Articles by Angela Breidenbach

Angela Breidenbach, PLCGS, is the Executive Director at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies. She's a multi-published author, speaker, and presenter. Find out more about her books at https://AngelaBreidenbach.com

July 2019 Conferences

June conferences have come to a close and now we are looking at the month of July. We here at The National Institute for Genealogy Studies will be attending a few conferences this month. So, if any of these are on your calendar please stop by our booth, say hi and visit for a while.  1. July 18th – July 20th –  Midwestern Roots at the Marriot East in Indianapolis, IN 2. July 29th – August 2nd – 39th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown in Cleveland, OH

2019 Ontario Genealogical Society Annual Conference

OGS Conference Canada’s largest annual gathering of family historians, the Ontario Genealogical Society’s Annual Conference, will be in London, Ontario from June 21st to the 23rd at the London Convention Center. So many activities are planned… Opening Ceremonies begin Friday evening, followed by a jam-packed program with lecture streams for Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget about Marketplace, as it is a vital stop for attendees to network with OGS branches, OGS special interest groups, and vendors alike. There’s something for everyone at this conference… Do you have ancestors from England, Ireland, Scotland, The United States, Eastern Europe, The Netherlands, Spain, Mexico, or Southern America and naturally Canada?  There are lectures on each of these countries! Do you know what treasures can be found at Library & Archives Canada or in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, or how to plan a trip to your ancestral village? Yup! There will be lectures on these topics also. Do you know how to share your family history findings through blogging, publishing or using YouTube, or what about holding a virtual family reunion? Lots of information about newspapers records, death & burial records, English asylum records & health records in Canada, WW1 and vets. You are right, there will be sessions on each of these topics. And naturally, no conference would be complete without figuring out what you need to know about Y-DNA, Y-Haplogroups, and DNA matches. While at the conference, you might also meet many students from The National Institute for Genealogical Studies’ program. Half of the presenters at this year’s conference are either students, past and current, graduates, consultants or authors for our course materials. You may have taken a course prepared by Ruth Blair PLCGS, Kirsty Gray, Marian Press, John Reid or Glenn Wright, or you may have attended our Canadian virtual meetings lead by Kathryn Lake Hogan PLCGS. John Boeren from The Netherlands is in our 2019 Graduation class! Others have taken courses in the past. Drop by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies’ booth in Marketplace to say hi, and meet the newest addition to our team, Angela Rodesky. For more details: https://conference2019.ogs.on.ca/

Keeping In Touch With The National Institute For Genealogical Studies

In the genealogy world we need to communicate with each other to keep abreast of the constantly evolving research methods and resources. The same is true within The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. As a student of the National Institute, there are various ways you can communicate with us and your fellow students. Here is how: #1 By email to the National Institute NOTE: When contacting us please include your FIRST & LAST NAME and the COURSE TITLE, including the COUNTRY the course applies to. It is also helpful if you include the module number and section title you are referring to. i) admin@genealogicalstudies.com – for general questions; ii) alert@genealogicalstudies.com – to advise us of broken links in your course materials and assignments–please be specific as to where problem is; iii) exam@genealogicalstudies.com – questions pertaining to your course exam. #2 By email to a fellow student When you view a fellow student’s public assignment SUBMISSION/ANSWER and you would like to contact them about something in their posting, simply click on the envelope icon to the right of the student’s name. A new window will open where you can type your message. For privacy reasons, you will not see the recipient’s email address and they have the option to reply or not. #3 Attend a Virtual Meeting VIRTUAL MEETINGS ARE THE BEST PLACE TO COMMUNICATE with an instructor and fellow students. Anyone can participate! You do not have to be registered in the course to attend. When attending virtual meetings, please bring questions applicable to the topic being discussed. Watch for our emails outlining upcoming virtual meetings dates and times. Or visit our website at www.genealogicalstudies.com, click on Information in the top menu bar, and then Virtual Learning Room for the full schedule. #4 Follow the National Institute’s Blog Go to http://blog.genealogicalstudies.com/ and scroll down. On the right hand side of the page you will see Subscribe to Blog via Email. In the text box, enter your email address and click on the Subscribe button. Once subscribed, you will receive an email each time we post an article. Each blog article includes a link to write a comment or share via social media. Look for these options at the end of each blog post. #5 Follow us on Twitter Once signed into your Twitter account, search for us on Twitter by our Twitter name @GeneaStudies. On our Twitter page, click on…

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Post-Mortem Photography

Photographing the Recently Deceased Post-mortem photography, photographing the recently deceased, may seem like a rather macabre Victorian era practice. Post-mortem photographs were still being made, though less frequently, during the early years of the 20th century up through the present day. Recognizing post-mortem photographs is not always easy. In most cases, the deceased are photographed lying in bed or propped up on a chair or sofa, appearing to be asleep. The poses of the deceased were usually orchestrated so that they appeared as natural and life-like as possible. The dead were not usually photographed in a casket until the very late 1800s or early 1900s. Some memorial portraits featured an array of flowers surrounding the deceased. Memorial portraits are easy to date because they were generally made in the home immediately after passing. With our Photography: Clues Pictures Hold, Editing, Digitizing and Various Projects course you will learn about examining photographs and identifying important details.

2019 Graduation Ceremony

Congratulations Graduates!!! The National Institute for Genealogical Studies invites you to come celebrate with us, with our students, our graduates and our instructors. Anyone can attend. Graduates: invite your family – everyone is welcome! Join us for our 2019 graduation ceremony on Friday the 21st of June as we honor GRADUATES of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies’ Certificate in Genealogical Studies program. This year, it will be late in the afternoon (4:00pm), in London Ontario, at the start of the Ontario Genealogical Society’s annual conference. Our students and graduates are from all around the world. Naturally, because of the far away distances, many graduates cannot attend in person. For the last many years, through the use of a Virtual Meeting Room, we were able to reach a much greater number of students and graduates. Again, this year, we will use a ‘virtual’ meeting room for those who cannot attend locally, and let’s hope, once again, the technology will co-operate! We will give you more details later as to how to connect. ALL GRADUATES (in-person and virtually): it is very important that you let us know if you will be attending. Please send an e-mail to: degroot@genealogicalstudies.com with a copy to admin@genealogicalstudies.com indicating your intention to attend either in-person or virtually. You will receive a confirmation message indicating that we’ve received your email. Further information will be included. If you DO NOT receive this confirmation message from Sue, please call 1-800-580-0165 ext. 1 or 2 to let us know. If you cannot attend, please also let us know. When you arrive, ask at the OGS registration desk for the room location. If you would like to attend ‘virtually’ please watch our blog for detail to come later: blog.genealogicalstudies.com If you plan on attending in person or virtually, please let us know at degroot@genealogicalstudies.com and admin@genealogicalstudies.com. We will send you by email the final details. Hope to see you, online or in-person, on Friday, June 21st…