• Posted on February 14, 2017February 14, 2017
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Specialty Newspapers in the United States

by Shannon Combs-Bennett, student Extra! Extra! Read all about…. Specialty newspapers!  Seriously, I learned a lot about niche newspapers in Module 5 of the US: Newspaper Records course. While I don’t think I will be able to use it in my personal research I am certain this knowledge with come in handy for when I help others with their research. I was surprised by the number and types of specialty, or niche, type newspapers that were published throughout US history.  Many of us may be familiar with ethnic newspapers, especially if we have immigrant ancestors from non-English speaking countries. However, did you know about that the following types of newspapers were published too? Ethnic, including Native and African American Religious Military Labor / Occupation No matter which type of specialty newspaper you decide to investigate you will be able to do so with a bit of help from the five page finding aid section of this module. My family has a long line of military involvement which means I need to follow those leads to see if I can find anything for my research in them. If I don’t find my people in them I am hopeful that I will be able to add context, images, and stories about what they did to my personal files.  You know, breathe some life into those biographies! This module surprised me with the amount of information to say the least.  I know you will get a lot out of it too!! I hope…

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• Posted on February 7, 2017February 10, 2017
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on What Do You Know About US Newspapers?

  by Shannon Combs-Bennett, student Who loves history?  I do! I know you probably do too. Which is why Module 1 of the US: Newspaper Records course was absolutely amazing to read. Most of the module covered the history of newspapers in the US as well as an overview of the information you can discover. There was so much excellent information in those pages. Many people don’t know that there were regular newspapers in the Americas dating all the way back to the 1600s. As the colonies grew, so did the number of newspapers. Not all of them were successful, but the ones that we are lucky enough to still have today are a great insight into life during that time.  Which is one of the things that excites me most about old newspapers. A window into the past, that is what I like to think of newspapers. You can see exactly what was happening in a community during a specific day, week, or even month. It is one of the purest ways to study the social history of our ancestors. The course author includes a section about advertising in the newspapers. Advertisements are great, not only for the social history aspect, but also to give you clues about your ancestors if they were in business.  For instance, one of the best advertisements I found in a newspaper was for my 3rd great grandmother’s hotel in my hometown. Because of that advertisement,  I learned the cost of a nightly rate…

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• Posted on February 3, 2017April 27, 2023
• by Angela Breidenbach
• 1 Comment on New Course: Forensic Genealogy

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce our newest course, written by professional genealogist Cari Taplin CG, Forensic Genealogy. The field of forensic genealogy is a fast-growing field dealing with genealogical research that might have legal implications, such as heir searching or determining mineral rights. Families drift apart for many reasons: divorce, disagreement, migrations, remarriage, or others. Today’s genealogists and family historians have many reasons for reestablishing connections with lost relatives. We designed this course to help forensic researchers identify and contact living people. It will also take students through genealogical sources and documents, but with a focus on identifying living people, as well as some practical examples. Students will also learn about specific career subsets in forensic work. Forensic genealogy and the work necessary to identify and contact living people can be a rewarding field. This course will teach students some of the basic skills necessary to get started. This course begins on Monday, February 6 and is available every two months after that. Learn more on our website.

• Posted on January 31, 2017January 31, 2017
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Starting the US Newspaper Records Course

  by Shannon Combs-Bennett, student   I think one of the most overlooked sources for genealogy research are newspapers.  Where else can you find information on current and historical events, your ancestors, and history all in one place?  Even before I started researching my family history I admit that newspapers were a bit of a fascination for me.  Old newspapers are intriguing, and hold so many stories just waiting to be uncovered. When I learned that one of the required classes for an American Records certificate from The National Institute for Genealogical Studies  was a course on  newspaper research I was very excited.  I really, really hoped when I saw that I would learn some cool new tips about newspapers.  From my experience, and you probably have read this before in my past blog posts, I just knew that there was more to learn. By looking at the syllabus for the US: Newspaper Records course you can see that a lot of different aspects of newspaper research are covered.  Particular importance is paid to learning how to dissect information out of stories as well as module after module on what information can be ferreted out of said articles. I am looking forward to learning more about the information I will find in newspapers.  However, I know that I can always brush up on my search technique which means Module 6 will most likely end up being the one I find the most helpful. On that note, off I go to…

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