS (1877-1941) and Julia Margaret HASSTEDT (1881-1973)
LEE | BALES - Cecil Byron "Ted" BALES (1893-1970) and Hazel Jennie LEE (1892-1975)
SMITH | HERVEY - Robert Lyman SMITH (1889-1979) and Gladys Louise HERVEY (1891-1930)
AUSTIN | MOON - Richard Linford "Dick" "Roy" AUSTIN (1882-1939) and Ruthanna Faye MOON (1888-1971)
DAVIES | BISHARD - Richard Hatherly "Dick" DAVIES (1885-1958) and Elsie Belle BISHARD (1890-1966)
I've done my best to keep everything sorted by these general lines, but as my research expands, the list of names tends to grow too.
In addition to this page, I also keep records on ancestry.com to associate them with my work-in-progress tree. You may need an account to view them there. I am happy to share any particular files off-site as well.
Photos online are lower quality and not meant to be reprinted as they will be fuzzy. If you would like higher resolution photos, or even a thumb drive of all the photos of a particular line, please let me know and we will make it happen!
WELCOME, KINDRED.
This site was first created to host a repository of photographs and document my research into my own family history. Since then, it has expanded to include offering to help others uncover the lives and stories of their ancestors. However, I continue to maintain the blog with its original intention, not only because I think the research may be valuable to others researching the same people, but also because it can give clients some insight into the types of discoveries that I can find.
I have thousands of physical photos that I don't want lost to time or stuck in someone's closet without others having access to them. As I continue to digitize the photos and do family history research, I also come across archived newspaper articles and other documents. When I learn the stories of our ancestors, I want to share them, so this has also become a place for us to meet our kin.
Some of the photos here have unidentified individuals and I am hoping that we can all fill in some of the mysteries. I also hope that if you are family, you find some previously undiscovered gems. Please use the comments section on each blog page frequently!
Photographs and documents hosted here are from eight main family lines, stretching both back in time as well as into the future from the couples listed here:
COLEMAN | ANDERSON - Edward S. COLEMAN (1873-1947) and Lizzie Ellen ANDERSON (1877-1900)
CARR | MOORE - Thomas James CARR (1871-1920) and Bessie May MOORE (1878-1928)
KIDDER | FREEMAN - Albert A. KIDDER (1869-1946) and Grace Elton FREEMAN (1879-1972)
McGINNIS | HASSTEDT - John Luther McGINNIS (1877-1941) and Julia Margaret HASSTEDT (1881-1973)
LEE | BALES - Cecil Byron "Ted" BALES (1893-1970) and Hazel Jennie LEE (1892-1975)
SMITH | HERVEY - Robert Lyman SMITH (1889-1979) and Gladys Louise HERVEY (1891-1930)
AUSTIN | MOON - Richard Linford "Dick" "Roy" AUSTIN (1882-1939) and Ruthanna Faye MOON (1888-1971)
DAVIES | BISHARD - Richard Hatherly "Dick" DAVIES (1885-1958) and Elsie Belle BISHARD (1890-1966)
I've done my best to keep everything sorted by these general lines, but as my research expands, the list of names tends to grow too.
In addition to this page, I also keep records on ancestry.com to associate them with my work-in-progress tree. You may need an account to view them there. I am happy to share any particular files off-site as well.
Photos online are lower quality and not meant to be reprinted as they will be fuzzy. If you would like higher resolution photos, or even a thumb drive of all the photos of a particular line, please let me know and we will make it happen!
WELCOME, KINDRED.