IGHR 2013 - Day 5

Today was the last day of IGHR. However, this morning we had two presentations. Our first lecture was given by Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck on Colonial and State Bounty Land. This covered land received for participating in the various wars and skirmishes before the Revolutionary War. It was a fascinating overview of history that was just the tip of the iceberg. Lloyd is clearly an expert in this field and is a wealth of information.

Our second and last lecture was given by Christine Rose on Bounty Land Records. This covered the land awarded to people who participated in wars and skirmishes after the Revolutionary War and before the Civil War. Christine stressed many times the importance of being familiar with U.S. Statutes. The Statutes determined who could get land and when, ie. soldiers, widows, other heirs, and turning in a land warrant for script. Christine paid particular attention to Ohio and Virginia, as those two states have some issues that are unique to dealing with land and the Revolutionary War soldiers.

After the lecture we were awarded our certificates of completion, traded business cards, and said our good-byes. I finished packing up my car and headed to our last lunch on campus. This was such a great week and I am sad to see it end. Not only is it a great learning experience, but I get to catch up with my friends and colleagues many of whom I only see at IGHR.

On the drive home I reflected on my week. I realized how much I have grown as a genealogist in the past year. I measured this based on how much I was able to understand in lectures and social discussions on the topic. I was also seeking out sources in the libraries while on campus, with an understanding that I hadn't fully grasped in previous years. Having said that there is a lot more to learn. I have many new sources to study and seek out. I'm already looking forward to next year and the new learning experience that will bring.

IGHR 2013 - Day 4

Today we spent the entire day of our land class with J. Mark Lowe learning about Land Platting. This was a treat. Mark is entertaining and has a way of explaining things that involve the class which helps illustrate a topic for understanding. For example; when explaining what metes are, he had a few of us stand up, to represent the metes. The lines connecting us would be the bounds. Metes and bounds land surveys are for the most part are found in state land (colonial) states, with some exceptions.

Mark also went through a few steps of drawing a tract map based on the "calls" (compass directions) that are found in a deed or elsewhere. We got some tips on how to determine the scale, how to mark North on the paper, and what else to include with our plat. Altogether we platted 4 deeds. To some it may not sound like much fun, but it happens to be an activity that I enjoy. I love working with land. Land is concrete. I find this oddly comforting. Land doesn't pick up and move around the country dodging the census taker, the tax man, or go into some strange void.

Our class let out a little early, so I decided to once again look at the BCG portfolio materials. Why am I torturing myself with this? Well the day before I had been pressed for time, and didn't get to view one of the portfolios I was really interested in viewing. I also hadn't been able to fully view a small binder of judge's comments on various portfolios. First I just looked at the comments. I think this is a great idea on the part of BCG to have gathered these for viewing. The binder contained examples of "approved" and "disapproved" for certification portfolio reviews. These sheets do not accompany the portfolio, so I was only able to view the critiques. I was relieved to discover not all of the "approved for certification" critique sheets had passing marks for every rubric. There were some areas (very few) that an applicant "did not meet standard." However, the judge took into consideration the entire portfolio, and the level of skill demonstrated throughout all of the assignments. The portfolio I viewed had a really good example of the Kinship Determination Project (KDP). I enjoyed the direct approach this portfolio displayed and felt like it was a less complicated style than some other examples I have seen.

Our dinner tonight was the banquet that is always held on the last evening of IGHR. It tends to be a fairly jovial affair, as attendees have a general feeling of accomplishment for the week. The keynote speaker tonight was Julie Hedgepeth Williams who has written A Rare Titanic Family, which was the subject of the presentation. Julie narrated an incredible tale of her great-uncle, his wife, and their child that survived the Titanic disaster. It involved some interesting research on her part and was a wonderful story.

During the banquet tonight a rather heavy storm front moved through. This seems to be an annual part of the IGHR experience. Fortunately it was over by the time the banquet was. Once I got back to the dorm I did a little packing in preparation for leaving tomorrow. This week has passed quickly and I'm sad to see it end. However, tomorrow morning we still have two more lectures before receiving our certificates of completion. When it comes to genealogy research there is always more to learn!

