Roger Phillip Minert was born on March 8th, 1952, in Lincoln, Nebraska. From the age of 19 to 23, Roger lived in West Germany and Austria. He went on to study German at Brigham Young University, graudating with a BA in 1977. After teaching German at a high school and working as a financial analyst for a few years, he earned his MA in German Literature from Ohio State University and later a PhD in German language history from the same school. He later became a professor of family history at BYU.

Roger has written over 120 books and articles on German language and history, and spoken at numerous genealogy conferences. He is especially well-known for his work as a professional genealogist. Roger married Jeanne Gardner. They have four daughters.