The National Institute for Genealogical Studies

LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies - LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

March 2019 Virtual Meetings

March by arztsamui/Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net

Have questions about your courses or your research? Virtual Meetings are a way for you to communicate with an instructor. These meetings are NOT mandatory, but a fun & interactive way to ask questions about courses/research. Below are the March scheduled sessions. Join us!

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Thursday, March 14th at 6:30 PM EDT – Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 1 – ARTICLE REVIEW with Gena Philibert-Ortega
Please follow the directions found in your course material and read the article.
Time zones:
Thursday, March 14th – 6:30 PM Eastern; 5:30 PM Central; 3:30 PM Pacific; 10:30 PM in London, England;
Friday, March 15th – 9:30 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/asarticle1/ (Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Saturday, March 16th at 5:00 PM EDT – English Records courses with Brenda Wheeler
Time zones:
Saturday, March 16th – 5:00 PM Eastern; 4:00 PM Central; 2:00 PM Pacific; 9:00 PM in London, England;
Sunday, March 17th – 8:00 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/english/ (Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Wednesday, March 20th at 5:00 AM EDT – Methodology courses with Brenda Wheeler
Note: This session has been set up for the convenience of our students in Australia and New Zealand; however, all students are welcome to join in.
Time zones:
Wednesday, March 20th – 5:00 AM Eastern; 4:00 AM Central; 2:00 AM Pacific; 9:00 AM in London, England; 8:00 PM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/methodology/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Wednesday, March 20th at 2:00 PM EDT – Student Presentation with host Kathy Holland
Presenter: Sherri Dowdle; Topic: Remember the Time…Recording the stories that frame your life
Time zones:
Wednesday, March 20th – 2:00 PM Eastern; 1:00 PM Central; 11:00 AM Pacific; 6:00 PM in London, England;
Thursday, March 21st – 5:00 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/lecturing/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Wednesday, March 20th at 7:00 PM EDT – Canadian courses with Kathryn Lake Hogan
Time zones:
Wednesday, March 20th – 7:00 PM Eastern; 6:00 PM Central; 4:00 PM Pacific; 11:00 PM in London, England;
Thursday, March 21st – 10:00 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/canadian/ (Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Thursday, March 21st at 4:30 PM EDT – Irish Records courses with Brenda Wheeler
Time zones:
Thursday, March 21st – 4:30 PM Eastern; 3:30 PM Central; 1:30 PM Pacific; 8:30 PM in London, England;
Friday, March 22nd – 7:30 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/irish/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Thursday, March 21st at 6:30 PM EDT – Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 2 – ARTICLE REVIEW with Brenda Wheeler
Please follow the directions found in your course material and read the article.
Time zones:
Thursday, March 21st – 6:30 PM Eastern; 5:30 PM Central; 3:30 PM Pacific; 10:30 PM in London, England;
Friday, March 22nd – 9:30 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/asarticle2/ (Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Saturday, March 23rd at 1:30 PM EDT – Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program – GENERAL with Gena Philibert-Ortega
Time zones:
Saturday, March 23rd – 1:30 PM Eastern; 12:30 PM Central; 10:30 AM Pacific; 5:30 PM in London, England;
Sunday, March 24th – 4:30 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/asgeneral/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Saturday, March 23rd at 3:00 PM EDT – Internet Tools with Gena Philibert-Ortega
Time zones:
Saturday, March 23rd – 3:00 PM Eastern; 2:00 PM Central; Noon Pacific; 7:00 PM in London, England;
Sunday, March 24th – 6:00 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/internettools/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Sunday, March 24th at 7:00 PM EDT – American Record courses with Gena Philibert-Ortega
Time zones:
Sunday, March 24th – 7:00 PM Eastern; 6:00 PM Central; 4:00 PM Pacific; 11:00 PM in London, England;
Monday, March 25th – 10:00 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/american/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Sunday, March 24th at 8:30 PM EDT – Methodology courses with Gena Philibert-Ortega
Time zones:
Sunday, March 24th – 8:30 PM Eastern; 7:30 PM Central; 5:30 PM Pacific;
Monday, March 25th – 12:30 AM in London, England; 11:30 AM in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/methodology/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

Saturday, March 30th at 9:00 AM EDT – DNA with Shannon Combs Bennett
Time zones:
Saturday, March 30th – 9:00 AM Eastern; 8:00 AM Central; 6:00 AM Pacific; 1:00 PM in London, England;
Sunday, March 31st – Midnight in Sydney, Australia
MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/dna/
(Note: “Enter as a Guest”)

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Calendar of Virtual Meetings is at www.genealogicalstudies.com; top menu > INFORMATION > VIRTUAL LEARNING ROOM.