IGHR 2013- Day 3

Today was packed full of information. We started out the morning with a lecture by Angela McGhie on Using Tract Books. These are books that recorded first purchases or attempts at purchasing land in the Federal states. Angela showed us the formula of how to figure out where to look in these books for our ancestors. It can be slightly complicated and tedious if you don't know exactly where your ancestor settled. However, this is a great resource and I was so excited to learn about it. Even better, Angela told us that Family Search has digitized all of the books, with the exception for those in Missouri and Alaska. Our next morning session was spent in the computer lab with Rick Sayre. He walked us through the Bureau of Land Management site along with a few other sites. This session was very interesting and easily could have been longer.

After lunch, we had another session with Rick on Land Records in the Serial Set, American State Papers, and Territorial Papers and other Government Documents. This was a wonderful session. We saw examples of why all of these sources can be valuable in our genealogical research. Rick showed us various ways to access these sources online. It was interesting that different sites can give you varying results for a search term. Go figure. Now I have to say I searched a little bit tonight for my ancestors and had okay results. I will have to search more at a later date, when I'm not so tired.

Next, Christine Rose presented Inheritance. This was about....you guessed it...the law of inheritance. Christine covered terms such as; entail, primogeniture, dower and curtesy. She explained the loopholes around the law of inheritance in the Colonial era and some laws that were specific to Virginia.

Before dinner tonight I briefly viewed a BCG portfolio. This portfolio was outstanding and I felt totally intimidated. The portfolios that the BCG usually display are the best of the best. The cream of the crop if you will. However, I have to admit to a curiosity of being able to view a portfolio that passed and was more of a norm. Not that I am aiming low by any means, but I also don't want to think I will never be capable of producing a passing portfolio.

I decided to attend an evening session tonight before doing some of my own research again. The session I chose was presented by Judy Russell entitled, The ABCs of DNA. She covered yDNA, mtDNA, and Autosomal DNA. I'm very familiar with the first two and feel more than comfortable explaining the meaning of them to people. I'm familiar with Autosomal testing, although going into the session I couldn't have explained it very well. However, the way Judy explained Autosomal DNA with the accompanying visual aides, made it extremely clear and it was a "light bulb" moment for me. Judy also covered a few of the DNA testing companies and how they differ. It has given me some thoughts about testing and I probably need to figure out a budget now.

Tomorrow we spend the entire day with J. Mark Lowe and land platting. This promises to be an entertaining day and probably some moments of confusion. If you have ever platted a metes and bounds piece of property then you know what I'm talking about. I suspect we may be a bit cross-eyed by lunch time.

IGHR 2013-Day 2

Today my morning was spent with Lloyd de Witt Bockstruck and his presentation on Colonial Land Records in America. Lloyd is a wealth of information on this topic. However, even with the microphone it was difficult to hear him at times.

Lloyd started out with land resources in New England and explaining how land was allocated and where to find records. He illustrated that New Jersey was divided into two sections of East Jersey and West Jersey. For some reason the boundary goes diagonally across the state, making East Jersey north and West Jersey south during the colonial period. Lloyd continued to discuss the other colonial states and the various idiosyncrasies of obtaining and keeping one's land.

After lunch we spent the afternoon with Rick Sayre who presented Federal Land Records at the National Archives, Part 1 and Part 2. Rick discussed the various laws that led to migration and the settlement of land, and how to work the Bureau of Land Management website. He will go into more detail with the website tomorrow. We also practiced finding specific sections or subdivisions within a township diagram. One item that I was particularly excited to learn about were the Cancelled Homestead files housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Rick showed us photos of one very thick file full of genealogical information. Unfortunately, these files are not indexed and take a little bit of know-how to find a specific one.

