Articles by Angela Breidenbach

Angela Breidenbach, PLCGS, is the Executive Director at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies. She's a multi-published author, speaker, and presenter. Find out more about her books at https://AngelaBreidenbach.com

New Course: Research-Social History

New Course: Research-Social History

Looking for a course that adds to your understanding of your ancestor’s life? The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce a new course written by genealogist and social historian Barbara J. Starmans, PLCGS, Research: Social History. About social history Barbara Starmans writes, “Social History is not concerned with politics and wars, or kings and presidents, but rather with the lives of ordinary people. It is a view of history from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. Looking through the lens of the past will enhance your understanding of how your ancestors lived, worked and played in their daily lives, and will add depth to your family stories. It is often the minutia of someone’s life that tells the story of who they were and what they believed in. Beyond the names and dates of genealogy, each of your ancestors has a story to tell, and by learning about their time and place and how they lived in it, you will add to your understanding of who they were.” Research: Social History is an  introduction to social history that will provide examples and resources of subject matter from many areas of interest to the social historian. Rather than being a comprehensive discussion of social history, the material is intended to inspire your research into the lives of your people and the times and places they lived in. Your ancestors, their families, and the society they lived in may be different from the examples given but only by researching…

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New Course: Personal Historian – Video Techniques

Are you a professional genealogist or a personal historian looking to add  video taped interviews to your services? Ready to enhance your current audio visual skills? Personal Historian: Video Techniques is the course you’ve been searching for! Personal Historian: Video Techniques  was written by Carol Cassidy,  a well-known expert in her field. Carol Cassidy has been using cameras and audio gear to record and share first-person life stories for almost 30 years. Her clients include PBS stations, the BBC, CNN, human rights groups and the United Nations. She has worked in 35 countries, often collecting first-person stories in war zones, refugee camps and disaster areas. Carol holds a master’s degree from New York University. She is the author of a book of first-person interviews collected in conjunction with a PBS documentary series she produced and directed. She is the recipient of ten competitive fellowships, including one from the American Film Institute, one from the PBS Producer’s Academy, two from the (US) National Endowment for the Arts and three from the (US) Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Carol has taught film and video making at institutions including UCLA Film School, the International Film and Television Workshops in Maine and Atlanta’s Image Film and Video Center. Personal Historian: Video Techniques is designed to introduce the basics of audio-video production for personal historians and genealogists, that is, people who want to use current digital audio and video tools to record, edit and share life stories. Audio-video productions encompass four phases of work: pre-production, production,…

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New Course: Business Skills: Marketing Your Services

Ask anyone who has tried their hand at running a small business. If you start it, they (clients) won’t necessarily come. Marketing is the way to get the word out about your business, so that potential clients or customers will find you. As with most professionals, you may prefer to spend your time and energy doing what you do best—whether that is writing books of families’ histories, making video-biographies, or capturing oral histories for a business history—but in order to find clients, you must give adequate attention to marketing. The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce a new course by Personal Historian Diane Dassow. Business Skills: Marketing Your Services is the latest course offering in the Professional Development Certificate to help you start and be successful in a genealogy business. In this course, we will present the basic methods and topics in marketing, geared toward a small business owner like a personal historian or professional genealogist. You can read more about the course on our website. The first offering of this 8-week course is April 2015. It is recommended that you have taken the course, Business Skills: Creating a Genealogy Business, or at least have written a business plan and started a business.

New Course- Research: British India Ancestors

Research: British India Ancestors is the newest course from The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Written by genealogist, writer, and historical researcher Emma Jolly, this course gives an introduction to researching ancestors in India, during the time of British involvement and rule. The course focuses mainly on British ancestors, but includes records that are relevant to other Europeans in India, as well as Anglo-Indians. Topics covered include: Module 1: East India Company & Beginnings of British Involvement in India 1857 Indian Mutiny India Office Records & direct rule from Britain Rise of Indian nationalism 1947 Independence Life (and records) from 1948 Module 2: Maps & Place Names Changing Borders of ‘British India’ Princely States & other areas beyond direct British control Variants in spelling & place name changes Travel to & from India: changes over time Suez Canal Passenger Lists Ship Records Module 3: Vital Events, Church Records & Probate Online Indexes Digital Books Church records (Anglican & non-Anglican) Civil registration Transcription Forms Baptism Record Marriage Record Burial Record Christianity in India Schools & orphanages Cemeteries Probate in India Probate pre-1727 Probate in the UK Module 4: Armed Forces & Merchant Seaman East India Company’s Armies Cadet Papers Other Records of Officers Printed Books Hodson’s Index Soldiers and NCOs Soldiers in the British Army who served in India Indian Army Officers British Army Other Ranks Indian Navy & Royal Indian Marine/Navy East India Company Naval Service East Indiamen EIC Mercantile Marine Bengal Marine Bengal Pilot Service 1669-1948 Bombay Marine 1613-1830 Indian…

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Italian Ancestors? Check Out These New Courses

Have Italian ancestors? Lucky you! The National Institute has two new courses to help you. Italian: Language and Location Understanding, or being able to decipher, the languages found with Italian genealogical documents is an essential skill needed to effectively research your Italian ancestors. While most records are in Italian, you will find other languages within the records depending on the history of the town or region you are researching. Emphasis is placed on reading the handwriting and how to translate and understand basic Italian records. Locating places within Italy can be confusing until you understand the political and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. We review these jurisdictions and look at a variety of ways that will help you narrow your search for your ancestor’s town of origin. If you already know the town of origin, this section may help as your research expands as the research often leads into nearby towns, due to the practice of marrying outside a town’s populace. To learn more about this course see our website.   Italian: Civil Registration-Part 1 Civil registration is one of the largest and most important record sets in Italian genealogical research. It is certainly the most accessible, due to the efforts of FamilySearch, and now the main Italian archive, in microfilming or digitizing these records. In this course, we delve deeper into three main types of records: birth records [both regular and supplemental], marriage records [including marriage banns and marriage supplements], and death records [both regular and supplemental]. Each type of record has…

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