Category: Research Page 13 of 14

Anything and all related to research

Online Educational Sources for Every Genealogist Part 1

On 25 November 2014

I have my first genealogy presentation today! I volunteered to do this for one of my genealogy groups, Twigs. It’s a spin-off group from my local genealogy society, the South Bend Area Genealogical Society. We meet once a month and discuss whatever topics we previously decided on. Then, one of our group does the research and brings the results to the group. I have a lot of fun in the group and I’m very excited to be able to give back tonight!

With that in mind, I also want to share my results with all of my online genealogy friends! I can’t cover everything in the hour I have for the presentation (because there is a lot!) so I’m just bringing you all what I’ll be talking about tonight. Feel free to leave a comment with anything that I missed!

My topics will cover:

Free Online Tutorials and Lessons
Online Genealogy Courses, Classes, and Lessons (these aren’t free unless stated as so)
Institutions and Conferences
Professional Genealogy Reading: Journals and Books
Genealogy Certification

So today I will start with the Free Online Tutorials and Lessons!

Cyndi’s List: This is a well known genealogical site and I know there aren’t free online tutorials or lessons specifically ON the site, but there is information on where to find the free online tutorials and lessons. It’s one of my go-to places when looking for new information and I love how much can be found through the website.
DearMyrtle: Besides Cydni’s List, this is probably the second genealogy related site I went to for more information. I absolutely love this website! Myrtle has been online since 1985 and has a lot of information on there for everyone including genealogy lessons and organization tips. Her YouTube channel is a wonderful resource to go to see her archived webinars as well. If you have the chance, you can also participate in her Monday’s with Myrt, which is done through Google+ and her website explains how to set that up so you’ll be prepared. Also, she has a wonderful GeneaWebinars Calendar where she has current information on upcoming webinars. She’s a wonderful resource to have as she keeps up with the online genealogy world wonderfully.
Geneabloggers: This is another site that doesn’t necessarily have lessons and webinars for genealogists, BUT it is a great resource for those who wish to start blogging or read other genealogy bloggers. They are a wonderful community!
Genealogy Gems: Lisa Louise Cooke is a pretty well-known genealogy podcaster. On her site she does offer a free e-newsletter and some of her podcasts and videos are also free. You can then have the option of trying out her videos/podcasts to see if it’s something you are interested in and are willing to pay the yearly fee.
Family Tree DNA Webinars: For people who would love to learn more about DNA, this website has webinars (archived and upcoming listed) on DNA. Including autosomal (what they call Family Finder), Y-DNA, and mitochondrial DNA. It’s a great place for genealogists who wish to learn more about DNA.
National Genealogical Society: Although I highly recommend becoming a member of NGS to take advantage of everything they offer, there are some free offerings on their website. The linked page gives three items that NGS calls tutorials – getting started, querying for results, and professional genealogy. All pages are relatively quick to read but the information is sound.
FamilySearch.org’s Learning Center: FamilySearch.org also has a great wiki site but they also have this great learning center. These are webinars/classes/courses that can last from 5 minutes to over an hour. There is a lot of FREE information for people to learn about through this website.
Illinois State Genealogical Society: Don’t be scared off by the name; you don’t need to have Illinois research in your family to find this site to be useful. Their webinars are free if you can watch them live (on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 8pm Central Time) and the information covers MANY genealogical items – like HeritageQuest, using Google Earth, Scandinavian Research, etc. If you want to see archived webinars, you would need to become a member.
Friends of the National Archives-Southeast Region: This is another website that hosts free webinars if you can watch them live (2nd Tuesday of the month at 2pm Eastern Time) and once again, these cover many genealogical items of interest. If you wish to see the archived webinars, you would again need to be a member.

I realize there is a lot more out there than just these 10 but I only have one hour to cover a lot of information, plus, I wanted to make sure that these could be relevant to everyone. Did I miss anything you think is important under this category? Or do you want to add to anything I mentioned? Leave a comment! 🙂

New Volunteer Adventures and St. Joseph County Genealogy Events

By NikiMarie

On 24 November 2014

In Research

Doesn’t that look exciting! These amazing letters were found in the basement of the Mishawaka Library. The librarian in charge of the genealogy/history section sent me a message about volunteering with these as well as other items she recently pulled up from the basement. Today I dug in. It’s uncertain who donated the letters but they were all written by one man writing to his wife from 1943-1945. I believe he wrote nearly every day (as you can tell by the stacks of letters!) and every letter started with Darling (I find that sweet!) I can’t wait to get more into these letters and see what they have in them.

