Certificates Certifications and Degrees: they are all the same thing…right?

It seems that there is some confusion in the world concerning credentials for genealogists.  Hard to believe isn’t it, but, never the less I had the unfortunate experience of going through a credentialing nightmare, more than once.  After I shared my experience with a few friends I noticed a startling trend.  They all had also experienced the same thing: having a group they spoke to assume they were something they were not.

Honestly, it wasn’t like I tried to hoodwink anyone.  I was booked to speak at a local community lecture series along with a variety of other speakers from other backgrounds.  The organizer asked that I provide my name as I wanted it printed and a short biography.  No problem!  Then I saw the program “Shannon Combs-Bennett, Certified Professional Genealogist.”  I called and explained that I am not I felt uncomfortable with that label. The certification groups here in the US were proprietary and if they wanted to show I was "for real" to use the credentials (QG, PLCGS) listed in my email signature.  That should be it, right?

Well, it wasn’t.  Three days before the lecture I was sent a printed copy of the program.  There, in big letters “Shannon Combs-Bennet, Certified Genealogist.”  The blood drained from my face.  I called the organizer, she truly didn’t understand what the problem was.  I understood, the coordinator was not in the field and was not sure why I was complaining.  What made it worse, the woman who created the program is a genealogist and knows me.  She told the program coordinator that I was a Certified Genealogist because she remembers when I took the Boston University program and thought that meant I earned a certification.  Oh dear, what a big misunderstanding.

The more people I talk to the more I found confusion and uncertainty concerning certificates, certifications, credentials, and the like within our community.  While I don’t believe anyone in the community intentional tries to hoodwink anyone else if you are not “in the know” it does get quite confusing. 

To try and explain all the possible variations a person in the genealogical world could come across I have listed the alphabet soup you may see on a name badge or lecture handout.  In addition, I threw in common certificate programs that get confused with professional certifications.

You may see the abbreviations MA, MS, or MSc on someone’s name tag or credentials.  An MS and an MSc are both Master of Science and an MA is a Master of Arts.  We have a diverse group of people in the world of genealogy and many speakers have obtained advanced degrees (including Ph.D.).  They have the right to show it off, particularly if it is in a discipline that directly impacts genealogy research such as history or library science.

The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) is based out of Washington, DC. They are probably the most well know certification body and award the Certified Genealogist (C.G.) credentials to those who successfully complete the qualification process.  BCG also offers a certification in lecturing resulting in a CGL standing for Certified Genealogical Lecturer.

The International Commission for the Accreditation of Genealogists (ICAPGen) is based in Orem, Utah.  It awards an Accredited Genealogist (A.G.) credential to those who successfully complete the qualification process.  Their process focusses on regional certification allowing one person to hold multiple certifications in different areas.  

Brigham Young University offers a Bachelor degree and a minor in family history and Brigham Young University-Idaho offers an Applied Associates (AAS) degree in Family History Research. As a University program, you now have a degree behind your work.  While not a certification, a degree can be more beneficial in the minds of those looking to make this a career.  You may seem more qualified in the eyes of an employer than a person who is self-taught.

The University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland, has several programs for students:

·       On-campus and online 8-week beginning course on genealogy.

·       A certificate and diploma in genealogy primarily designed for those who have never gone to a university before and need to get their feet wet in an academic setting.

·       A Master of Science (MSc) in Genealogical, Paleographic, and Heraldic Studies.

The University of Dundee, in Dundee, Scotland, offers several programs that you can choose from as well:

·       Non-accredited short term courses to give you an introduction to family history.

·       Several accredited courses to help develop your expertise in a specific part of genealogy such as.

·       A certificate and diploma option.

·       A Master of Literature (MLitt), in research.

From Boston University you can earn a Certificate in Genealogical Research through their 15 week online program.  It is an intense program that is similar to a graduate school course in nature.

Another certificate program is the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.  You can take courses al a carte from their course catalog or you can actively pursue one of their 10 certificates.  Upon completion, you are awarded a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) and can use the abbreviation after your name.  The 10 programs currently offered are:

• American Records Certificate
• Australian Records Certificate
• Canadian Records Certificate
• English Records Certificate
• German Records Certificate
• Irish Records Certificate
• Librarianship Certificate
• Methodology Certificate
• Professional Development Certificate
• Scottish Records Certificate

Finally, there are a variety of weeklong institutes that you can attend which offer certificates of completion for attending.  These intensive all-day seminars are wonderful ways to jump your education to the next level.  If you have a chance to attend them I would recommend it!  They are:

·   Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP)

·   Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR)

·   Midwestern African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI)

·   Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed, formerly NIGR)

·   Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG)

Hopefully, this not only demonstrated the vast array of programs available, but also what is and is not, considered certification.  While it can be confusing just remember when in doubt ask the person.  No one is going to be upset if you need clarification.  In fact, they should be relieved that you want to make sure you get their introduction right.  After all, they don’t want to tell a group of 75 people they are not a CG.  Which is now on my list of least favorite things I have done as a lecturer.

