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.

Music Monday- Memories With Music

Okay, so I'm starting a new topic for Mondays. I have so many memories associated with so many different songs. The emotions range from happy, content, sadness, love, and joy. I don't think I'm alone in this. How many times have you heard people say, "Oh! This song came out when I was in..." or "My (fill in the relative) used to sing or dance to this song when or while..." Music, like the sense of smell can bring powerful memories or emotion.

This weekend I walked into a store and heard "Who Loves You" by Frankie Vallie and The Four Seasons. I immediately thought of my mom and riding around in her blue Nova (a car that almost killed me, but that's another story) when I was a kid. The song was released in 1975 and is a quintessential 70's song. I actually lingered in the store to hear the whole song and I left smiling. I've posted the video below for you to enjoy and it is truly a highlight of a 70's recording session (and style). 

So what memories do you have associated with music?

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.

Follow Friday- What's Past Is Prologue

I would rate myself as average or below when it comes to the amount of television that I watch. There are a few shows that I enjoy and make a point of catching, one of them being ABC's Castle. Donna at What's Past is Prologue did a very interesting comparison between the show Castle and genealogy research.

In the show the detectives use a murder board to highlight and focus on the victim, suspects, and any other persons of interest. Donna points out how this concept can be useful to your research as a genealogist. I would agree. I'm a visual person and in the past have used timelines, but I like the idea of expanding upon that. Until your research is arranged in an ancestor board (a.k.a murder board) or timeline you may not spot what you have overlooked. Sometimes a visual organization can point out a gaping hole in your research or give you an idea of some records to look into.

Anyway, Donna goes into a lot of detail in her blog post and I found it very entertaining. Meanwhile, I wonder what my husband would think if I turned a wall of our office into an ancestor board?

Cahaba Prison

I've often thought that in senior year of high school there should be a history class that is centered around genealogical research of ones family. Think of how much history kids would learn and how it would stick with them. I always learn so many interesting bits and pieces of history because of my research, that I would not have known of otherwise.

For example, while following a lead about a couple Tennessee men who were taken to an Alabama prison during the time of the Civil War, I discovered Cahaba Prison. Cahaba Prison, also known as Castle Morgan, is located in Old Cahawba, Alabama (I'm not sure why there is a spelling difference). It had been an unfinished cotton warehouse that the Confederate government turned into a prison. Although there were only 432 bunks, it would eventually house more than 3,000 men by 1865. A staggering number crammed into a small space. You can imagine that the living and hygiene conditions were horrendous. Surprisingly the death rate was only 2%, which compared to other prisons this was very low.

There is also an archaeological site in Old Cahawba, which incidentally is where Alabama's first state capitol was built. After massive flooding in 1865 the county seat was moved to nearby Selma. Today you can visit Old Cahawba and the various surviving buildings of this ghost town. There are guided tours for a fee or self guided tours available.

2012 Reflections So Far

We are now four days into 2012 and I can finally reflect a little. Today my kids had their first day back at school and I spent the day at the Tennessee State Library and Archives doing some research for a client. I'm sad to say I hit one dead end after another. Very frustrating. After looking at miles of microfilm, countless books, vertical files, and various websites I still can't find the evidence/proof I need. So it's back to square one to reevaluate. Argh.

Meanwhile, my house is in post holiday disarray, especially my office. I walk in the office, shudder and walk back out. I plan to attack it on Friday. I've been working on a master plan of organization, but it will take several days to complete and probably a trip to Target for office supplies.

As far as 2012 resolutions? I don't do New Year's resolutions. I do goal setting around the time of my birthday in June. I have found that I naturally reflect more on the past year and what I want to achieve with my life for the following year and sometimes beyond. Somehow it always feels forced to come up with goals in my holiday fogged brain on January 1st. So I'll let you know in June what my goals are.

I do know that after being consumed with the holidays for the past month (or more), I'm ready to get my genealogy groove back on. I have a big ProGen assignment due at the end of this month, IGHR at Samford to register for on the 17th of this month, my DAR application to work on, and all sorts of genealogy related reading to do. So far January 2012 is looking pretty busy.

Happy New Year-2012!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year! I hope your holiday season was filled with joy and good times. For myself it has been a very busy month with the past two weeks a whirlwind of activity. Wednesday will mark the day that our house gets back on a routine and I can get back to genealogy. Yay!!

I wish you all great discoveries for 2012!