International Institute of Genealogical Studies – Page 129 – LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

Alternatives to Vital Records

by Shannon Combs Bennett, Student Alright, down to the final modules before I take the exam. The last two modules covered birth records and other documents that a researcher could use in the place of vital records. Which, if you have ancestors particularly in southern states, you need all the alternative ideas on finding records you can find. I did know a lot of the alternative resources listed, but there were a few that made me think and want to explore more. As I alluded to above, some states and counties have nearly non-existent records. If you are doing research in a burned county or a place that had a large natural disaster you will need to figure out ways to work around traditional vital records. The list was extensive for alternative places that you could find vital records information, and I wanted to share a few here with you. Court records (one of my favorite places to look, by the way Chancery records are amazing!) Military records (have you seen what a pension file can hold?) Immigration records (I am envious of those of you who can look here.) Ship Lists (don’t forget, people came through other places than Ellis Island!) Lineage societies (there are some amazing libraries and resources out there.) In particular my greatest successes have come from military pension files, but service records, medical records, and histories can provide a lot of information too. For example, in my 4th great grandfather’s 1812 pension file I…

A Vital Record is a Vital Record

We are off with a bang in the US: Vital Records, Understanding and Using The Records course! Module 1 jumps right into what is a vital record and how to find them. Contrary to what I thought from reading the introduction to the course, it appears that there are a whole slew of vital records, and not just birth and death. Good to know! However, course author Leslie Brinkley Lawson is quick to point out to us that divorce records are not vital records, and I can see her point. Marriage records are created by the county and usually stored at the clerk’s office thus making them a record of the government, like a birth or death record. Divorce records are court records and while they do contain information that is good for genealogical purposes, they are not vital records. Nope, divorce records are records of the court not the government. I was also pleased to see a step-by-step tutorial on how to find vital records on the Internet. Many people are unable to travel to research, and I understand that. Even though I love visiting onsite research facilities my circumstances make it difficult to drop everything and travel thousands of miles for the record I need. It is just not feasible! The guides, tips, and suggestions on finding these records on the Internet (and in some cases how to order them) was a wonderful addition. Lastly, and I was really grateful this was covered, the instructor talked about vital…

Time for US Vital Records

By Shannon Bennett, Student Vital records are the bread and butter, go-to source, for many genealogists. The volumes of information you can glean from their pages are treasure troves. Yes, many of my brick walls have tumbled once I laid my hands on those pieces of paper, but I never actually stopped to really study what they are. Have you? In the US: Vital Records, Understanding and Using The Records course, we take an extensive look at birth, marriage, and death records within the United States. I was excited to read that we will study the levels of government that are involved with these records and where they are kept. To me that is one of the most important things to understand about records, where you can locate them and if you can get them. I know from experience that each state had different start years for vital records which makes uncovering proof very frustrating. Then you have to jump through each jurisdiction’s hoops to get the records because they are not the same from state to state or even county to county. The topics covered look very in-depth. There is also a module on finding alternative records, or perhaps using them as clues to find those vital records. Many of you know from reading my previous posts that I approach genealogy as a great big puzzle that has to be put together. At times I have to get out my magnifying glass, put my Sherlock hat on and really…

Continuing My Journey Through German Records

By Michele Simmons Lewis, Student I chose Locating Places in Germany as my second German course from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies and I am happy I did. This course is packed with information to help you track down where in Germany your ancestor came from and how to locate the records for that location. Module 1 explains some of the pitfalls when trying to identify where in Germany your ancestor came from. It is easy to make a bad assumption. Some towns have the same name as other larger jurisdictions and there might be more than one town with the same name. This makes sense considering we have the same thing here in the United States. There is an Appling, Georgia (town) and an Appling County, Georgia. Appling the town isn’t even in Appling County, it is in Columbia County. I live in Harlem, Georgia, not to be confused with Harlem, New York. Another thing to consider is the name of the town could have changed when another country took over that area. The borders were constantly changing. To learn more about this consider taking Introduction to German Research for North Americans which gives a great basic history of Germany and the jurisdictional changes. You can learn more about this course in my previous blog post. Module 2 goes on to explain the different jurisdictional levels and it covers all of the German-speaking areas of Europe. Knowing the political divisions and at which level records are held will save…

Finishing Up English Occupations

By Shannon Bennett, Student Well, I just finished English: Occupations-Professions and Trades and took the final. Wow, that was all around awesome, but definitely not for the faint of heart. I think I need a couple days to recover so it is a good thing that I have a few days before the next one starts! This course really makes me wish I knew more about my UK ancestors. Jumping the pond has not been easy for me. Well, if I am completely honest it’s been nearly impossible. Why do my ancestors not want us to know where they came from?! For those of you lucky enough to live there, or know more details about their ancestors, I can’t recommend this course enough. You should seriously consider taking it particularly if you have run into brick walls. It gives you great resources to check out for research as well as amazing information on social history and what different occupations were. My most recent UK ancestor immigrated to the US in 1820. Before that it was a steady stream all the way back to the Mayflower. My husband on the other hand has a much closer ancestor. His great-grandmother and her family immigrated to New York from Ystradyfodwg, Glamorgan, Wales in 1882. Even better, his mother shared stories with us that her grandmother told us about growing up there. Elizabeth Pittard immigrated at the age of 14 and she had amazing stories about her father working in a coal mine. I…

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