Our Transcription Tuesday blog posts highlight many of the aspects of transcriptions encountered in research projects.
Tag Archives: Courses
Transcription Tuesday – Projects
Our students at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies register for our online courses for a wide variety of reasons. Many are seeking additional education to hone their research skills, and The Institute provides extensive genealogical education for professional genealogists, as well as those who are interested in beginning to research their family history.
Included in our Basic Level courses are the foundational research skills needed to develop solid research methodology practices. Creating Transcriptions is one of those essential skills, however, it does not come naturally for every researcher. For this reason, our Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting Basic Level course has been designed to equip all of our certificate students with this vital ability. It is recommended for all family history researchers, no matter what their level of expertise, to strive to acquire this core skill.
Once these skills are understood, reading and analyzing historical documents will become much easier. Assignments in the course material are designed to put into practice the concepts being taught. By accessing actual original documents, students will gain experience in reading historical handwriting, and they will become familiar with the types of records that were created in several time periods and for various purposes. Analyzing records is much more effective when these records are transcribed and abstracted. The skills learned in each course can then be applied to their own research, no matter where their research is focused. The principles and methodology will be the same, allowing researchers to develop specific research strategies for their regions.
No matter which topic you study, it is important to put your new knowledge to work and practice your new skills. Experience comes with practice. The more you exercise your newly acquired skills, the more familiar they will become, and you will develop confidence in your abilities.
We encourage students to look beyond their own research. There are many opportunities to expand our research. Helping friends or extended family members with their research, exposes us to new records and unfamiliar regions. We learn to think beyond our familiar resources, and seek out new strategies as we develop research plans for their family histories.
Finding research projects can help you to develop your skills. Put your transcription knowledge to the test. There are many local genealogy societies or historical groups, who have projects to process their local history needing volunteers. Look for projects in your area. Below are two examples of opportunities to practice your transcription skills.
Early Ontario Marriage Records
The Kingston Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has been working in collaboration with the Queen’s University Archives(QUA) to digitize early Ontario marriage records at QUA for their 50th Anniversary. You can find the project here: Queen’s University Archives – Transcription Project Simply Create a Free Account. Read the General Transcription Tips. Click on Available Projects, and scroll down to the Marriage Records collection. Gain transcription experience and help future researchers.
Citizen Archivists at the National Archives (NARA)
You can also gain transcription experience with larger repositories. Become a Citizen Archivist at NARA.
Register and Get Started
Get Started Transcribing
Transcription Tips
Transcribing booklet
Check out their Resources
Practicing your transcription skills by volunteering with transcription projects will benefit your own research. Find ways to transcribe all types of records, especially handwritten documents, wherever you can. Review your own research files and transcribe all of your documents. You are sure to discover new clues as you analyze them word by word!
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As researchers, we have found that there are many skills we need to employ in order to achieve success in our future research projects. Transcription Tuesday will share guidelines and practical suggestions to help our readers to develop the skills for making effective transcriptions, abstracts, and extractions.
Transcription Tuesday previous blog post
Transcription Tuesday Index
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These three core courses demonstrate Transcription principles. They are offered monthly, beginning on the first Monday of every month: Register today!
Methodology-Part 2: Organizing and Skill-Building
Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting
Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical Documents
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Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.
Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com
LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION since 1997
Transcription Tuesday – German Handwriting
The National Institute for Genealogical Studies provides online genealogical education for those interested in a wide variety of topics, including those who are faced with reading records in a language that is unfamiliar to them. Whether you are just beginning to research your family history, or you are a professional genealogist, sooner or later, you will face this challenge.
One of the foundational research skills to develop is Transcribing. However, it is difficult to transcript documents in other languages. Transcriptions still need to be created by family history researchers, and often in both languages. For this reason, we have created courses to address some of these challenges.
Reading German Records
There are two National Institute for Genealogical Studies courses from our German Records Certificate, which deal with German Handwriting and Transcribing Records written in the German language.
The first course is German: The Language. This National Institute for Genealogical Studies basic level course introduces the key information needed about the German language so researchers can be successful in reading German records. Read Course Description here
The second course is German: Reading the Records. This National Institute for Genealogical Studies intermediate level course provides a detailed discussion and explanation of the old style of German handwriting. Read Course Description here
This course requires the purchase of a Compulsory Textbook titled: Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Vital Records Written in German by Author: Roger P. Minert (2001, 182 pp). It includes a short history of handwriting styles in Germany, detailed separate methodologies for deciphering German, Latin and French vital records, computerized alphabet for old German characters representing the old Fraktur and Gothic handwriting alphabets, and more than 150 illustrations with 131 sample texts. Book is available in our online Genealogy Store.
Both courses are part of our German Certificate Program. This can be purchased as a 40-course package, which includes all of the compulsory and elective courses required to complete the Certificate in Genealogical Studies for German Records.
Practical Resources for German Handwriting
Germany Handwriting – FamilySearch
Handwriting Guide: German Gothic – FamilySearch
List of Names in Old German Script – BYU Script Tutorial
A comprehensive list of German given names, written in old script, with possible variations.
Old German Script Transcriber – Deutsche Handschriften
This is a very useful webpage. See how your family names were written in the script of their era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on one of the 8 different fonts. You can save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.