If you’re in or near the St. Joseph County, Indiana area, here are the genealogical events happening this week!

24 November 2014 – Monday – 7-8:30pm – South Bend Area Genealogical Society meeting at Sunnyside Presbyterian Chuch (115 S. Frances St. South Bend, IN 46617) – the meeting will have a presentation titled “A Tale of Two Colonels” by John Hundley, a member of Sons of the American Revolution.
25 November 2014 – Tuesday – 7-8:30pm – Twigs from the Tree of Life meeting at Christ the King Lutheran Church (17195 Cleveland Rd, South Bend, IN) – the meeting is titled “Online Educational Resources for Every Genealogist” and will be presented by me 🙂 It will be about online tutorials, lessons, classes, courses, lessons, institutes, and conferences that can be taken or registered for online.

If you are in the area, come join our groups!

Christmas Truce

By NikiMarie

On 13 November 2014

In Research

World War I has been talked about more than I ever remember this year for its 100 year anniversary. Because I have a direct ancestor that died during World War I whom I know little about, I have a much bigger interest in that war than in others. My great-great grandfather, Frederick Langeneck, died while fighting for Austria-Hungary.(1)

I don’t know much about him. He came to America about 1907 (2) and stayed in Pennsylvania where he married Theresa Kibel (also from Austria Hungary) on 17 Jan 1910. (3) Six months later, his son, my great-grandfather named Frederick (Jr?), was born. (4) That makes me wonder if they married because she was pregnant or if they had planned on getting married anyway.

Sometime shortly after his son was born, they moved back to Austria-Hungary. Maybe there was the rumblings of war that made him return? I’m not sure. I do know another son, Karl, was born while they lived there but that Karl died sometime while there as well (so says the family rumor and the fact that he isn’t with his mother and brother in 1920 or ever again). (5)

Theresa and Frederick Jr. returned to the United States in 1920 and went to Michigan where her parents and siblings had moved to from Pennsylvania. (6) She was marked as a widow on the passenger list.

That’s all I for sure know about Frederick. I wish I knew more. Sadly, Langeneck is a popular name in that area and so is Frederick so I haven’t been able to pinpoint his parents or siblings. Also, the records are in German and I have had some help with the translation but so far, nothing that has told me more.

I had heard the story about the Christmas Truce during World War I and I saw this video today. It’s based on real letters and diaries that describe that time. Although this video is a chocolate advertisement, the history and story behind this made me tear up. I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe my great-great grandpa was a part of this and wonder what he saw that night.

I love that stories from World War I are getting a bit more notice right now.

Here’s the video, tell me what you think :

1)“Verlustliste Ausgegeben Am,” 9 June 1916, vol. 1916, periodical, Kramerius National Library of the Czech Republic, Kramerius National Library of the Czech Republic (http://kramerius.nkp.cz : accessed 13 Oct 2013), Friedrich Langneck, p. 32

2) “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Feb 2014), entry for Friedrich Lenzeuck, aboard Kroonland, Antwerp, Belgium to New York, New York, arriving 5 Mar 1907; citing Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, National Archives at Washington D.C. microfilm publication T715, roll 0838.

3) Mercer County, Pennsylvania, Marriage License Docket 11:10755, 1910, Fred Longenick and Teresia Kibel, recorded license; County Clerk’s Office, Mercer; index and digital image, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 13 Nov 2014), FHL 004838956.

4)Frederick Langeneck, birth certificate [short form] no. 123372-1910 (1910), Pennsylvania Department of Health – Vital Records, Harrisburg.

5) Evangelical Church (Nova Pazova, Serbia), Central State Archive Stuttgart Taufen (Baptisms) 1900-1939, Karl Langeneck baptism (1916), FHL microfilm 1340294.

6) “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Feb 2014), entry for Terezia Langenek, aboard Caronia, Cherbourg to New York, New York, leaving 20 Dec 1920; citing Supplemental Manifests of Alien Passengers and Crew Members Who Arrived on Vessels at New York, New York, Who Were Inspected for Admission, and Related Index, compiled 1887-1952; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service 1787-2004, National Archives at Washington D.C. microfilm publication T715, roll 2901, image 1138.

Thankful Thursday: Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program

By Nichelle Barra

On 4 September 2014

In Research

As I mentioned in a previous post, I complete the Boston University’s 15 week course called the Genealogical Research Certificate Program. I had heard this program was intense and hard but incredibly worth it for those wishing to bring their genealogy to a more professional level. I’ll break down what the course entails and give you my review of it.