If you have not attended a Virtual Meeting before, read the Instructions at www.genealogicalstudies.com/instructions.pdf.

Marriage

Marriage Records 

The marriage certificate is the only civil record that actually records a union between two individuals, whereas other marriage records indicate that a marriage was “projected or planned.” So be cautious regarding which marriage document is being reviewed and understand the difference.

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Information you will always expect to find on a marriage certificate: 

  • the name of the bride and groom 
  • the date of the marriage  
  • location of the marriage (at least the county in which the marriage was filed) 
  • the individual who married the couple 
  • name of the clerk who recorded the marriage with the county 

The type of information recorded on a marriage document will change over time and will vary from county to county and state to state.  

The US Federal Census can also help with finding a marriage record. What kind of marriage information can the census provide? While the 1850 to 1870 census doesn’t record marital status, it does note if the person was married within the year. The 1900 through 1940 census will provide the marital status “married, single, widow, or divorced,” the “age at first marriage” (1930), or the “number of years of present marriage” (1900, 1910).

 

Record Keeping 

In our modern society (the 20th and 21st century), marriage records are typically kept at both the county in which the ceremony took place and the state bureau of records. There is a central gathering point in each state, typically known as the Bureau of Vital Records or Statistics (or something similar).  

For most states, marriage records began being kept at the time a county was formed at the county level. These early records are not kept by the state, unless they have been transferred to the state archives.  

With our United States: Vital Records  course you will learn more about obtaining marriage records and the information they hold in your genealogy research.  

Keeping In Touch With The National Institute For Genealogical Studies

In the genealogy world we need to communicate with each other to keep abreast of the constantly evolving research methods and resources. The same is true within The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. As a student of the National Institute, there are various ways you can communicate with us and your fellow students. Here is how:

#1 By email to the National Institute

NOTE: When contacting us please include your FIRST & LAST NAME and the COURSE TITLE, including the COUNTRY the course applies to. It is also helpful if you include the module number and section title you are referring to.

i) admin@genealogicalstudies.com – for general questions;

ii) alert@genealogicalstudies.com – to advise us of broken links in your course materials and assignments–please be specific as to where problem is;

iii) exam@genealogicalstudies.com – questions pertaining to your course exam.

#2 By email to a fellow student

When you view a fellow student’s public assignment SUBMISSION/ANSWER and you would like to contact them about something in their posting, simply click on the envelope icon to the right of the student’s name. A new window will open where you can type your message. For privacy reasons, you will not see the recipient’s email address and they have the option to reply or not.

#3 Attend a Virtual Meeting

VIRTUAL MEETINGS ARE THE BEST PLACE TO COMMUNICATE with an instructor and fellow students. Anyone can participate! You do not have to be registered in the course to attend. When attending virtual meetings, please bring questions applicable to the topic being discussed.

Watch for our emails outlining upcoming virtual meetings dates and times. Or visit our website at www.genealogicalstudies.com, click on Information in the top menu bar, and then Virtual Learning Room for the full schedule.

#4 Follow the National Institute’s Blog

Go to http://blog.genealogicalstudies.com/ and scroll down. On the right hand side of the page you will see Subscribe to Blog via Email. In the text box, enter your email address and click on the Subscribe button. Once subscribed, you will receive an email each time we post an article. Each blog article includes a link to write a comment or share via social media. Look for these options at the end of each blog post.

#5 Follow us on Twitter

Once signed into your Twitter account, search for us on Twitter by our Twitter name @GeneaStudies. On our Twitter page, click on the Follow button to subscribe to our tweets. Not a member of Twitter? No problem, just go to Twitter www.twitter.com and join. Membership is free.

#6 Follow the National Institute on Facebook

To follow us on Facebook you must be a member. To join Facebook go to www.facebook.com and sign up. Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/geneastudies/ and click on the Like button on the top right of our page.

#7 Join a GenealogyWise group to communicate with your fellow students

Go to www.genealogywise.com/ and Sign Up. There are groups set up for each of the National Institute’s country streams; i.e. American, Australian, Canadian, English, German, Irish, and Scottish, as well as Methodology, Librarianship, Alumni, and First Timer FAQs.

#8 Follow GenealogyWise on Facebook

To follow us on Facebook you must be a member. To join Facebook go to www.facebook.com and sign up. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GenealogyWise and click on the Like button on the top right of our page.