Guest Post on The making of a genealogy MOOC (massive open online course)

Written by Tahitia McCabe, Univeristy of Strathclyde

Hosted by our partners, FutureLearn, the Postgraduate Programme in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies at the University of Strathclyde runs a MOOC called Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree. To date, we’ve had just over 48,000 people register for the course!

I am the Lead Educator on the MOOC and the course director of the Postgraduate Programme and though I’ve worked on the Programme developing course content for a number of years, I’d not developed this type of course before. The University and FutureLearn were very happy to give me and my colleague, Graham Holton, Principal Tutor on the Programme, free rein to consider audience, content, level and length which was freeing but also a bit terrifying.  There were very few guidelines but also constraints aside from the considerations of the platform the course would be hosted upon so it was really down to us to shape the entire thing.

We quickly decided that the course would be primarily aimed at beginners and we wanted to make it useful to family history researchers around the world no matter the records they used. This meant we would focus on genealogical research techniques rather than a specific country’s records, though given our personal family backgrounds, many of the examples we use are British and American. The Postgraduate Programme has a strong element of genetic genealogy and we feel it’s important that everyone understand at least the basics of what DNA testing can offer to the family historian so we included a segment on this.

We started working on course development in October of 2015, with filming largely accomplished by December and I then spent a large part of the holiday break writing the accompanying articles. We had content development help from some lovely folks in the genealogy community (Marie Dougan (http://ancestralconsultants.com/), Biff and Nan Barnes of Stories to Tell (http://www.storiestotellbooks.com/) and Alasdair Macdonald (http://www.yourscottishancestry.com) and as with most projects working around everyone’s schedule was a challenge though everything came together swimmingly in the end.

Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree is the 5^th MOOC created by Strathclyde and the University’s MOOCs are known for including a storyline. As soon as I was told we’d need an idea for this, Chris popped into my head. She took an on-campus beginner’s course with me in the Autumn of 2014 and was a total novice at that time. Her end project discussed some intriguing findings she’d made with her family tree (I don’t want to give the details away here!) and her methodical approach really impressed me. Thankfully, she was willing to share her story with us and we ended up spending many hours in filming. The storyline develops each week and is the true story of her research journey; I am so thankful for her generosity and her passion for genealogy. A true star!

Though the first run started in March of 2016, FutureLearn and the University’s MOOC support team needed about 2 months to create transcriptions of all the filmed lectures and to make sure what we’d placed on the platform actually worked with the software. It was a nerve wracking time waiting for the quality check report to come back but thankfully, there were just a few tweaks to be done and then it was a case of publicizing the course. Over a month and a half, we saw the enrolment figures grow and finally by the time of the first week of the run, we had 26,000 people signed up. A staggering amount of discussions were generated over the six weeks of the course and it proved impossible to read them all but the willingness to share ideas and help fellow classmates was infectious!

The course has run a further two times and is actually currently running and in its fourth week. If you want to join in, it’s not too late, you can enrol at https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/genealogy. We’ll also be running it again in the summer though exact dates are still to be decided upon. It’s free and open to everyone! 

The Importance of Continuing Your Education

“What are you doing mom?”

“Studying”

“What?!  You aren’t in school.  It’s just a book, you are just reading.”

“No honey, I am always learning…”

This conversation happened many years ago when I first started learning the craft of genealogy research.  My son was in elementary school and he couldn’t understand that if I wasn’t in a “real” school how could I be “learning.”  I am not sure he ever really came around to the concept that you can learn your whole life, in or out of school.

I know I talk about this frequently, but I still get asked for advice on this topic all the time.  Which means, people are still looking for answers.  Genealogists young and old, novice or experienced, must embrace continuing education if they want to be truly successful.  Even experienced researchers can learn new tricks, tips, or techniques to make their family search more successful.  Figuring out how to find the education you need can be the challenge for many people. 

Those who have researched for many years cannot find educational opportunities advanced enough.  On the other hand, many beginners get overwhelmed by the choices they have or the concepts presented.  To be honest, I get overwhelmed with the choices between webinars, conferences, and courses.  The key is to have a strategy to how you want to learn with an understanding of why you are going to a class or take a course online.  Below are a list of items you should think about when you are considering taking your genealogical education to the next level.