When class was over, I went to the library and did a little research of my own. Afterwards I met up with some friends for dinner. The cafeteria was not nearly as chaotic as it had been the night before thankfully. My friends had homework to tackle, so I head to the campus Law Library to continue with some of my own research. This is the first year I have been able to do this and it is quite a luxury! Tomorrow is a full day of learning about tract books, going to the computer lab for hands on experience, and an afternoon full of lectures.

IGHR 2013- Day 1

Today was the first official day of classes at IGHR at Samford University in Birmingham. This year I am taking Understanding Land Records, and I've been pretty excited about it. Why? When it comes to doing genealogy work, land records are invaluable. Often they can be the key to understanding relationships and making connections. Land was important to our ancestors.

After the introduction this morning, Christine Rose, the course coordinator, presented 2 sessions on County Land Records. She discussed the types of records you could find at the Recorder's office, and what the various terms used meant ie., Warranty Deed, Trust Deed, Crop Lien, Dower Release, etc. Christine also went through how to find records at the Courthouse, and how to make sense of the Russell Index and the Graves Index. One index Christine discussed that I found really interesting was the Devisor/Devisee index. It is an index of real property, not household items, given to individuals. I was very excited to learn about this. I've often wondered how I could find an ancestor listed in a deed of an unfamiliar or unknown person. Now I know where to look.

The two afternoon sessions were spent with J. Mark Lowe, who presented The Carolinas and Tennessee. He discussed the history of land ownership in this area from the colonial period through the 1920's. Mark then walked us through (literally) the process of how to obtain and own land, how individuals might deal with a land grant transfer, and how to navigate the North Carolina Archives website. He showed us lots of maps dealing with different time periods, how the districts were created, modern maps compared to historical maps, topographic maps, and geographic regions maps.

Then it was time for dinner. This was a chaotic affair. While our institute is going on the university is also conducting orientation for the incoming freshman, and various sports camps. There were several teams of teenage baseball players. The cliche of teenage boys' appetites was demonstrated as they walked through individually with a couple plates of food each. This made for incredibly long lines to get dinner. I was more than ready to leave for the evening lecture.

The lecture I attended tonight was given by Judy Russell titled, The Ethical Genealogist. She discussed the code of ethics from various genealogical organizations and how they fall into basically 3 rules. Judy showed examples to illustrate her points, and told of her mistakes to learn from. As always, Judy is an engaging speaker and if you ever get the opportunity to listen to her lecture, on any topic, go!

Tomorrow it's more land lectures, and I couldn't be happier!

Prepping for IGHR

In a little over a week I'll be leaving for Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Every year during the second week of June the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) is held there. I'm very excited. This year the course I am taking is Course 8: Understanding Land Records.

I've been prepping for months. Whenever I take a class I try to read as much on the topic as I can. This way I absorb the basic and intermediate material before I arrive in class. I do this so I can grasp more of the advanced concepts, or at least I hope to.

Another area of preparation I've been working on is looking at the holdings of Samford University Library. They have some interesting collections that could be useful for my research. I have ancestors that lived along the Tennessee-Alabama border. One ancestor had an obituary published in a Huntsville newspaper. I've already gotten a copy of an obituary for this person from a Tennessee paper, but I want to see if there is any additional information from the Alabama paper.

Then I have the mysterious Kirby line. This is a line that seems to have travelled from Tennessee to Alabama, to Illinois, back to Alabama, and finally to Arkansas. Once in Arkansas, it seems the parents die leaving the oldest brother to look after and raise his siblings. This line is also rumored to have an Indian princess (classic). So far I haven't seen any evidence to support American Indian ancestry.

Today I started to gather my supplies for the week. I'll keep doing this next week as well. After my first year at IGHR I made a list that I store on my computer of items I will need. Each year the list gets a little longer, as I think of a couple other things that could be useful. Since I'm close enough to drive down I don't have to worry about airline charges for luggage, which is a nice perk. During my time at IGHR I'll be blogging about my experiences. I'm looking forward to catching up with friends, making new ones, and learning.