#9 Consultation with an instructor ($)

If you want to have a one-on-one consultation with an instructor this can be arranged. Please email admin@genealogicalstudies.com to request an appointment. When emailing please provide some information as to what course and some background details you would like to discuss so we can recommend a consultation with an appropriate instructor. The consultation with an instructor is available for a modest fee.

 

Good luck with your studies and research!

Friends, Associates and Neighbors

Your FAN Club 

FAN is an acronym that stands for Friends, Associates, and Neighbors. The “FAN Club,” coined by Elizabeth Shown Mills, represents a person’s network of people to whom they connect. You may also hear the term “cluster research,” which is essentially the same thing.

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The idea behind using the FAN principle or cluster research is to identify and research the people involved with your ancestors, as those other people may have left a trail or clues that your ancestor did not. For example, you could be looking for the maiden name (and perhaps the parents and/or siblings) of a female ancestor. Studying the people in her FAN Club, as well as those in her husband’s, may provide clues or may even reveal the answer.

Oftentimes, the FAN methodology is implemented when all resources have been exhausted and there is still no answer to our research question. Instead of throwing in the towel, we turn to the people around our ancestor and explore their lives.  

Keep in mind that studying an ancestor’s associates will add more work to your plate, but the benefits are usually well worth your time and energy. With our Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls course you will learn more about applying the FAN principle to your research.  

Please Join us for Student Presentations!

We have a couple of student presentations coming up. We hope you can join us to show your support!

Simple Blue Laptop With Mouse by cuteimage/Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies course, Lecturing Skills Including Preparation, teaches the skills needed to present genealogical-related lectures. It is a “hands on” course where the student presents a lecture via our Virtual Learning Room. We invite you to participate and hear your fellow student. This is a 30-minute lecture, followed by a 10-minute Question & Answer period and a short poll to provide the student with feedback on their skills. Please come and support your fellow students!

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Join us on Thursday, February 28th at 7:00 PM EST when  Victor Corrales presents “Hispanic Naming Conventions”.

Presenter: Victor Corrales is a genealogist with more than 25 years of experience in South America and Spain. He is a member of OGS, Hispagen, and UGA.

Presentation Description: An introduction to the naming conventions in Spain and Hispanic America. Learn about the origin of surnames, the double surname system and challenges in the immigration records to North America.

Time zones:
Wednesday, November 8th – 7:00 PM Eastern; 6:00 PM Central; 4:00 PM Pacific;
Thursday, November 9th – midnight in London, England; 11:00 AM in Sydney, Australia

MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/lecturing/
(NOTE: No user name or password required. Please type in your first and last name; then click “Enter as a Guest”.)

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Join us Thursday, March 7th at 5:00 PM EST when Brian Maclachlan presents “My journey researching ancestors”.

Presenter: Brian Maclachlan is a qualified genealogist, retired statistician, lecturer and member of the Society of Australian Genealogists wanting to help others with their genealogical research.

Presentation Description: My presentation covers my ten year unfinished journey researching my ancestors addressing why I started, use of Ancestry.com.au, how Genealogy studies assisted, DNA tests and plans for the future.

Time zones:
Thursday, March 7th – 5:00 PM Eastern; 4:00 PM Central; 2:00 PM Pacific; 10:00 PM in London, England;
Friday, March 8th – 9:00 AM in Sydney, Australia

MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/lecturing/
(NOTE: No user name or password required. Please type in your first and last name; then click “Enter as a Guest”.)

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Join us Wednesday, March 20th at 2:00 PM EDT when Sherri Dowdle presents “Remember the Time…Recording the stories that frame your life”.

Presenter: Sherri Dowdle is a genealogy enthusiast specializing in capturing life stories, climbing family trees and motivating others to do the same.

Presentation Description: Everyone has stories that circulate through their family; funny, tragic and inspirational. These tales frame our lives. Be inspired to discover, record and share your family stories with future generations.

Time zones:
Wednesday, March 20th – 2:00 PM Eastern; 1:00 PM Central; 11:00 AM Pacific; 6:00 PM in London, England;
Thursday, March 21st – 5:00 AM in Sydney, Australia

MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/lecturing/
(NOTE: No user name or password required. Please type in your first and last name; then click “Enter as a Guest”.)

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We would like to thank Kathy Holland for hosting these student presentations.

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Remember, to join a Virtual Meeting … anyone can participate. Hope to see you there!

To enter the Virtual Learning Room for a session you would like to attend, please click on the Location link or enter the Location URL into your browser. (No user name or password required; “Enter as a Guest”)

NOTE: Please sign in with your first AND last names when joining a Virtual Meeting. This will help everyone differentiate between individuals with the same name. (No user name or password required. Please type in your first and last name; then click “Enter as a Guest”.)