Know How You Learn Best

Are you a visual learning or an auditory learning?  Do you need to talk thing through or can you read it and pick it up quickly?  Knowing how you learn will help you decide what educational platform will work best for you. 

Learn Something Everyday

Make education a habit in your life and reap the rewards.  If you take the time to read, study, learn something new every day your research will always progress.  It really is that simple.  Take a few minutes to read a magazine article, a chapter in a book, a blog post, or even talk with a friend about an item of interest.  Once you embrace education in your life you will never be able to let it go.

Push Yourself

To learn and grow as a researcher you need to push the boundaries of your comfort zone.  A student only grows if they try something new or learn a concept that is a new facet to a subject you already know.  By choosing courses that make you push the boundaries of your knowledge, and your comfort zone, you are sure to become more confident in your abilities.

Every Opportunity Should Be Taken

Read books, watch TV shows, listen to podcasts, attend society meetings, and look for any opportunity to learn something new.  A lifelong student understands that there are educational possibilities around us every minute, we just need to take long enough to recognize them for what they are.  In the genealogy field we are lucky to have many opportunities for free or low cost education.  If you are not taking advantage of those opportunities you are hindering your education.

Teach to Learn

Study groups, whether formal or informal, are excellent ways to share and disseminate information.  You can choose topics to discuss on a regular basis or meet for coffee with friends every so often.  Many people find they learn better when they can discuss thoughts, ideas, or conclusions with a group of people.  Also, teaching someone else what you know helps you learn where your holes are and cements the information in your mind better.  If you are one of these people starting a study group, online or in person, is a great way to get the interaction you need for your learning style. 

Create a Must Have Bibliography

Being well read is crucial to keeping up to date with any advances in your field.  Having a list of books which are considered key reference materials on hand is an excellent idea.  You may not be able to have them on your shelf for a variety of reasons but that is not a reason to keep an up to date list which also includes where you can find the resources either online at Google Books for example or in a physical repository such as your local library.  In addition to books you should also take note of blogs, magazine articles, and websites which provide information on the subject(s) you are interested in.

They call me crazy about education

If you have followed my blog for the last several years you know that I am a student (and blogger) for The National Institute of Genealogical Studies.  Last month was my 2 year anniversary for the start of my work toward a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) - American Records.  If I can keep the pace going, I will finish my certificate program roughly this time next year.  40 classes in 3 years.  Yeah….

Periodically I am asked why I am doing this.  Why didn’t I go straight for a BCG or ICAPGEN certification?  Didn’t you take the BU program? Or, the newest, what do you mean you are doing ProGen and this at the same time?! Are you insane?  You have to admit that they are all good questions!  Which has lead me to this blog post.  Maybe I should answer some of these questions.

Didn’t you take the BU program?Yes I sure did, hardest and most rewarding 15 weeks of my life.  It was an awesome feeling getting an A in that course and I learned so much.  The improvement was noticeable from day one in not only my work but my research.  However, just because I successfully complete one learning program doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t continue my education right?  In the fall of 2013 I was only a few years into my genealogy research adventure.  There was still more to learn!

 

What do you mean you are doing ProGen and this at the same time?! Are you insane?There are days when I ask myself the same question.  However, the programs are vastly different and do not overlap.  ProGen is prepping me to be a professional.  The PLCGS is prepping me to be an excellent researcher.  While they will go together in the end I can easily separate out the time and work load for each.  Then there are months when I want to hide in the corner and cry.

 

Why didn’t I go straight for a BCG or ICAPGEN certification?
I have toyed on and off with this notion for several years.  Mainly, I don’t think I have enough work behind me to justify the time commitment or expense of these certifications.  My client base is growing monthly but I still feel too “new” to the scene to make that leap.  It may be that I am struggling with getting the ball rolling, but I really do have a lot on my plate right now.  Commitments have to be consider you know.
  

Also, I was nowhere near ready to submit 2 years ago when I started the PLCGS program.  I had just started to speak and take clients.  While I felt I “knew my stuff” I did not think I was not to the writing level needed to submit a portfolio.  An honest assessment of myself was that I needed to mature into the craft more.
  

Then there is the inner voice who asks “and why do you need it, what will it do for you?” I think of myself more as an educator.  My passion is in speaking and teaching, how will those little letters after my name help me there?  It is something that I am still pondering and investigating. 

