Laney Smith

Laney Smith is a certified genealogist and owner of Legacy Lane Genealogy in Fillmore County. She shares local history and family stories through her work and her podcast, Roots & Riddles, highlighting the rich and often overlooked heritage of southeastern Minnesota.

Author's Archive

Woman with brown hair and blue eyes leans on her right hand. Behind her in the background is an enlarged photo of her book cover.

Local Story of Surviving Abuse Premieres Nationally on PBS

A new PBS Independent Lens documentary, Keep Quiet and Forgive, tells the story of Southeast Minnesota author and survivor-advocate Lizzie Hershberger. The film premieres nationally March 23 and will also screen locally in Spring Grove.

Historic log cabin in winter, partially covered in snow, with weathered wooden walls, small windows and bare trees casting long shadows across a snowy rural yard.

Southern Minnesota’s Near-Miss: The Children’s Blizzard Revisited

Laney Smith revisits the historic and devastating Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888 and how the experience reshaped how Minnesota deals with snowstorms.

Display case featuring Brevet Brigadier General Judson W. Bishop’s Civil War sword, informational placard, and small U.S. flag at the Fillmore County History Center in Fountain, Minnesota.

Civil War Hero Judson W. Bishop, Instrumental in Building Fillmore County’s Future

On the occasion of Veterans Day, Laney Smith uncovers the story of Chatfield’s Judson W. Bishop whose legacy includes Civil War leader, engineer, newspaperman and visionary who helped shape Fillmore County, Minn.