The course is broken up into five modules. Each module is run by a different set of instructors and assistants. The five modules are:

Foundations of Genealogical Research: This covers some of the basics of genealogy like kinship, genealogical methods, genealogy standards, documentation (which gets more in depth later), finding information, documents to find them in, and the research process.
Problem-Solving Techniques and Technology: Self-explanatory really
Evidence Evaluation and Documentation: This course was taught by Tom Jones and I was VERY excited about it since genealogy citations are hard for me as I am used to a basic format like in MLA, APA, or even Chicago.
Forensic Genealogical Research: This focuses on some of the fields that genealogists can find themselves working in as well as ethics, finding the most efficient path to a solution, and thinking like a genealogist. This was probably my favorite module.
Professional Genealogy: again, self explanatory

There are about 30 students in a class and as each module goes along, there are readings (online and in the required books), discussions, and assignments. These are graded and you need at least a C in every module and a final grade of a B- to earn the certificate.

Not only do you get to meet and work with some wonderful classmates who are just as genealogy obsessed as you, but you also get to learn from some of the best genealogy minds that are out there! Besides the mentioned Tom Jones, Elissa Powell (the current president of BCG) also taught two of the courses. There was also Allison Ryall, and Melinde Lutz Byrne. You can read about all of the instructors accomplishments here. We also had a range of assistants with great experiences who had such wonderful and interesting stories to share. I learned from them all and they were all wonderful instructors.

So my overall expectations were that this would be a time-consuming class (20-30 hours of work a week) with hard work, but that it was incredibly beneficial. These expectations were all met and even exceeded! The course work IS really 20-30 hours of work a week. I read through every chapter, even the recommended ones or the ones we were told we could skim, and kept notes on ALL of my readings. So perhaps, if you weren’t as attentive to detail like that, you could work through the course work faster as I know several of my colleagues did. However, I learn best by reading everything I can and taking notes; it helps me to understand fully. Since this is my chosen career, I did not want to miss a thing!

The homework is difficult. There’s no way around that. I felt myself unsure about my assignments whenever I turned them in and always felt like second-guessing on what I turned in. This seemed to be a common feeling too among my classmates. It was the first time I had ever done work like that and I was unsure of the expectations (even with all the examples and directions). Now this is probably just me as I was always that type of student in school: the over-doer and over-achiever. However, the comments and the work are probably some of the best things I received from the class. We did do client reports with a time limit (like genealogists have for clients) and I made sure to write the report as if I was honestly doing it for a client. The remarks and grade I received on that assignment made me feel very good about the work I did and feel like I was doing good professional genealogy work. Again, as this is my chosen career, I am VERY happy to have this time to practice and confirmation that yes, I can do this and do it well.

My expectations were exceeded when it came to how valuable I found this class. I loved the learning, the assignments, the real-life practice, the discussions, and getting to know other like-minded people. I know this may sound weird, but I really do miss this class. I hope my time on the ProGen waiting list won’t be too long!

The one drawback to this course is the cost. There are recommended books which may change over the years but those books can be costly. I already had all the books though as they are considered some of the must-haves for genealogy like Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills, Professional Genealogy edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, Mastering Genealogical Proof by Tom Jones, and Genealogy Standards 50th Anniversary Edition from the Board for Certification of Genealogists. For me, this was a moot point since I already had them. However, the course itself is expensive. Being a part of the National Genealogical Society, Association of Professional Genealogists, or the New England Historical Genealogical Society does get a discount, which I also used. I feel it’s money well spent.

After my five years of college (changing your major 3 times does do that sometimes) and all of its costs, I learned more in this course then I did in ANY of mine from college. I don’t mean I learned more about genealogy, I mean learning in general. My college courses were fine and I did learn a lot, but this had such practical application and you had to do the work you intended to do in the future, that I found this course to be so much more valuable. I was an education major and NONE of my courses (besides student teaching) prepared me for my chosen career like this one did.

One last thing – I am NOT a certified genealogist. I earned my certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. There is a difference. I still plan on becoming certified through BCG after ProGen is completed. I am currently on the wait list for ProGen and while I am waiting (and while I am taking it), I am going to take on clients and get as much experience as I can to help me to become successfully certified. This means that besides taking on clients, I will also be writing articles and lecturing.

That was a long post! I thank all of you who read through that. 🙂 If you have any questions on the coursework, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help you!