In the end, I see this as a great self-paced way to further my education.  While I do have the luxury of working from home and setting my own hours, I am also a mom with kids at home.  I can’t just up and gallivant off somewhere for a week long lecture/conference/symposium without months of planning (with plan B, C, and D in the wings) whenever I feel like it.  Programs like this (and there are SO many more) are one of the ways I keep my continuing education up to speed.

So… what do you think?

Source Citations Course From Family Tree University

I am very excited that my first course for Family tree University starts on Monday February 23.   “Source Citations for Regular People” walks you through the basics of creating a source citation for genealogical research. I hope to see you in class!

Here is a teaser from the email that was sent out on Wednesday February 18^th from Tyler Moss, Online Editor of Family Tree University.  

Source Citations can strike fear into the heart of genealogists. We know we need to use source citations, and how important they are to our research and for those who come after us, yet the thought of creating one from scratch can give you cold chills.

In this course you will learn the whole source documentation process, as well as study examples for all types of sources. Soon your fears will fly away, as citing courses becomes just a part of your genealogy routine.

This course is open to anyone interested in citing sources. Shannon Combs-Bennett will be available to answer all of your questions. See syllabus here »

 What you'll learn:

•	Why source citations are important to your genealogy research
•	Key elements of a source citation
•	What the different types of source citations are and how to write them
•	How to create templates for future citations
•	And so much more!

Continuing Education: ProGen Study Group

Last month I started the ProGen 24 study group.  ProGen is one of those items on my list of courses, seminars and other things I thought I should try and complete for my ongoing genealogical education.  So far I am enjoying it immensely.

Of course many people are looking at me like I have grown 3 heads.  It is an 18 month commitment which sounds daunting and a bit terrifying.  I am in ProGen 24 which started last month and goes until April 2016. There is never really a perfect time to jump into a commitment like that since no one knows what the future holds for them.  You just have to jump in, hold on, and do your best.  To me this was as good of a time as any and I honestly think I can make it work.

I do best in small group learning sessions which is why I wanted to give this study group a try.  When I was in the BU program we read sections of Professional Genealogy but not the whole thing.  Over the last year I have looked at the book time and again on my shelf and said “I really need to finish that.”  It’s been a great reference guide though and I use it frequently when I need a template (even if it needs to be updated in some places).

Having interaction with a small group is great.  We come from varied backgrounds and have a wide range of skill sets. This makes the discussions thought provoking and the views varied.  Most importantly, even though we are chatting through the computer, I get that small group interaction which helps me retain and process information better.

To learn more about the ProGen study groups visit their website at http://progenstudy.org/.  

Education opportunities at the NEHGS

There are a variety of free education opportunities out there for all level of genealogists.  I mean, a lot, if you look in the right places.  For instances, did you know about the online learning center on the New England Historic and Genealogical Society (NEHGS)?  If this is news to you run, don’t walk, to your computer and check this out.

Yesterday I attended a free online webinar from NEHGS on TenSteps for Writing and Publishing Your Family History presented by Penny Stratton.  I found it when I was cleaning out my mailbox a few days before (yes, I on occasion let things pile up) and thought it might be a great lecture since I keep toying with publishing my family stories.  At the end she mentioned the link to the other resources on the website. 

Yes, I am guilty of not checking out the new NEHGS website recently.  However, if you have read this blog before, you know that I was very busy over the last few months.  Boy I have missed a great resource.  Something that I will need to correct in the near future. 

You have the choice of watching recorded webinars, download templates, or read a variety of articles.  There is a newsletter you can subscribe to so you know what is coming up.  In fact, there are a series of online classes that are starting up for a relatively low fee. 

Needless to say I now have a new to-do list on my education checklist.  I will be watching, and attending, more of these in the future.  Hope to see you there!

A new adventure begins

This morning on The National Institute For Genealogy's new blog it was announced I am joining them as a student blogger.  I am very honored to be apart of this project and to work with many experienced instructors in the field of genealogy.  Check out my weekly blog posts as I work to earn my PLCGS (Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies).

I hope you will join me for another adventure, as well as learn more about the Institute if you don't know about it already.  I will be working on my certificate in American Records, but I have picked out a variety of electives which I am sure will interest many people.  Make sure to drop me a line over there too.  I would love to hear from you.

Year in review

Grape-Shot: 1915 English magazine
illustration of a lady riding a champagne cork

Happy 2014!  A New Year and a new beginning in the genealogy world.  What a whirlwind trip 2013 was and I bet 2014 will be just as exciting!  Sitting at my desk a year ago I really could not phantom where I would land 365 days later.  Few of the things I accomplished were actually planned.  Most just ended up in my lap where I swallowed down my fears and went for it, shaking in my boots the whole time.

