California Genealogical Society blog

19 January 2011

Announcing the 11th Annual Salt Lake City Research Tour May 15-22, 2011

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

Are you ready to experience genealogy nirvana? Join CGS for a week of intensive research and lots of fun!

Past-president Jane Lindsey is leading her eleventh California Genealogical Society Salt Lake City Tour to the Family History Library from Sunday to Sunday, May 15 - 22, 2011. Research Director Nancy Peterson returns to help lead this very popular trip.

Accommodations will be at the Shilo Inn, located three blocks from the Family History Library. The Shilo provides free high-speed internet access in every room.

The cost is $705 (airfare not included.) A deposit of $200 holds one space.

The Tour Package includes:

Hotel room – 7 nights, double occupancy
Shuttle service to and from airport
Three group dinners (Sun., Wed., and Sat.)
Daily continental breakfast
Orientation and lectures
Computer assistance using the online catalog at FamilySearch.org and other websites
Optional consultation prior to the trip

Still need convincing? The top ten reasons to go with CGS to Salt Lake City are still exactly the same as when I first wrote them nearly three years ago.

Download the tour flier for full information.

Register online and reserve your space now!

Photograph by Kathryn Doyle, 4/27/2010, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

17 January 2011

This Blog is Ancestor Approved!

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

Russ Worthington of A Worthington Weblog has honored the CGSL blog with the Ancestor Approved award. Thanks, Russ!

Leslie Ann of the Ancestors Live Here blog created the Ancestor Approved award to let her fellow genealogy bloggers know how much she appreciates and enjoys their blogs. I think it's a great idea.

I would like to pass the award and honor several genealogical societies that launched blogs in the past year and have kept them going. Blogs are easy to start but it takes commitment to persevere!

The FGS Voice blog was started by the Federation of Genealogical Societies in March 2010.

Joan Miller created the Alberta Family Histories Society Blog in March 2010.

The Johnson County, Kansas GenWeb site started the KS GenWeb: Johnson County blog in March 2010.

The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California started the AAGSNC blog in May 2010.

Mr. Geneablogger, Thomas MacEntee, started the Illinois State Genealogical Society blog in May 2010.

The Ontario Genealogical Society launched its blog in June 2010.

GSNOCC Musings was created by the Genealogical Society of North Orange County California in July 2010.

Nevada Roots - Nevada State Genealogical Society blog came online in July 2010.

The Contra Costa County Genealogical Society blog debuted in August 2010.

The Utah Genealogical Association started a blog in September 2010.

A complete listing of all genealogical society blogs can be found at Geneabloggers. (Thanks, Thomas!)

Blogs are a great way for organizations to communicate with their members and the outside world. I follow all genealogical society blogs so if I missed yours please let me know!

Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

14 January 2011

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy: Jeff's Report #6

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

This is Jeff's last report from SLIG. Thanks, Jeff, for another great series!

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy
Salt Lake City, Utah
Friday, 14 Jan 2011

The last morning opened again with homework debriefing. The problem was to solve the father’s name of a workbook exercise that we had been looking at off-and-on all week. There were several suggestions. Dr. Jones offered a little hint and a big hint via email for those interested. The little hint did not help me. What helped me, I would say, is a better understanding of analysis.

Today we packed in six lectures starting with Special Problems III: Identifying Landless, Enslaved, Peasant and Other Impoverished Ancestors; Resolving Conflicting Evidence; Correlating Sources, Information and Evidence to Solve Genealogical Problems; Federal Land Records: Analysis, Interpretation and Correlation by Clair Bettag; Writing Genealogy and Continued Advancement.

In Thursday’s report I said I would provide some problem solving examples from the course work. Dr. Jones gave permission to do so; however, in reviewing the examples they would be out of context. Instead, given the internet email discussions about starting a GenWrite class like the GenPro class, here are a few points from the lecture on Genealogy Writing.

Dr. Jones spoke about his own experience. He had written articles in his professional field of special education for journals that were published. He submitted his first genealogy article to the NGS Quarterly when Elizabeth Shown Mills was the editor. As Dr. Jones told the story, he got his work back and looked at the first page, the second page, the third page and then on the fourth page finally found something he had written! He relates this story in great humor to fully illustrate that genealogical writing is a field unto itself.