IGHR Registration Roundup

If you were interested in registering for IGHR at Samford, yesterday was the day to do it for the most part. Facebook was full of announcements with who got into what course, and who was waiting for their course of choice to open up for registration.

The course I was most interested in was Course 8: Understanding Land Records. I'm happy to say that I got into it. Originally I had considered a different course, but decided that taking a class that focuses on land only, fits better into my education plan right now. Dealing with land records in Tennessee can be a bit tricky at times. Plus, I like dealing with land. It's concrete. Unlike one's ancestors, land doesn't move... well, usually.

So if you are interested in IGHR, there are 3 courses still open as of this writing. Another opportunity to register for an institute is GRIP on February 7th. Institutes are a great experience. Not only is it a week long in-depth learning experience on one subject, but the camaraderie is wonderful as well. I'm excited for June!

Do You Have SLIG Envy?

I've been reading posts on Facebook from some SLIG attendees. I have SLIG envy. What is SLIG? It is the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy held in Salt Lake City, Utah every January. I've never been, but I'd like to go. There are 11 different courses offered. The course I would pick is Tom Jones' class, which is sold out every year. No surprise there. I expect as the week goes on I'll read more about SLIG on Facebook and various different blogs.

So instead of attending SLIG, I'm pouring over the IGHR website and looking at the course offerings there. IGHR stands for Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, held in Birmingham, Alabama at Samford University every June. Often you will just hear this institute referred to as "Samford." Registration begins on January 22 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. Looking through the list of choices, is like standing at an ice cream shop trying to pick out just one flavor... to have for the whole week. It is a tough choice.

Course registration times for the various courses are staggered so the system doesn't get overwhelmed. This can be problematic. For example, say your first course choice is at a later registration time (say 11:30 a.m. CST), and your second course choice is at an earlier registration time (10:30 a.m. CST). If you don't get into your first choice it is very likely your second choice is already sold out. This is a situation I'm facing. So I've also made third and fourth choices. This lets you know how good the courses are at IGHR. You really can't go wrong with any of them. I'll let you know on the 22nd how it turns out.

IGHR 2012-Day 5

Today was the last day at Samford. It's bittersweet. I wish I could stay, but I just don't think my brain could process anymore information. I'm also excited to see my boys. I've missed them.

We spent the last day with Elizabeth, and started out the morning going over our assignments that we handed in yesterday. I did well, and even got a "Good job!", but I see how I could have done better. Which is a good thing, since we are here to learn. After this Elizabeth presented a session on developing research plans, and how to go about analyzing the material we have. Next, we reviewed the reading homework from last night. Finally we received our certificates of completion, and our "I Survived Samford IGHR 4" pins. It was a satisfying moment for all of us.

After saying good-bye to friends, I loaded up into my car for the 2 1/2 hour drive home. The drive was fairly uneventful, which is a good thing. There was much excitement caused by my homecoming and I've been smothered with hugs, kisses and affection. However, the exhaustion has caught up to me. I can't believe how tired I am. I'm sure this upcoming week I'll be able to reflect more on what I learned, but for now I need to catch up on some sleep.

IGHR 2012-Day 4

I can't believe it is Thursday already and tomorrow is the last day! This week has been a quick one. Perhaps it is because of all the new information to process and how busy we have been. Certainly today was not an exception.

The basic theme for today was land and probate records, which of course includes land. So really it was all about land. The morning started out with Elizabeth presenting a lecture on Public Land Records. In the discussion she showed us examples of how tracking land ownership, the placement of land tracts, and looking at land entry files can help you determine relationships and ancestors. I've seen her present similar lectures before, but I still find her examples and the thought process behind them fascinating. It is truly inspiring. In fact one case study Elizabeth shared with us, of how she determined the relationship between two families had all of our heads spinning.