2013 started off with my new adventure as a contributor at the In-Depth Genealogist.  I had just ended my stint at the Family Tree Firsts Blogger and was looking for a way to continue to grow not only as a genealogist but as a writer.  To be frank I thought they would turn me away since I was an “unknown.”  However, they gave me a chance and I can’t believe the experience I have received in the last year by working with these amazing people. 

On the home research front there were quite a few successes.  Several walls came crumbling down, particularly for a number of my female lines. Nearly a dozen new cousin contacts were made not only through this blog but from DNA results on FTDNA.  I am not the best pen-pal, but I hope these contacts continue to grow through the years and we can share some amazing breakthroughs together in the future.  My family just keeps growing!

My biggest challenge was the Boston University course this past fall.  You remember that don’t you?  The reason I was nearly non-existent on this blog for over 15 weeks.  I have not received my official final grade in the course but looking at my five module grades (B+/A/A-/A/A) I am pretty sure that I will receive my certificate and be a graduating member of the 13^th online session (OL13).  Waiting for the official word is a bit nerve wracking but I should really just relax.  I wanted to go to Boston for the certificate ceremony, but I don’t think I can swing a trip up there in February.  The stars are just not aligning for that to happen.

Last August I went to Indiana for a family visit and attended FGS in Ft. Wayne.  As I am sure you remember it was my first national level conference for genealogy and you can read all of the posts about FGS here.  I learned so much, met some really awesome people, plus I was able to spend time with my family researching our genealogy together.  It was a mind blowing experience overall and quite a few doors for me to avenues I never dreamed possible opened up for me.

Of course how could I forget my first year giving lectures on genealogy topics?  While it was scary at first I quickly realized that I loved teaching about my passions.  There was a reason I wanted to be a science teacher since it seems I have a knack for it. I have several lectures coming up in the next few months already, and hope to do many more.  If you come to a lecture make sure to say hi! 

Then there was my adventure into social media.  I did something that I never thought I would ever do...created a Twitter account.  From there it spiraled to Pintrest, Facebook Page, and Google+.  Do I have time to keep them all up to date?  No, but I am going to do my best this year to post more (and different things) to each feed.  Wish me luck!

Looking back over the most popular posts on the blog this year I was surprised by which ones made the list.  Hope they made your list of favorites. So, with our further delay, here are the top ten for 2013:

1. Reading and Digesting Complex Terms: Making a Flow Chart For MGP
2. Heraldic Primer Part 6: Inanimate Objects
3. Free Genealogy Lecture Series
4. Observations From The Edge: Multi-Generational Needs in Genealogy
5. Creating Fun Word Cloud Graphics 
6. Taking on The Next Generation
7. WDYTYA, #genchat, and an aftershow.  What a great way to spend an evening!
8. Road Trip : Packing for FGS 2013
9. IDG Re-post: Handwriting Tools For Your iPad 
10. Are you still there?

Now it is time to get moving on 2014.  My kids are back to school so it is high time to brush off the holiday fog and buckle down again.  I have big plans and they won’t be accomplished if I sit here staring out the window.  Join me in making 2014 a great genealogy year and let me know about your goals too!  We can cheer each other on.

Whew, I'm done and a sneak peek at what is to come

Engraving. Print made by James Collins.
1685-1688 via the British Museum

Well, I submitted my last paper for the BU course.  Waiting on my final paper grade. Two weeks after that I will know my final grade. Six weeks after that I should receive my certificate from Boston University showing that I completed the 13th session of the Genealogical Certificate Program. Whew!

This means that I can now catch up on the other things that I have neglected that last 15 weeks.  You know, like this blog!

There will be a more complete discussion of my personal experiences with the program in the New Year. Right now I am just enjoying a day or two without looming school deadlines, a pile of reading, or a paper due.  Not that I don't currently have looming deadlines for other stuff, but you know what I mean.

Thanks for those faithful few who have kept reading while I was partially here.  You all are awesome and your encouragement (both publicly and privately) was amazing.  It was hard not writing here about my family, research, cool tid-bits, and etc. but it will soon be back to normal around here.  Promise!

On that note, here is a sneak peek at some the posts I am working on.  These will be coming out over the next few months so keep your eyes open for them.

• Continuation (Catch-up) on "Book of Me" posts
• Jahnke / Heinritz family solved
• Drake family discord: VA Chancery records dispute
• NARA files on family War Crimes Tribunal testimony
• The Central Rappahanock Heritage Center: a must see repository
• The Historic Fredericksburg Foundation: Ledgers to the past

plus anything else that I can think of...