His definitions of genealogical writing are “essays that describe a genealogical problem, discuss the evidence pertaining to the problem; and—if applicable—present and explain a solution to the problem.” There are a variety of products of writing from articles to books and the use of writing can be to illustrate to oneself what further research needs to be done.

The characteristics of writing are that it is readable, fully sourced, well grounded and structured, honest, precise, logical and comprehensive.

It was one of many great presentations.

I am going to conclude with the points made in Continued Advancement. This was my third SLIG course along with the IGHR in Birmingham along with the FGS and NGS conferences and one day workshops that constitute my continuing education. Dr. Jones’ list is similar – formal courses of study, major conferences, genealogical study groups, participating in support groups and seeking a credential. He went on to encourage reading journals, doing personal research, seeking expert vetting and regularly and routinely writing research with a view to publish.

BOTTOM LINE: The five days were fantastic and intense. The bibliography with each presentation was enormous allowing for further study. I encourage each person reading this to pursue their own professional advancement.

Next I am off to Charleston, South Carolina for the NGS Family History Conference, May 11-14, 2011. Will I see you there?

Jeffrey Vaillant
14 Jan 2011

Read the entire series:
Report #1: 2011 SLIG
Report #2: 2011 SLIG
Report #3: 2011 SLIG
Report #4: 2011 SLIG
Report #5: 2011 SLIG
Report #6: 2011 SLIG

Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

13 January 2011

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy 2011 - Jeff's Report #5

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

Jeff's series continues from SLIG.

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy
Salt Lake City, UT
Thursday, 13 Jan 2011

Another morning opened with the homework debriefing. Not a lot of hands went up with solutions. Some students took up to four hours to try to solve the problem. The outcome for all, I would say, is a better understanding of analysis.

Today we packed in five lectures starting with Probate Strategies: Analysis, Interpretation and Correlation, Local Land Records: Analysis, Interpretations and Correlation, Bring Law to Bear on Complex Genealogical Problems, Special Problems I: Finding Immigrant and Migrant Origins and ending with Special Problems II: Identifying Female Ancestors. Each of these presentations by Dr. Thomas Jones included little problems to solve at the end of each lecture. All of his material is copyrighted so I will obtain permission to publish a problem or two here tomorrow.

Yes, there is another homework assignment tonight. One page – which means it will be difficult. So I better get to it.

We are still behind schedule and tomorrow is Friday!

Jeffrey Vaillant
13 Jan 2011

12 January 2011

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy - Jeff's Report #4

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

Jeff's series from SLIG continues:

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy
Salt Lake City, UT
Wednesday, 12 Jan 2011

The morning began as a debriefing on the Tuesday evening homework with Claire Betteg. In general classmates were able to work through the challenging Library of Congress website. The point was made by someone that the Congress funds its own library well, unlike the National Archives and Records Administration. A user of both facilities in Washington, D.C. was of the opinion that the LOC has ten times the staffing of NARA!

We found ourselves a mere 24 hours behind schedule. The mornings topics were Census, Census-Substitute and Name List Strategies: Analysis, Interpretations and Correlation and Tax Roll Strategies: Analysis, Interpretations and Correlation by Dr. Thomas Jones. Jones has a wealth of professional genealogical experience which is brought to each lecture with examples. Of course, this leads into the Wednesday homework.

Richard Sayre, CG, was back in class talking about Rural and Urban Map Strategies: Analysis, Interpretations and Correlation. He pointed to the Library of Congress and its 5 million maps, 80,000 atlases and 6,000 reference works. He encouraged visiting it and the NARA location in College Park, Maryland, where there are another million+ maps. He spoke about the USGS topographical maps and showed how he was able to use them, along with other resources including Google Earth to pinpoint cemeteries. (Course 8 of the Samford Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research this June in Birmingham, Alabama will feature an entire week on maps!)

Then it was time for homework. The homework was a nine page assignment to find the father of a person who lived in the late 1700s in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. I spent a couple of hours hacking away at the problem and I spent a couple of hours at the Family History Library hacking away at my own research. In neither case did I solve any problems – does that sound familiar?

Jeffrey Vaillant
12 Jan 2011