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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Finishing Up US Land Records

By Shannon Combs Bennett, Student Believe it or not I was surprised by what I learned in the US Land Records course.  Yes, I knew it was a record set that I was not extremely familiar with, but the amount I didn’t know was surprising to me.  It seems just looking at maps and going to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) website is not enough to learn this information! Through my posts I just touched on the information taught in  the course.  It was really just the tip of the iceberg.  The ideas for further research on my own family using these land records are swirling around my head.  Now, I just need to find the time. I am very curious to see if I can find homesteaders anywhere in my family tree simply for the potentially large genealogical payout.  Yes, I am still hoping, with fingers and toes crossed, for those mysterious origins for some of my family members.  You know, the ones who just seemed to spring off the page fully formed with no origin.

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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Maps and Deeds: The Perfect Combination

By Shannon Combs Bennett, Student I like maps.  No, I love maps.  It really is a bit of an odd thing, but through my research I discovered that maps can tell you a lot.  Then when you combine one with a record like a deed the results are beyond amazing.  Module 5 of the US Land Records course covers deeds and maps, and just how important alternative sources are to your research. Deeds are found in a wide range of places.  Estate records, mortgages, sales and leases are a few place you might find a deed.  But what is it?  Well primarily (because there are near a dozen different types of deeds) it is a document that shows who owns a piece of property.  This can be done through a bill of sale which records the transfer of ownership of property to a person.  Or a quitclaim where someone relinquishes their property to another but doesn’t guarantee that someone else doesn’t own a portion of it.  Or perhaps you could find a warranty deed which assures the purchaser that they are the sole owners. Okay, so deeds are cool right?  Bet you are now asking what they have to do with maps.  Well, deeds contain information on the land.  Its description, size, anything unique about it, even geological information.  Put the two together and you now have a whole new perspective on your family.

My Time at FGS2015

By Lynn Funk, Student Salt Lake City, Utah is considered by many to be the “Mecca for Genealogical Research” and it was never more so than this February 11-14 when the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) combined their conference with the annual RootsTech Conference. Over 22,000 people crowded into the Salt Palace to learn, share and enjoy speakers, workshops and exhibits about their shared passion—family history! My conference experience opened Wednesday night with a social featuring sandwiches and desserts and a panel discussion about Family History and Television. Participants included FGS president and Genealogy Roadshow host Joshua Taylor; Genealogy Roadshow host, genealogist and lawyer, Kenyatta Berry; George Ott from ProGenealogists; genetic genealogist CeCe Moore and Jennifer Utley from “Who Do You Think You Are?”  The panel discussed the impact shows such as Genealogy Roadshow, Finding Your Roots and Who Do You Think You Are?  have had on the growing interest in family history and genealogy. The next three days I attended sessions presented by both FGS and Rootstech, however most were FGS classes as they seemed to focus more on research methodology. In these classes I learned about cluster genealogy, resources for tracing U.S. ancestors between 1780-1840, using tax records to solve genealogical problems, and finding ancestors in between the censuses. One of my favorite classes was taught by Michael Lacopo and was entitled: She Came From Nowhere: A Case Study Approach to Solving a Difficult Genealogical Problem. Since I have several “difficult genealogical problems,” I found this class very helpful. It was fun to see how, step by step, he took down…

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