Handouts from FamilySearch
German Genealogical Word List
Kurrent Font – Letters Handout
Marriage Laws and Customs in Germany
Old German Script
Spelling Variations in German Given and Place Names
Fraktur Script
Tutorials and Classes
German Paleography Seminar: 10 Lessons – FamilySearch
Handwriting Practice for Kurrent (Old German Script) – FamilySearch
Introduction to German Script Tutorial – BYU Script Tutorial
Be sure to practice your recognition with these tests: Letters Test | Words Test | Passages Test
German Genealogical Word List – FamilySearch
This list contains German words with their English translations – a valuable resource.
German Records can be challenging, but with these tools and resources, you will be able to hone your transcription skills and begin to master German transcriptions.
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As researchers, we have found that there are many skills we need to employ in order to achieve success in our future research projects. Transcription Tuesday will share guidelines and practical suggestions to help our readers to develop the skills for making effective transcriptions, abstracts, and extractions, as well as highlighting our courses that were created to address these challenges.
Transcription Tuesday previous blog post
Transcription Tuesday Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These three core courses demonstrate Transcription principles. They are offered monthly, beginning on the first Monday of every month: Register today!
Methodology-Part 2: Organizing and Skill-Building
Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting
Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical Documents
—————————————————-
Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.
Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com
LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION since 1997
Transcription Tuesday Dutch Handwriting
The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers 230+ online courses on a wide variety of topics, providing genealogical education for those interested in beginning to research their family history, as well as professional genealogists.
As we continue to explore developing Transcription Skills, we realize that most researchers will eventually discover immigrant ancestors whose original language was not English. This can make transcribing their documents a challenge when the language is not familiar. Our Basic Level course: Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting was created to equip all of our students with this essential ability, but how can you start transcribing when you can’t even read the documents?
DUTCH Research
Our course Research: Dutch Ancestors in the Netherlands is an excellent resource for those who discover that they have Dutch Ancestors. It will guide you through the records that contain details about your ancestors’ lives. But how can you overcome the language barrier?
Here are a few resources to assist you with translating the documents in order to prepare them for transcriptions. The FamilySearch Research Wiki is always a good place to start.
FamilySearch – The Netherlands Genealogy
FamilySearch – The Netherlands Online Genealogy Records
FamilySearch – Netherlands Handwriting
FamilySearch – Learning to Read Dutch Handwriting
FamilySearch – Dutch Genealogical Word List
Look for websites that provide tips and tutorials, created by those with experience using these records. Webinars and special collections will provide useful information for your research.
BYU Script Tutorial – The Dutch Documents
The Warehouse – Handwriting: Dutch Old Alphabet
Dutch Genealogy – Quick tip – Mind the long S
Legacy Family Tree Webinars – Researching Your Dutch Ancestors
Library & Archives Canada – Immigration History: Ethno-Cultural Groups: Dutch
Ancestry – Netherlands Collections
Remember, the more you read through the documents, the more familiar you will become with the handwriting. Letters and words will become more easily recognizable. Practice transcribing small portions taken from a variety of documents. Create a “cheat sheet” document for yourself with screenshots of the most common letters or words found in the documents you are searching. This will make it easier to read similar documents when you come back later. It is recommended to always transcribe the documents for your ancestors when you find them, along with a complete citation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As researchers, we have found that there are many skills we need to employ in order to achieve success in our future research projects. Transcription Tuesday will share guidelines and practical suggestions to help our readers to develop the skills for making effective transcriptions, abstracts, and extractions.
Transcription Tuesday previous blog post
Transcription Tuesday Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These three core courses demonstrate Transcription principles. They are offered monthly, beginning on the first Monday of every month: Register today!
Methodology-Part 2: Organizing and Skill-Building
Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting
Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical Documents
—————————————————-
Visit our website for a complete list of online courses offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Check our Course Calendar here.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.
Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com
LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION since 1997
Genealogical Education Goals
Most of the major holiday celebrations are coming to a close. Perhaps you were fortunate enough to have opportunity to visit with family, and even to interview some of your family members, or browse through family photos. Be sure to record any family stories you were able to discover over this holiday season, as well as recording your own annual memories. It certainly was another year to remember!
Now it is time to get ready to plan for new genealogical adventures. What do you hope to discover? Do you have a research focus? Making Realistic Genealogical Goals is key to successful research, both in the short term, and with long lasting rewards. Knowing what you want to accomplish is not enough. You need to make definite plans. Are you planning to apply to a lineage society? Do you need to get your files and documents organized? Implement a system that works for you. Have you lost where you left off in your research? Review the notes for your findings and make a proper Research Plan. Forgot where you found that information? Be sure to always cite your sources at the time of the discovery in order to review your work and make sure you will be able to find that source again.
At a time when the accessibility of many repositories is uncertain, and possibly closed to in-person visits, work on what you can achieve at home and stay organized. Make a detailed list of what has been left undone and needs to have follow-up analysis. Then set your goals for how you will complete each task for each of your research projects. You have a brand-new open calendar before you – plan your time wisely.
Do you have education goals? Make a list of the topics you want to pursue. How can you accomplish this goal? Is there a new book to read on the topic? Are there webinars to watch? Does the topic require more in-depth study over a period of time? How can online education help meet your goals?
Contact our executive director, Angie Breidenbach, for your personal student advising appointment. Drop a note in the chat app at https://GenealogicalStudies.com or call 800.580.0165 x1.
Follow us on Social Media: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.
*Note: Please be aware our social media accounts are monitored regularly, but NOT 24/7. If you have any questions, please contact the office directly.
Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165 x1 for student advising
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com