Personal Historian Courses

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers over 230 online courses, but did you know that many of our courses are not country specific. The genealogy world has certainly grown over the past few years. We have seen many changes that have led to the emergence of new opportunities for genealogists and family historians. One of those areas is for a Personal Historian.

You can take all four of our Personal Historian courses individually, or bundle them together as a 4 Course Package.
Check the Course Calendar for the next time these courses will be offered.

Personal Historian: Beginning Genealogy
This is the first of the four courses is a Basic level course and is offered every month. It explores how you can add genealogical research as an income stream to your Personal Historian business, whether you conduct the research yourself, or you hire a specific researcher. Family history information enhances any personal history project by providing more in-depth family details. This introductory course will address the process involved, some tips on what to look for when hiring a researcher, and how to do the basic genealogical research yourself.

Personal Historian: Oral History & Interviewing Techniques
The second of the four courses is offered every second month. This Intermediate course examines how a personal historian uses oral history interview techniques to interview individuals about their lives or those of their family. Combining the interview, research, and additional items like photographs and documents, a personal historian can create a beautiful story for a client. The course material will discuss the things you need to know before specializing in oral histories, how to prepare for and conduct an interview, and what can be done with all of the materials collected. The goal is to learn how to put everything together and preserve the priceless histories that are uncovered.

Personal Historian: Video Techniques
The third course is also offered every second month. This Intermediate course is designed to introduce the basics of audio-video production for personal historians and genealogists. This will appeal to people who want to use current digital audio and video tools to record, edit and share life stories. Audio-video productions encompass four phases of work: pre-production, production, post-production and delivery. This practical course is structured along these four phases. Students with any level of audio-video experience, including those who are beginners, will benefit from this course material. There is great depth and variety to the practice of video biography. Let this course help you to build your skills and video savvy.

Personal Historian: Telling the Stories
The fourth and final of these courses is an Intermediate course, which gives an overview of the within this package. It is also offered every second month. It reminds us that telling the stories of our ancestors must go beyond the basics of names, dates, and places. We can use those pieces as a basic foundation, but we must, as a home builder does, add layers and real-life stories to that foundation. This course will help you to confidently implement the Personal Historian component to your business as it demonstrates the many layers available to incorporate. These various layers will add depth to both personal and client projects, and additional revenue streams to a serious genealogy business.

Are you interested in pursuing a business as a Personal Historian? The opportunities available are as varied as the incredible stories that you will discover. Learn more about bundling these 4 courses into a Course Package here.
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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

Pursuing Research Strategies and Skills

The first week of a new month is always a busy time at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies as another rotation of online courses opens for our students, who are pursuing effective research strategies and looking to refine their research skills.

Month, we welcomed many new students who registered for a variety of courses using the discount codes offered during the RootsTech 2021 conference this past weekend. Thank you to those who stopped by the Expo Hall to visit The National Institute for Genealogical Studies’ Virtual Booth. Hopefully, you were able to claim one or more our special offers before the deadline of Friday, March 5th.

RootsTech2021 was an overwhelming success for their very first, totally virtual conference with over 1,000,000 attendees from over 200 countries and territories! Thank you to ALL who contributed to their success. Don’t forget to continue to use the resources on the RootsTech website and build your playlist. So much valuable content was provided to add to your genealogy research toolbox and sharpen your research skills. So many presentations to develop new research strategies to tackle your favourite research project, or topple that brick wall. Definitely a wonderful experience for all who were able to attend, and for those who will be utilizing this resource until RootsTech 2022!

The good news is that you don’t have to wait until next year to expand your online education plans. Did you discover a topic that has piqued your interest? Did you learn about a new aspect of research that you were unaware of? Explore our courses to see if you can dive deeper into that subject to pursue your genealogy research goals.

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers quality online education with over 230+ courses to choose from. Some of our courses are topic/country-specific, or provide insight into research methodology, while others are skill-building courses to maximize your research time. The first Monday of a new month means another rotation of courses started on March 1st. Most courses feature 6 modules over an 8-week period, easily adapted to most busy schedules. Many courses have been bundled into packages to provide discount options. Take a look at our course calendar and see which courses will accomplish your genealogical education goals. Register today!

—————————————————-
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

February – New Month, New Courses

At The National Institute for Genealogical Studies, the beginning of a new month brings another rotation of online courses opening for our students. Hopefully, February has seen you returning to a more regular routine. Are you starting a new family history course this month?

How are you doing with your education goals for 2021? Check the list of topics you wanted to pursue. Have you accomplished any of those goals? Remember, to make small, short-term, achievable goals that will lead to the accomplishment of your bigger goals. This will allow you to see your progress! Keep a log of your family history activities. Did you read a new book on a research topic? Did you watch webinars? Be sure to save those handouts. Does the topic require more in-depth study? How will you pursue that research topic this month? What online educational resources will move you closer to your goals for 2021? Actively make plans and add them to your calendar. Set reminders to keep you on track. Then record your activity and see where you need to make adjustments. Work towards successfully fulfilling your goals.

