Courses – Page 71 – International Institute of Genealogical Studies

Starting US Immigration and Naturalization Records

By Shannon Combs-Bennett, Student If you live in the United States it is a good chance that you or your family came here from somewhere else. People from all over the world have immigrated to the United States in its 239 year existence making us truly a nation of immigrants. However, for genealogists, learning about those brave souls who traveled here, many times under desperate circumstances, can be the bane of our existence. Why, oh why, couldn’t they just once put down the town they came from! The course I am taking now is United States: Immigration and Naturalization Records, which hopefully will help me locate my elusive immigrant ancestry along the way. Or at least I can hope, right? Looking through the syllabus there appears to be a lot of great information covered. A weakness for me is immigration after 1870. The reason? Well, that is when the last of my and my husband’s ancestors came to the US. Due to that fact I have not invested a lot of time in learning about 20th and 21st century immigration and naturalization. It will take all I have to pay extra attention in those instances but the knowledge will help me I am sure. While the course seems to be centered on those of European descent I am hopefull that the section which covers the US laws will still be of interest to others. I mean, everyone who wants to immigrate goes through the same process no matter if they…

New Course- Photography: Clues Pictures Hold, Editing, Digitizing & Various Projects

Photography: Clues Pictures Hold, Editing, Digitizing and Various Projects is the newest course offered by The National Institute. A picture is worth a thousand words, so photographs are an integral part of telling a story. This course is designed to help students use and identify photographs to document their family history. Students are encouraged to apply the methods in this course to make the best use of their own family photos and/or those of their genealogy clients. Assignments focus on practical applications. Students learn ways to obtain family photographs, archive them physically and digitally, determine the photographic processes used, date the photographs, and identify people and other details in the images. Although this course is part of the Professional Development Certificate program, it is suitable for students participating in the Personal Historian program or those with a general interest in family photographs. This 10 week course begins December 7th. To learn more and to register, see our website.

Updated Course – Research: Saskatchewan Ancestors

Researching your Canadian ancestors? Our course, Research: Saskatchewan Ancestors has just been updated with the latest resources and information. Saskatchewan was part of the North West Territories from 1870 until it became a province in 1905. During this period the land was surveyed and railways were built to bring settlers to the west. To encourage settlement the government of Canada passed the Dominion Land Act in 1871. Under the act a one hundred and sixty acres of land was offered as a free homestead to males 21 years of age or to women who were the sole support for their family. Many people came from other areas in Canada, the United States, the British Isles and Europe to take up homesteads. Before beginning research in Saskatchewan the researcher should establish a research plan noting whom they are searching for, when the family was in Saskatchewan, where they lived, and what they were doing in the province. This enables the researcher to see what records the family may have created in Saskatchewan. This course will help you learn about the major record centres, libraries and societies that can help you find and use the records you need to trace Saskatchewan ancestors. The assignment part of the course will involve using many of the websites to find which original documents you will need to the answer your research problems. To learn more about what is covered in this course, please see our website. This course begins 4 January 2016.

Finishing Up US: Probate Records

By Shannon Combs-Bennett, Student I have to say I had a lot of fun digging through the online probate resources for my family members after completing the US: Probate Records course. I limited my afternoon search to online repositories since research into probate records for my family would take a plane ride or many long hours in a vehicle. With that being said, I think I hit the jackpot in a couple places. If you are in the same predicament that I am where your ancestors lived in different states, don’t forget that you can find books online. First place I always try is Google Books. They have quite a few older research books on there that you can read and download. Next I try WorldCat because I might get lucky and see that a nearby library has the books I am looking for, or maybe they will inter-library loan it to me. Of course, don’t forget the Internet Archive for those out-of-print genealogy books. I have found so many great resources on these pages and I know you will too! Since the majority of my family have lived in Indiana I decided to start there. Lucky for me, the books that are quoted as references to this section are now online at Ancestry.com. In fact, as I wrote this blog, Ancestry.com released their new probate collection. So, yeah, I went there and hit the jackpot. Right now I am at a 25% success rate on searches for my Indiana ancestors…

Learning More About Probate in the States

By Shannon Combs-Bennett, Student Up to this point in the US: Probate Records course we have learned a lot about the history and laws of the U.S. concerning probate situations. There were a lot of terms, examples, and information in the first three modules but I managed to make it through. The next two modules contained a directory of states which broke out information even more and concluded with a bibliographic resource list in Module 6. The directory will be a useful tool for me in the future as I research my family across the country. Each entry gave a brief description of what information you can usually find, where it is typically located and any interesting facts about the state. Particularly useful is the information on lost record locations. We all know of counties or towns that have lost records due to natural disasters or war. There are records still being lost today due to fire, flood, or neglect. It makes us look outside of our comfort zones for more potential records, but it is nice to know some of the possible problems up front before you start looking for something that no longer exists. Finally, in Module 6 the course concludes with a directory of websites and books that are useful for research in each of the states. It is not a complete listing because let’s face it, that would be hundreds of pages long! This listing contains larger inclusive books for the states and in particular indexes. …

International Institute of Genealogical Studies trains professional genealogists around the world in genealogical sciences, research records, and professional development skills. As a career trade school, we offer professional credentials in 14 genealogical fields of study for career-minded genealogists and classes for family historians wanting to preserve genealogy, history, and knowledge for families and friends. Continuing education for librarians, law enforcement, professionals, and writers to enhance your career and capabilities. Come learn with us in a flexible, affordable, professional online education environment. Visit https://genealogicalstudies.com