IGHR 2012-Day 3

Today has been a good day. The morning started out with two sessions from Craig Scott. His first lecture was on Military Research Strategies. Various record groups were pointed out and the benefits of the material that can be found in them. Craig said that many people stop their research after getting the Compiled Military Service Cards and Pension Records. However, there are so many other possibilities to learn more about your military ancestors and their lives!

The next lecture by Craig was still on Military Research Strategies, but this one focused more on the details of Pension research. The emphasis was on Record Group 217. Ultimately the underlying theme is for you to consider what relationship your ancestors had with the government. Once you figure that out, you will have ideas of what records to explore. The idea is that this interaction will have created paperwork. This paperwork will give details about your ancestor and what transpired in their life, giving a fuller and more detailed story.

After lunch we spent the afternoon with Elizabeth. The focus of both sessions was on land records. I was looking forward to these sessions. I've worked with land records, am familiar with the metes and bounds measuring system, and I generally enjoy working with them. First the public land states were covered and then the state land states were covered. Elizabeth gave basic strategies of working with both and her examples showcased these strategies. This made it easy to understand. She says to plat each piece of ancestral land. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it can solve some of your brick wall problems.

We ended the day with reviewing our homework assignment to be done for this evening. It involves locating and identifying a published Government Document. Elizabeth reviewed the various elements she wanted to be included in the assignment, and then sent us on our way.

The cafeteria tonight was pleasantly quiet and easy to navigate. Our table had a discussion about Second Life and the benefits of going to the Just Genealogy center within it. Then it was time for the evening sessions. I have to admit that I skipped these tonight. I was anxious to get started on the homework, and unsure of how much time it would take to complete it. Surprisingly it didn't take too long and I hope to get a little more sleep tonight. Tomorrow will of course be another full day.