Oh my... is that how a transcription works?!

I am not sure which I prefer: being totally wrong about something or only being partially wrong.  It may be one of those hard to answer questions. Being totally wrong is embarrassing, but at least you can start over and try again from scratch. On the other hand, being only partially wrong can be more work since you need to relearn the task and sort through what to remember and what to get rid of.

Recently I was reading up on how to do transcriptions. I was pretty confident that I knew the basics, in fact, I have several items on this blog and my computer that I have transcribed.  As with any historical field I knew that I needed to type everything exactly as I found it.  There was no room for interpretations, substitutions, or modern conclusions. So far so good, right? However, I found  it was not nearly enough.

I am now considering going through nearly 40 documents in my files and recreating the transcripts of these documents.   They are not 100% wrong, which is what makes it painful.  If I am going to leave good records for my ancestors, and prove my mettle as a genealogist I need to take the steps now to correct these mistakes.  Besides, practice makes perfect, right?  Even if it is 40+ times in short succession.

Below are a few of things that I found interesting in reading about transcripts.  In most cases they are also things I need to correct. These are in no particular order but a check list for my notes.  Plus, I thought you might have some input for me too.

Reproducing diacritical marks is critical. I left out a lot of these thinking that they were not important as the letters.  Now I know they may have specific meanings and leaving them out could change the word.

I need to use the square brackets more and not the parenthesis with italic words inside to denote a question mark or comment from me.  The usage of square brackets, I have to admit, has always eluded me. I mean, they are on the keyboard who really uses them and why?

The “y” used in “ye olde” is actually a “th” sound and called a thorn.  I knew that the “ff” was “F” and that the long “f” is actually an “s” but the thorn was a new one to me.

The word “jurat” had been plaguing me in several documents.  Yes, I should use Google more.  I learned that when it is written next to a witness's name it means that the witness verified the document was authentic before signing.  One more reason I need to get Black’s law dictionary. Plus I need it to help understand the law lingo I have come across in the past, and will most likely see more of it in the future.

For style, I did find it intriguing to learn of the two major camps on naming styles.  One uses all caps for names while the other does not.  I have come across both styles, and frankly while it is easier to spot names with the all caps I find it annoying.  Mainly because I can’t tell what the actual name is supposed to be.  An example from Chapter 16 of Professional Genealogy shows that when the surname DEVILLE is written in all caps you don’t know whether it was DeVille or Deville.  The text points out that by changing the point value for the typeset you can eliminate this confusion by making lowercase letters smaller caps. To me if it was not in caps in the original it should not be in caps in the transcript.  Perhaps, just perhaps, in personal notes you use for yourself but not for something you put in print for others.  Do you think I am off base on this?

One of the more embarrassing things I learned, because I really should have known this, is that [sic] is a transcribers notation meaning the previous anomaly shows in the original document. I had this general idea that it referred to something being not totally right in the document, but silly me never really delved into what it actually meant.  Well, that is now rectified and will be used more often.

Finally, for some reason I never thought about making an abstract of the transcription.  Why I don’t know, but I will be making abstracts after I fix my transcriptions.  Mainly because I think having the abstract to work with will be so much easier than working off the full transcription if I just need to see it as a reference.

Like I said lots of little things that I only gave a cursory glance to in the past or which took me completely by surprise.  So, if you know anyone out there who thinks “they know it all” or that they don’t periodically need to do some reading, shy away from them slowly, very slowly, and then throw them a book.

If you want to read further on the subject, here are some links to recent articles about transcribing and abstracting:

Abstracting & Transcribing Genealogical Documents: Transcription Rules & Techniques

By Kimberly Powell, About.com Guide

 

Extract or Abstract? Both Are Vital Skills

By Michelle Goodrum,  IDG

Is That Genealogy Record Abstract Correct?

By Paula Stuart-Warren, Paula's Genealogical Eclectica 

Back to school today!

Today is the first day of school around here.  7 hours of child free bliss for me.  Not that I didn't almost breakdown, again, when my "babies" were leaving but a mom has to have some space too.

Today also starts the session of the Boston University Online Genealogical Research Program that I signed up for.  In a nutshell, I am really, really, nervous.  Most of you have told me I will be fine, and I am sure that I will be, but that overwhelming fear of the unknown is what is killing me.  Class starts at 10 am EST, just have to kill time until that happens.

Many of you spoke to me about blogging my experiences with the course.  I will do my best to give you my impression of the course; however I need to let everyone know about the Student Ethics Code that applies to what I can, or cannot, say here.