Our next session was "Probate Records: Analysis, Interpretation and Correlation" presented by Tom Jones. He discussed how probate records can be used for genealogical research, the general concepts of them, and how to get the most out of them. We also had two in-class examples to work on. I found this task a little challenging, simply because people were calling their ideas out and it was too distracting. I would have loved to have had a few moments of quiet to study the examples and formulate my own solutions. However, I'm familiar with the methodology Tom was discussing, so I don't feel like I missed out on his point.

After lunch Elizabeth was back with us discussing more about land. This time the focus was on using strategies for ancestors that lived on rural lands, otherwise known as "living out in the sticks." The methodologies she presented are to help with finding that ancestor you think never owned land, or was too poor to own land. The basic idea is that, most people left some sort of paper trail behind. You just need to apply some creative thinking to find that paper trail. Once you figure it out, then you can at least go back another generation or two.

Our final presenter of the day was Rick Sayre, who discussed "Urban Strategies: Correlation of Deeds, Maps, Directories." He demonstrated how using Sanborn Maps along with deeds and city directories can  help you identify ancestors and where they lived. Knowing this can really give a better understanding of your ancestors' lives. It certainly can make it more interesting than just birth, marriage, and death dates. Let's face it, everybody's life is more than just three dates. Right?

We had a little extra time today between the last class and our banquet dinner. At this point, many of the attendees are walking around looking a little dazed. We have all been bombarded with information and our brains are spinning with ideas of how we can apply it to our research. Before dinner I tackled the homework.We need to pick one of two articles to analyze and critique. I have scribbled all sorts of notations on mine, and I'm sure there are more to add.

The banquet was nice and relaxing. The speaker was Dr. Larry H. Spruill and his presentation was, "The Lazarus Factor: Genealogy and The Calling Forth of the Dead." He was entertaining and recognized the importance of genealogical work. It's important to recognize and give life to your ancestors. In essence you are an extension of them, as your descendants will be an extension of you.

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.

IGHR 2012-Day 2

Today has been an extremely full day. This morning started out with a lecture by Craig R. Scott, on "Federal Research: Finding Aids." He discussed Record Groups (RG), Preliminary Inventories (PI), and researching at the National Archives (NARA). It was the first of several mind boggling discussions of the day. During the discussion I somehow managed to achieve the distinct honor of making Craig blush. Apparently this is a difficult thing to do. Later his wife said he probably deserved it. If you know Craig, then you understand that remark.

Anyway, the next presenter was Rick Sayre. He covered a very broad and a somewhat confusing discussion on Government Documents. This included details on the Serial Set and the American State Papers. I'm not going to attempt to explain either of these here, because a) it would take too long, and
b) I'm not sure my understanding of them is complete enough right now to describe them properly. That may change by tomorrow night, as I hear we will have homework involving these resources.

The afternoon was spent with Marian L. Smith, who discussed Immigration and Naturalization Records. This was a fascinating topic! There are all sorts of records and possibilities to acquire more information than what is listed on ship manifests. In fact, our homework tonight involved looking up immigrants listed on a INS Subject Index card. All of the people listed on this card were detained for one reason or another when they arrived in New York. Most of them were ill and required a medical exam, however one person on the list was a stowaway.

At the end of the day Elizabeth had a short session with us. During that time we did an in class exercise using the Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, a text written by Lucille H. Pendell and Elizabeth Bethel. The purpose of this exercise was to get us familiar with the text, and I suspect it will have something to do with homework later in the week.

When we left for dinner, my fellow classmates had a dazed look about them. I really can't do justice to the amount of information that was thrown at us today. It's a bit overwhelming. After dinner I attended an evening lecture on BCG Certification. The people attending this lecture, who have achieved certification, gave advice on the process. I'm glad I attended. Believe it or not, one bit of advice was to read the directions for certification and follow them. We were also told that the fee for the application and certification was going up as of January 1, 2013 to $75 and $300 respectively.

My homework is done and now it's time to get some sleep. The schedule looks like it is going to be just as full tomorrow. I can't wait!

