Angela Breidenbach – Page 27 – International Institute of Genealogical Studies

New Course: Italian Civil Registration Records Part 2

Researching your Italian roots? Check out our newest course: Italian: Civil Registration Records-Part 2. This course follows Italian: Civil Registration Records – Part 1. Civil registration is one of the largest and most important record sets in Italian genealogical research. It is certainly the most accessible, due to the efforts of FamilySearch (and now the main Italian archive) to microfilm and digitize these records. However, civil registration is more than just birth, death, and marriage records. In this course, we will delve into some of the more unusual civil records. We’ll not only learn what they are but also how to use these records. These records can be used to “flesh out” the history of your ancestors, providing unique details that may help you understand the ancestors in their social and political context. We’ll also delve more deeply into the Italian resources available through FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and Portale Antenati, the Italian government’s website. Collections available at Italian Archivi di Stato will be explored. Students will learn what types of documents these archives contain and how best to access them. Written by Melanie Holtz, CG, Italian: Civil Registration Records-Part 2 will help you find and document your Italian ancestors. To learn more about this course see our website.

What’s New? Update to Analysis and Skills Mentoring 2

Analysis and Skills Mentoring – Part 2 has been updated and is better than ever. Part of the Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program, Analysis & Skills Mentoring -Part 2 is a continuation of the teaching, testing and consulting found in Part 1. What’s new? The addition of Mastering Genealogical Proof, by Thomas W. Jones as required reading as well as other assignment additions. The Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program has been designed to promote the quality of the work that every family historian and genealogist should strive to achieve. The course’s assignments are reviewed by an instructor. Feedback is provided during two individual consultation appointments. Discussing the completed assignments and receiving advice regarding the appropriateness and quality of assignment answers is an integral part of this practical program. To learn more about this course, please see our website.

What’s New? Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls

The National Institute is proud to announce our newest course, Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls. Brick walls are a reality in genealogy research, but fortunately there is hope. In this course, we look at a variety of strategies you can implement to help turn your research roadblocks into breakthroughs. We begin with a quick refresher of some key research concepts to help focus your research and prepare you for success. Next, we walk through some simple steps to get you prepared for the journey. Finally, we investigate four different approaches you can use to do some brick wall busting. By the end of this course, you should have some new ideas for researching brick walls and the inspiration to forge ahead. Written by genealogist Julie Cahill Tarr, this 8 week course will teach you the methodology you need to solve your toughest research problems. A comprehensive course full of practical examples, Julie says, “I wanted to give students a variety of ideas to help them reframe their research and forge ahead on those difficult ‘brick wall’ ancestors. Instead of telling students about the various techniques, I show them ways to actually implement these strategies and give real-life research examples for further illustration. My hope is that students will walk away from this course with new ideas they can try immediately, and with a renewed sense of hope.” Because this course was created for the professional or the serious minded researcher, it is advised that you complete the Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 1 course or have a working knowledge of the topics taught in that course prior to registering for this one. The Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls course is available starting in October. To learn more about this course, please see our website.

Some Thoughts On Researching US Occupations

Each individual researcher’s quest to understand their ancestor’s “life’s work” will have its own twists and turns. There is not one record or one repository that will give you all the answers. Before you begin your research using a specific record, have a general idea what might be found in that record. For example: If you are working in county land records what type of information would you expect to find about a person’s occupation? Here are just a few examples: their stated occupation (i.e: blacksmith, yeoman, trader, etc). location of where they practiced this occupation (where they purchased or rented their land). location of where they last practiced their occupation (statement of a location other than the current county of residence). any partnerships or corporations. where they learned their trade. where they might have acquired their tools. any business difficulties, bankruptcy, sheriff sales, etc. did they buy and sell land repeatedly, possibly as a means of an income (land speculator). A land record has more to tell than the description of the land, and names of the grantee/grantor. You must evaluate it with a critical eye. Repositories are numerous and the following is a short list of repositories that you should be using: Family History Library and the local Family History Center Genealogy Libraries (Allen County Public Library; Midwest Genealogy Center; Sutro Library; DAR Library; Clayton Library) Local library and the interlibrary loan system National Archives and its regional branches Library of Congress State Libraries and Archives County Courthouses University Libraries Internet (not as a repository but for the vast amount of social histories and access to public and university library catalogs). And where are you going to find an occupation listed in these repositories?Just about anywhere. The following is a list of record types that may be found in these repositories: census records vital records land records military records pension records naturalization records directories local histories biographical sketches church records company records social histories correspondence images At each repository, reference book, website or record the researcher will often be directed to another repository, reference book, website or record, that can offer more and different information. The clues, if not stated directly, are often found in the footnotes and bibliographical sections. These new sources can lead you deeper and deeper into a subject. As in all aspects of genealogical research it is important not to overlook a clue,…

Working for the Railroad: A Few Tips

Spending this Labor Day holiday weekend researching your family tree? Good! Consider learning more about the occupations of your ancestors. For many, railroad jobs figure prominently in their family’s story. Here’s a few tips for researching railroad employees from our course US: Occupational Records. The development of the railroad system in the United States opened up new frontiers. It employed people in all aspects from surveying and construction to the porter, conductor and engineer. Some of these individuals worked directly for a specific rail line while others worked for companies that contracted with the rail lines. The first place to begin research for a railroad employee that was employed after 1937 is the Railroad Retirement Board. The Railroad Retirement Board was formed in the mid-1930s, under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 and began maintaining records in 1936. Until 1964, Railroad workers received a special Social Security number, numbers starting with 700 to 728, and a separate pension plan. The Board’s primary function is the administration and payment of railroad pension funds. The Railroad Retirement Board maintains a genealogy web page with helpful information for researching railroad employees. They will perform a search of their records for a fee. For more information about what is available and how to request a search, see their website. Please note: the Railroad Retirement Act did not include street, interurban, or suburban electric railways. If your family member worked for a railroad before 1936 the Board does not have those records. To locate a record before the inception of the Railroad Retirement Board you will need to know the name of the rail line and the current company name. This is necessary before the researcher can access the proper archived records. To find archival collections, use the online catalog ArchiveGrid. The mobility of these employees makes placing the individual in a time and place more difficult. Railroad employees moved with the work. In addition, the records might indicate that they were changing companies, when in reality there was a company name change or merger. There are several tools that will assist the researcher in locating rail lines that employed a specific individual before 1937. First, you can search directories of railroad employees. The directories, such as the Biographical Directory of Railway Officials of America that was issued between 1885 and 1922, gave a listing of mid to senior employees in the railroad industry. This was…