“Being an ethical genealogist means adhering to guidelines. Students should not create Internet profiles, trees, or post questions or answers in email lists or blogs concerning any course material, course assignments, or course case studies. This helps preserve the integrity of the course for all participants, current and future. Those violating this will be asked to remove or block the material immediately. Be aware that in some cases you are creating a permanent record which cannot be removed. Failure to observe this guideline may result in removal from the course. This policy is known as the "What goes on in Online Campus stays in Online Campus" student conduct clause.”

With this in mind I hope you all will understand why I do not post about the class in as much detail as some of you would like.  However, the textbooks for the course are available to everyone and I know many of you already have them.  I want to post my thoughts and conclusions after reading the various chapters from these books.  Feel free to post your thoughts on them as well.

The textbooks for this class, as listed on their website, are the following:

Board for Certification of Genealogists.

The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual.

Orem, Utah: Ancestry, 2000.

ISBN: 0-916-489-92-2.

Elizabeth Shown Mills.

Evidence Explained:

Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 2nd Edition.

Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009.

ISBN-13: 978-0806318066

Elizabeth Shown Mills.

Professional Genealogy:

A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians.

Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2001

ISBN-13: 978-0-8063-16482

Thomas W. Jones

Mastering Genealogical Proof, 1st Edition

Arlington: National Genealogical Society, 2013.

ISBN: 1935815075

Thankfully I purchased Tom Jones's book back in May when it first came out. The books are now on back order though Amazon and some students are scrambling for a copy. If you do not have it already I would pick it up. I am about halfway through it and there have been some real duh moments for me while reading it. In fact so many that I am seriously considering restarting my family tree program from scratch so I can redo it all correctly.

Have you read these books or participated in the BU program?  I would love to hear from you and know what you think!

Experiences with an online genetics class

For the last 12 weeks I took a class through Coursera titled "Useful Genetics" taught by Dr. Rosemary Redfield.  She is a professor of Zoology from the University of British Columbia.  Since it was free, and on genetics, you know I couldn't pass it up.  When I first signed up for the class I wrote a post on it, which you can read here.  We found out from the professor at the end of the course that it will be offered again in September.  In light of this I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you about it, why it might be useful for genealogists, and what my personal experiences were.

Dr. Redfield was an energetic lecturer and made the videos animated and lively.  From the course website, she states her objective was to “provide a solid understanding of the genetics principles and issues that affect us all, in the framework of a college-level course in basic genetics.  Useful Genetics was developed specifically for Coursera - there is no equivalent face-to-face course.”  She wrote an article in July 2012 describing why she designed this new style of genetics course for the 21^st century student.

There are no pre-requisites for the class and it is taught as an overview of the subject that will interest people who want to know more about how genetics may impact their lives.  Yes, there is quite a bit of scientific discussion and in depth explanation of biological and chemical processes, but only enough so that you can understand the bigger picture the professor was lecturing on.  However, while the course offers a graded option, you can audit it without worrying about passing the class.

In all there are 10 modules, a midterm, and a final equaling 12 weeks of work.  Each module has several short lectures which are usually 2-3 hours of watching time.  There is also a practice quiz, in some modules questions for discussion, and a graded quiz. Finally, I was very happy to dsicover there were no textbooks to purchase. Several links to free textbooks are listed which you can download as well as articles and further readings on related topics to supplement the lectures. Luckily I kept all my genetics texts from college and

found that most of the information had really not changed since the mid 90s.

In the lectures plant and animal genetics are discussed in addition to human genetics.   For the genealogists out there, she includes an entire module that covers personal genomics.  In it Dr. Redfield covers what we like to hear about, why we are who we are.  In that lecture series you receive a detailed discussion on inheritance of genes as well as a description on genetic testing for health and genealogy purposes.   

From the website, here is the description of the class modules:

• Module 1. How different are we?  Introduction to DNA, genes and chromosomes and the relationships between human populations.
• Module 2. How DNA molecules change.  The causes and consequences of mutations.
• Module 3. DNA differences and gene functions.  How genetic differences affect the activities of individual genes.
• Module 4.  Predicting the effects of genetic differences.  How interactions between different genes determine their effects; genetics of cancer.
• Module 5.  Personal genomics.  Kinds of DNA typing and genome analysis, and what can be learned from them.
• Module 6.  The mechanics of inheritance.  How genes and chromosomes are transmitted through the generations.
• Module 7.  Inheritance of genetic characteristics.  Analyzing genetic probabilities and risks in populations and families.  Plant and animal breeding.  Genetically modified organisms.
• Module 8.  Linkage, sex-linkage and paternity.  How the organization of genes on chromosomes affects their inheritance.
• Module 9.  Heritability.  How the effects of genes are identified and what can be learned from this analysis.
• Module 10.  Lots more cool stuff we now can consider.  Mitochondrial genes and mutations, genetic mosaicism, fetal DNA in mothers, epigenetic inheritance, and other topics students may suggest.