IGHR 2012-Day 1

Today class started bright and early at 8 a.m. sharp! We spent the entire day with Elizabeth Shown Mills (ESM). She started out with a lecture on the Genealogical Mindset. This was followed by the "Chain of Life" of one's ancestors. Other topics covered in the morning session were analysis of the research problem, analysis of the records, and analysis of statements within a record.

One of the many things that I admire about ESM is her ability to milk out every detail in a record, and make an interpretation of it that is significant to the research. We used this skill on a few examples in class today. We also had a pop quiz on citations! This led into the homework, which is to do a much better job on the same citations and compare the two results. Both are due Tuesday morning.

In the afternoon we discussed Tax Rolls, and census records. We learned that it is important when analyzing the census records to be familiar with the instructions given to the enumerator. With this in mind, we did an in depth analysis of a family in a census record. By the end of the day we were all a little tired.

Dinner in the cafeteria was loud and extremely crowded. It is freshman orientation here so there are a lot of people crowding into the cafeteria all at once. After dinner I attended the evening session titled, "The Library of Congress: An Introduction and Overview for Genealogists" presented by John Colletta. As always John is an entertaining lecturer and his presentation was very informative. He gave a lot information on materials located at the Library of Congress, and websites where some of this material can be found. Once this week is over I have a lot of websites to explore.

Finally, I came back to my room to start homework. It's a good night to be inside as heavy rainstorms are passing through the area. During the storm I completed my homework in a timely manner (yay!) and I think I've done pretty good. Well, at least respectable anyway. We'll see. Time to rest up for tomorrow.

I Completed ProGen. Now What?

 Last week I had my final ProGen chat. All assignments are complete, along with peer reviews, and the readings. For those of you who don't know, ProGen is a 19 month program that focuses on the study of Professional Genealogy: A Manuel for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers and Librarians edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Each month participants complete a reading assignment, a written assignment, and peer review of each other's assignments. It's a great program and I got a lot out of it. I've also made friends with the people in my group and will miss meeting with them once a month.

So what's next? Well, in some ways I'm taking this summer off..... or light. Last summer I was consumed with ProGen assignments, went to IGHR at Samford, and finished the NGS home study course. The summer before that I was immersed in the Boston University's Certificate in Genealogical Research program. This summer, I'm going to IGHR at Samford again. I'm lucky to have gotten into Elizabeth Shown Mills' class, so it will be a busy and intense week. My other summer adventure is attending the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR) in Washington D.C. I'm so excited.

Other things on my "to do" for the summer would be running my kids around to one summer camp or another, taking them to the pool, and for all of us not to drive each other crazy (ha ha). I also need to take control of organizing my house, especially the office (as always). Until then, I'll spend this last month and change of the kids being in school to prep for the two institutes this summer. I have a lot of reading to accomplish before Samford, and a list to make of record look ups while I'm in D.C.

What are your plans for the summer?

Wayward Technology and IGHR Registration

Yesterday was registration for IGHR. It was an unexpectedly stressful experience. On Monday night we had some trouble with our internet and I chalked it up to the storms passing through the area. Tuesday morning arrived and the internet was still going in and out. After a call to our internet provider all seemed to be working okay.

10:00 a.m. CST rolled around and it was time to register for Course 4: Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis. I quickly clicked the registration link, filled out all of my information, and clicked "Next" on the last page for registration to be complete. Nothing happened. I clicked "Next" again. And again. The internet had frozen up on me. Cue primal scream of frustration, followed quickly by swearing like a sailor (don't worry the kids were at school), and I grabbed my iPhone. Fortunately I had the foresight of saving the IGHR website on my phone. I once again quickly navigated through the registration process, which by the way was not an easy thing to do on such a small screen. The end result... I made it into Course 4, the time was 10:10 a.m., and I was oddly tired.