Research + Strategies = Discoveries = Success! Make this the month to move your family history forward. Use your time wisely. Allow us to help you to accomplish those goals!

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers quality online education with over 230+ courses to choose from. Some of our courses are topic/country-specific, or provide insight into research methodology, while others are skill-building courses to maximize your research time. The first Monday of a new month means another rotation of courses will start on February 1st. You can still join the class until this Friday. Most courses feature 6 modules over an 8-week period, easily adapted to most busy schedules. Many courses have been bundled into packages to provide discount options. Take a look at our course calendar and see which courses will accomplish your genealogical education goals and register today!

Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com

LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

Italian State of the Souls Records

Every country-specific certificate program at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies includes courses for Religious Records.

Continuing to research our ancestors and their family members through religious records, we will often discover unique types of records created within the church records for that region or country. Becoming familiar with these records will make it easier to understand the information we discover within them.

The course Italian: Catholic Church Records-Part 2, begins with the State of the Souls Records and what they cover in Parish records. Let’s explore these Italian church records.

State of the Souls Records in Genealogy

State of the Souls records can be tremendously helpful in extending a family’s ancestry in those areas of Italy that did not keep civil registration between the years 1816-1865, and in the centuries prior to civil registration. What information they recorded varied depending on the time period, education level or age of the priest, and the location in which it was recorded.

The records may be written in the Latin, Italian, and French languages, or in combination with regional dialects. However, they were predominantly written in Italian and Latin. Some records contained two or more languages/dialects within the same register or even on the same record. One such set of parish records had French, Latin, and Italian all mixed together in nearly every record. This made for a confusing translation process.

The status animarum were created during annual pastoral visits to each household. In large cities or when the priest was elderly, one entry may have been made that he then updated each Easter over a series of years. Occupations, titles, and tax notations can provide evidence of an ancestor’s social status within the community.

The status animarum were progressive records, meaning that they were not created at one time, but rather, over a series of years. Additionally, multiple priests could have made entries to a single status animarum record. This can create multiple chances for transcription error. Age, attention to detail, the size of the parish, and a variety of other factors can play a part in the accuracy of the information in these records. Despite this, these documents are thought to hold strong evidence on an Italian family.

We will show examples of these valuable records in a future blog post. See the blog post here.

Are you researching your Italian Catholic ancestors? Learn more about researching your Italian ancestors in the course Italian: Catholic Church Records-Part 2 through their records. Check the Course Calendar for the next time this course will be offered.

Contact information:
1 (800) 580-0165
Email: admin@GenealogicalStudies.com
Website: www.GenealogicalStudies.com
Blog: blog.GenealogicalStudies.com

LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

Diocese and Archdiocese in Italian Records

Every country-specific certificate program at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies includes courses for Religious Records.

As we research our ancestors and their family members, we will undoubtedly be faced with the challenge of locating their religious records within the communities where they spent their lives. In small rural areas, it may be easy as we locate the only village parish. However, it is not always as simple as we may think.

As we continue in the course Italian: Catholic Church Records-Part 1, our next task will be to Understand Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions & Archives and how to access the Parish records in local archives. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Diocese & Archdiocese

Diocese, spelled the same in Italian and English, is a group of parishes within a particular ecclesiastical district. Each diocese has a diocesan archive, usually named Archivio Diocesano or Archivio Storico Diocesano.

An archdiocese is a group of dioceses within a particular region (regione ecclesiastica). Some larger cities may contain the seat of the archdiocese as well as one of the dioceses within their jurisdiction. In these cases, the main offices are usually combined and the Archivio Diocesano located in the same building. These archives are usually quite organized, but their hours of operation are few. Often there is only one archivist who is also a priest with all the duties that come with that position.

Many diocesan archives will have their own websites containing contact information, hours, and descriptions about their collection. Research in the diocese archive is usually by appointment only so please be sure to write ahead for permission several weeks in advance before leaving for Italy on a research trip. Additionally, you should verify that they have the type of records you seek. An archive’s contents, what records have survived, and the procedure to access the records can vary widely. It is advisable to leave at least 50 euros as a donation after being allowed to access these records.

Some diocesan archives have the parish records for all the parishes within their jurisdiction prior to 1900. Other dioceses have records conserved in each individual parish.

The types of records usually found in a diocesan archive may include:

Marriage supplements (which may contain a dispensation)
Baptismal and Marriage records after 1900 (second copy)
Records of Closed Parishes
Service Records for Priests and Nuns
The State of the Souls Records (stato delle anime)

These records will be invaluable to your Italian research.

Are you researching your Italian Catholic ancestors? Our course Italian: Catholic Church Records-Part 1 can help you to discover part of their stories through the records they left behind. Check the Course Calendar for the next time this course will be offered.