 

Timelines are Important

Why Use Timelines 

A timeline is a visual representation of events in sequential order. Timelines are often used in genealogy to place an ancestor in a historical context giving us a better understanding of their lives and how they fit into the world around them. Timelines can help break down brick walls allowing us to see: 

  • Where a person was and when. 
  • Gaps in time where information is missing. 
  • Instances where two people of the same name might be combined. 
  • Possible scenarios (for example, finding a large gap in the birth of children during the Civil War period). 

But also keep in mind timelines are a great basis for writing biographies and genealogies, as well as a visual component to share with others.

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Timelines are great tools to help us put our research in a different perspective. The visual nature of a timeline often reveals clues for additional research. There are three general types of timelines: basic, comparative, and historical.  

With our Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls course you will learn more about building your own timelines and how to use them in your research.  

 

Ancestors Associates

Tracking Your Ancestors Associates  

So how do you keep track of all your ancestor’s associates? First, you will want to create a list that represents each of the three categories of the FAN Club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors). You should incorporate connection details and research notes and maintain this list as a master. Keeping this master list will pay dividends in the future when the same associates become a recurring theme in your ancestor’s life.

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While a list is great (and a highly-recommended starting point), you may also want to create a visual representation of your ancestor’s network. Many people like to use the idea of a mind map when dealing with cluster research. The possibilities are endless, so experiment and find something that works for you.

It is also important to show connections between associates. When you see the same person involved in the life of your ancestor and his other associates, this could be a person high on your priority list to investigate. With our Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls course you will learn even more on the methods for tracking your ancestors’ associates.  

Analyze Your Timelines

Time to Analyze  

Once you have developed your timeline, take a step back and really study it. What does it tell you? Are their gaps in your timeline that need to be accounted for? Is there a new location you are not familiar with? And perhaps most importantly for brick wall busting, has the timeline revealed an answer to your question, and if not, do you have some leads to follow up on? You will use this analysis to record your thoughts and plan your next steps.

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The timeline gives you a period of time to investigate and locations relative to the period of time. Put your analysis and plan of action in writing, this helps to keep all of your thoughts organized. As you uncover new items of information, be sure to update any timelines you have created and review and analyze them again with the new data.   

Also, keep in mind that timelines may identify other questions that either need answering or something you might want to explore to understand your ancestor better. The timeline can easily be your basis for developing a plan related to these new research ideas. With our Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls course you will learn how to develop these timelines and analyze your results. All helping you to break down that brick wall.  

Terms to be Aware of

Marriage Documents 

Most of the documents below are not proof that a marriage took place, only that a marriage was being planned. Just like today, there were many broken engagements.

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  • Marriage license: When the county receives a completed marriage license application form from an engaged couple along with the payment, then they will issue the couple a marriage license.  
  • Marriage return: When a marriage is performed by someone, such as a minister or justice of the peace, the marriage license is returned to the court. The marriage license is now called a “marriage return” and is recorded in the marriage register by the town or county clerk.  
  • Marriage banns: In a parish church an announcement is made to the general membership that two people intend to marry. This was usually done over three successive Sundays. This gave time for the congregation to let the clergy know if either person was not able to marry for any reason.  
  • Marriage intention: In New England, the Intention was treated much like the Banns. Only the Intention is published in the town meeting books prior to the marriage.  
  • Marriage bond: A prospective groom posts a bond in the county of the bride’s residence. The bond is bought as a surety that there is no reason the groom cannot marry.  

With our United States: Vital Records course you will learn more about marriage records and how they will help you in your genealogy research.  

Your Ancestors Network

Patterns and Relationships of our Ancestors  

Analyzing your ancestor’s network can be challenging. There are usually many people and often times, they are interconnected. Additionally, there are many different variables at play so you may be on the lookout for something specific for one question you are trying to answer. As you explore your ancestor’s  FAN Club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors), be sure to keep track of your discoveries by making notes to yourself.

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  • Are there people in your ancestor’s network, not identified as family, that have the same surname as that person? 
  • Does the same person keep appearing as an associate over a long period of time or as a neighbor across two or more locations? 
  • Do you see clusters of associates and neighbors that share a surname? 

The people identified from the questions above are usually the ones that deem further research at a higher priority. This does not mean you want to discard the others that do not fit these criteria. Of course, if after researching the “high priority” people you still have no answers, you will want to move on to the other people in the FAN Club.

In addition to exploring patterns to figure out who requires further research, the FAN Club may reveal the possibility of two or more people merged into one. Learning to analyze your ancestor’s patterns and relationships is part of our Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls course. 

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