Since my internet was useless for research I decided to make some calls. I needed to find out about some church records so my first phone call was to the Hamilton County Baptist Association. A very nice lady was helping me with all sorts of questions, when suddenly the line went dead. I called back apologizing profusely. My next call was to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library. I was having a hard time viewing what the Special Collections department had through their website.  My purpose was to find out if they had materials that would make a trip worthwhile. During the phone call both my land line and cell phone were ringing with incoming calls, which incidentally neither rang again for the rest of the day. Classic.

The rest of the day included tornado sirens going off (no tornado appeared), driving through sheets of rain with my pre-schooler (nerve wracking), and a visit from the internet provider at 7:00 p.m. to fix our internet connection. It was just one of those days.

Registration For IGHR At Samford

Tuesday, January 17th is the big day! Registration begins for IGHR at Samford University at 10:00 am CST. Classes are opening up in a staggered fashion to prevent the system from crashing. Here are the schedule of classes and the time registration opens up for them:

10:00 a.m. CST

Course 1: Techniques and Technology
Course 4: Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis

10:30 a.m. CST

Course 3: Research in the South, Part I
Course 5: Writing and Publishing for Genealogists

11:00 a.m. CST

Course 2: Intermediate Genealogy and Historical Studies
Course 7: Virginia's Land & Military Conflicts
Course 9: Military Records Research III: 1821-1919

11:30 a.m. CST

Course 6: Advanced Library Research: Law Libraries & Government Documents
Course 8: Researching African-American Ancestors
Course 10: Tracing Your English Ancestors

If you want to see detailed descriptions of each course then check out the IGHR website. I know I've said this before in other posts, but this institute is an incredible learning opportunity. The courses are taught by instructors that are at the top of the genealogy field and the networking/socializing that takes place is wonderful. Genealogy is a field that is a constant learning curve and to be able to speak to other genealogists from around the country is a wonderful treat.

Last year at IGHR I was enrolled in Course 5: Writing and Publishing for Genealogist taught by Tom Jones. It was a humbling experience and I learned a tremendous amount. This year I'm hoping to get into Course 4: Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis taught by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Both Tom and Elizabeth's classes fill up in about 15 minutes. The pressure is on. I'm trying to figure out what my second choice would be. Hopefully I won't have to decide.

Week In Review

It's been an active week in the world of genealogy! So rather than limit myself to blogging about one topic I decided to mention a few.

A read a very thought provoking blog this week by Michael Hait at Planting the Seeds, titled "The Genealogy Paradigm Shift: Are bloggers the new "experts"?" Michael discusses how geneabloggers are becoming viewed as something akin to experts in the field of genealogy. He also points out the lagging membership of genealogy societies, the importance of an online presence and support of these local societies. There were a lot of very interesting points made in the article, it's insightful, and I think it is a great read.

Are you attending RootsTech? Last week there was an uproar in the genealogy community, when we found out there would a ban on book sellers in the vendor hall at RootsTech. It was an interesting choice to make by RootsTech. I watched/read with increasing fascination at the comments made on Facebook and blogs expressing outrage over this decision. Well, RootsTech must have read all of the outraged comments as well and reversed their decision. Book vendors will now be allowed in the vendor hall.

There is an App for that! MyHeritage has released the news that they now have an App available for free for iPad, iPhone, and Android.

Wanna go to genealogy summer camp? The Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University is the place to be. Registration begins on January 17th at 11:00 a.m. EST. This is a great institute and learning opportunity. Imagine focused instruction on a genealogy topic, and socializing with your genealogy peers for a whole week! Check out their website for the description of courses to be offered this summer.

Finally, the news I was really excited to find out about is that Elizabeth Shown Mills has released a website called Historic Pathways. Elizabeth is a renowned genealogist with an impressive list of credits. The website lists the books Elizabeth has written and just a portion of the numerous articles she has authored. If you want to learn by example, then reading anything by Elizabeth is an excellent choice.

Well, those are the highlights. Hope you are all able to take this last week before Christmas to sit back and relax a bit. I know I'll be reading those articles on the Historic Pathways site whenever I get a chance.