The forums are like the discussion groups and office hours you would go to in a traditional college setting.  You can get clarification on videos, help each other on practice problems, talk about the quizzes, discuss genetics in the news, and much more.  This is where you can have as much, or as little, interaction with the course as you like.  Personally, it was very overwhelming for me and I participated in the forums just on the quizzes and practice problems section.  The other boards could get heated at times and I really didn’t want to get involved with that.

For those that really want to get the most out of the course, make sure you complete the quizzes and problems.  The practice quiz will help you gauge what you do and do not know before you take the graded one.  I found that printing out the discussion problems before I started watching the videos was very helpful.  It allowed me to watch the video, look for important information, and take notes next to the questions on where to find the answers for later reference. 

All the quizzes, midterm, and final are multiple choice questions.  You can take the practice quiz as many times as you like but the graded quizzes and exams you can only submit once.  Multiple choice questions can be good or bad depending on how you take exams.  Personally, I always do worse on multiple choice quizzes and better on essay or short answer. You may not have this problem, but I wanted to make sure you knew.

In the course wrap up it was revealed to us that we were participating in the inaugural class.  Our feedback, suggestions, and experiences were being taken in to adjust and tweak the class for the future sessions.  I think that genealogists who have an honest interest to learn more about the ins and outs of genetics would benefit from this class.

Let me know if you take this class and if you enjoyed it as much as I did.  Even if you only audit the class, and don’t take it as a graded class through the signature track program, I am sure that you could still learn a lot.  It has been about 15 years since I sat in a genetics class and because the science has changed I was able to learn more. Plus brush up on skills that were fuzzy from lack of use.

Now to wait for my final grade to come in.

Digging into other people's pasts

Recently I helped two friends do some beginning genealogy research online for their families.  You know, sitting around your living room and the subject of family history comes up so what do you do?  It seems my friends look at me and ask if I can look something up for them.  Even better, the two families are completely different!  Yes, that means my genealogy brain muscles are getting a good workout.

Andrea has deep roots in Alabama and Louisiana.  Specifically she was interested in learning what happened to her great-grandfather who was an Envoy to Honduras (John Ewing) in the 1910s.  As well as anything else we could figure out about her family.

She was one of those easy research cases.  There were lots of documents out there and tons of Google hits. Find-a-grave came in very handy too.  Over the course of 5 hours we traced, with documents, her ancestry back 5 generations to the early 1700s.  I was pleased, she was ecstatic.  Best of all, since she is getting her Masters in Library Science she is all about the source citations.  That is a win!

Passport Application for John Ewing

The biggest squeal of the day was when we found her great grandfather’s passport application.  This is when she discovered his father’s name (James Lindsay Ewing) and that he was from Scotland.  That was the break we needed as it lead to discovering her family history as cotton merchants.

Michael, on the other hand, had very little information on his family and just wanted to know what I could find.  I think that he was even surprised that using the internet I was able to get back to his great-grandparents on his mother’s side.  To make this even more of a challenge, there is the good possibility of research into slave records. Nothing like knowing there are large big brick walls in the future!

His family is from Maryland, as far back as he knows and I have been able to determine.  He was able to give me his parents’ names and the names of his maternal grandparents.  Most estimated birth dates and what death dates he knew.  That first night with him I was able to locate his father’s obituary online.  From it I determined his father’s name but not much else. Michael went home with a homework assignment to ask questions and find documents. 

Obituary for
Carrie Kent Young

The next week I did more poking around on my own to see what other leads I could find before making a trip with him to Maryland.  My biggest breakthrough so far was finding the obituary for his maternal grandmother.  In it was a listing of children, great-grandchildren, and even her parents.  With this information I was able to find census records for her and her parents in Baltimore.  Slowly, very slowly, it is all coming together.

I have to admit that this has been a new and interesting exercise for me, dabbling into another person’s family history.  It is not like when I research my own family and I can look at a family group and know if it is close or not at all.  I really have to call on everything I know and comb through records for every scrap of information I can get.

They have asked me to keep looking for information for them.  I am very excited to be looking into other family histories and help my friends at the same time.  This is going to be so much fun!