International Institute of Genealogical Studies – Page 123 – LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

Congratulations to – Colleen Murray, PLCGS!

By Colleen Murray, Student Last week marked a major milestone in my genealogical education. I finished my 40 courses required to earn the PLCGS (Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies) from the International Institute of Genealogical Studies! Though immersed in celebration this week, I have returned to my computer to write this account of my experiences and reflect on how I got here. I was always a business-minded individual. I initially thought I’d be an accountant, and completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree. But finding myself at a soul-sucking job after graduation, I quit to follow my dream of opening a retail tea shop in Edmonton, Canada. Six years later, I sold it when our family moved to Ontario. Small children took up most of my day, and I happened on genealogy as a hobby that I could do in spare moments to maintain my sanity. In 2010, having moved back to Edmonton, I started researching genealogy educational programs. I wondered if perhaps my hobby could be translated into a career? I settled on the Interational Institute of Genealogical Studies because of its Canadian stream of courses. It was very important to me that my education be relevant to my location. It also allowed me to take Irish courses, which is where my cultural heritage lies. Best of all, I could work at my own pace. I started out the program very slowly, trying out Methodology parts 1 & 2 before moving on to the beginner level Canadian package. I…

Uncovering my Religious Heritage

By Shannon Combs Bennett, Student Well color me surprised but there was more than one religion in the next two modules of US Religious Records – Part 1 that my family could have been. My Virginia lines were most likely Anglican and Episcopal. Plus, since I had ancestors in New Netherland I paid particular attention to the sections on the Dutch Reformed Churches. Now, that is not to say I didn’t learn a lot about the Lutherans, Unitarians, and the Quakers because I did. Plus I bet one of these days I will find those religions in my tree too. Since I do quite a bit of Virginia research because I, well, live in Virginia I really tried to internalize the information presented in the course. I learned that the Anglican Church, whose roots are with the Church of England, was the colony’s official church written into the incorporation papers. It was also fascinating to read how the Methodist Church formed out of the Anglican and Episcopal Churches. I knew there was a connection but did not know how it began. Thankfully for me, a lot of the Virginia church records are just down the road in Richmond at the Library of Virginia. In my future, I see another recordset that I will need to investigate for my distant relations. Genealogy road trips are always so much fun. Then there were the Reformed Churches. Ever since I learned that I had ancestors in the New Netherland’s colony I have read…

Reading German Records

By Michele Simmons Lewis, Student German: Reading the Records is my favorite German course from The National Institute for Genealogical Studies so far. The first half of this course concentrates on teaching you how to write in the old German script. Actually forming the letters over and over again gets those letter shapes in your brain and you have a much easier time recognizing them when you are reading documents. The second half of the course is all about reading real records. There is a required book for this course, Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents by Roger P. Minert. This is an excellent book and has countless examples of documents along with transliterations and translations. Each document is fully analyzed pointing out certain things you need to be watching for such as common abbreviations and common phrases. This is one of those books you will want to read from cover to cover. There is a little surprise in the class. German documents aren’t always written in German. You also have to learn how to read Latin and French. I happen to love languages so I was pretty happy to see these assignments. Now I have even more flexibility and these skills will help me in other areas, not just with German records. This isn’t an easy course. The assignments include documents that look like they were written by a second-grader. (Did you think that only happened with English records?) There are faded documents and some have the words cut off…

The History of Religions

By Shannon Bennett, Student I love history. Really, I do, and if you have followed this blog for any amount of time you probably have figured that out. So guess how excited I was when Module 1 of US Religious Records – Part 1 was all historical background. That’s right, I read it one sitting and went back for more. Ok, I will admit I knew most of it, but it was really good information. If you really don’t have historical context for common Christian religions it is a must read. Seriously. Knowing how and why religions developed in relation to historical events can be a real eye opener if you have never studied it before. Of course, I am sure everyone is familiar with the story of Henry VIII and his infamous divorce. You might also know who Martian Luther was. How about George Whitefield? Maybe, maybe not? Well he was a leader during the “Great Awakening” which was America’s first significant religious revival which occurred in the 1730s-40s. Many of the religions that formed out of it are still around today, along with their philosophies and their records. To be honest, while the history lesson was great I particularly looked forward to Module 2 which covered the Roman Catholic Church exclusively. I wanted to know more about the records for those members of my family and how I could find them. The first section covered the history of the church in the colonies from Spain and England. The…

Starting U.S. Religious Records Part 1

By Shannon Bennett, Student Religious records are used frequently in genealogy research. Baptismal records can verify a birth date and parent’s names. Burial records can give an estimated death date. Then there are the marriage records, the fantastic marriage records. Needless to say, records from religious institutions can give you amazing information. That is if you know where to work. I know my ancestors were religious. Well, at least I know they were moderately active in their local churches and participated in the typical things; you know baptisms and marriages. A few of them were involved with community church projects and others simply attended because that was where their parents, and their parents, and their parents, and so on all attended. However, how do you find those records? For my family I know I have a large number of Catholics, followed closely by the Presbyterians, then Methodists, and finally, those who identified themselves at Protestant but I have no idea what flavor. I have to admit I was surprised by the Catholic lines. No one I personally know actively practiced Catholicism but it seems that my paternal grandmother was Catholic as well as her entire side of the family. On my maternal side, my grandfather was the first to be baptized Protestant. His father’s family were all Catholic all the way back to their roots in Maryland, but his mother was not. Can you guess who won the religious war in that family? The course US Religious Records –…

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