Courses

Marriage in the Roman Catholic Church

Religious Records cover a wide variety of documents. The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers several courses covering this topic. (See this blog post about our Religious Records courses.) It is important to become familiar with the religious records relevant to the region and specific time period where you are researching. Records for the same denomination could be different depending on location and the local laws and regulations, even within the same country. As we continue to look at the Italian: Catholic Church Records-Part 2 course, we find that Marriage in the Roman Catholic Church is covered in Module 2. Here is a portion of what will be discussed. A 1564 decree made marriage in the Roman Catholic Church a sacrament. This was reinforced by Papal proclamation in 1595. The requirements for marriage, as dictated by the Council of Trent, were: Marriage was a sacrament and Church business Couples had to have parental consent, appear with parents/guardians Couples could not be forced into marriage, must have free choice Marriage must be performed in front of two witness Additionally, within parish marriage records, you will sometimes find registers for the Stato Libero (statement of free status) or Sponsati Contratti (marriage engagements/contracts). These records were for marriage engagements/contracts to be performed elsewhere, and for stating that the bride or groom was free to marry. The following is an example of this type of document. Statement of Free Status – Francesco d’Averzo & nine-year-old Michela Pizzolato, Catania, Italy Note: Italy has laws concerning privacy restrictions like any other country. Italian privacy law extends for 70 years after the creation of a birth record, and 50 years from the date of the event on a death or marriage record. A priest will usually follow the privacy laws when determining whether you can access the records. You can explore more information about these records in the Italian: Catholic Church Records-Part 2 course, where we examine in detail the various forms of Italian marriages records that were created, and what genealogical information you may find in them. —————————————————- 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 www.GenealogicalStudies.com blog.GenealogicalStudies.com admin@GenealogicalStudies.com LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

Register for New Courses

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers online genealogical education for family history enthusiasts, genealogists and historians. These courses are rated in Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced levels. You can register for courses individually, or save by choosing from a variety of available packages. See Full List of Packages here. The Start Dates for courses are scheduled for the first Monday of the month, however, not all courses are available monthly. Be sure to check our Current Course Calendar for when the course of your choice is scheduled to be open again. Many courses will begin on Monday, April 5th. If you are ready to start, Register TODAY! Do you need more time? Browse through the Course Calendar to see which courses will begin on Monday, May 3rd. Remember, you can save by bundling courses together and registering for a Package. Start with a simple 4 Course Package; or Register for different package, such as our DNA 4-course Package or DNA 8-course Package; or Register for our Business Skills Package; or take the plunge and Register for one of our 12 Certificate Programs in the theme of your choice. Full List of Packages   Complete List of Courses   Current Course Calendar   —————————————————- 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 www.GenealogicalStudies.com blog.GenealogicalStudies.com admin@GenealogicalStudies.com LEADERS IN ONLINE GENEALOGY EDUCATION

Working with Italian State of the Souls Records

Our Religious Records courses at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies are compulsory for every country-specific certificate program. They provide unique insight into our ancestors lives and produce valuable clues for continuing our research, especially when the next generation can be seen through the recording of parent’s names or extended family members. In our previous post for Italian Catholic Church records, we saw just how valuable these records are. See blog post here. As we continue to explore the State of the Souls Records in the course Italian: Catholic Church Records-Part 2, we have the opportunity to make significant discoveries using these church records. Working with the Documents – Balduzzi & Petrogalli 1768 State of the Souls Record – Family of Antonio Balduzzi & Maria Francesca Petrogalli Clusone, Bergamo Province, Italy, “Status Animarum, Parrochie Cluxonis [Parish Census for the Parishes of Clusone] 1768”, record kept progressively, page 104 State of the Souls record, family of Antonio Balduzzi “Cumini Caretti”; Basilicata di Santa Maria Assunta, Via Brasi, no. 11, 24023 Clusone, Italy. Translation – 1768 State of the Souls Record – Family of Antonio Balduzzi & Maria Francesca Petrogalli Clusone, Bergamo Province, Italy, “Status Animarum, Parrochie Cluxonis [Parish Census for the Parishes of Clusone] 1768”, record kept progressively, page 104 State of the Souls record, family of Antonio Balduzzi “Cumini Caretti”; Basilicata di Santa Maria Assunta, Via Brasi, no. 11, 24023 Clusone, Italy. Cumini was this family’s nickname. When a child’s age is left blank on a parish censusrecord, it usually means they were less than two years old. Francesco was likely the brother of Antonio Balduzzi. Both of their fathers were noted to be the deceased Giacomo Balduzzi. CC denotes Confession and Communion; a single C denotes Communion only. On most status animarum, deaths are notated by a cross before or after the name and age of the ancestor. Working with the Documents – Petrogalli & Boccassini On the following image, the surnames of Giovanni and Giovanni Antonio are not indicated on the document, although it is presumed to be the same as the head of household, Petrogalli. The relationship of Giovanni and Giovanni Antonio to the rest of the family is not indicated. However, they are of the appropriate age to be sons of Francesco Petrogalli (the elder, there were several direct line Francesco Petrogalli’s in this family) and his wife, Felicia. 1729 State of the Souls Record – Family of Francesco…

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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…

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Keeping in Touch – March 2021

Do you have a question about your courses or your research? Communication is so important in genealogy in order to keep abreast of constantly evolving information. 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 (see below). We want all of our students to enjoy their learning experience. Please do not worry or fret over your courses by yourself. We are here to help you! **** NOTE: Our social media accounts are NOT monitored regularly. If you need an answer quickly, please do the old-fashion thing, pick up the phone. We can be reached at 1-800-580-0165, ext. #1 (North America) or 416-861-0165. Please leave a message if no one answers. We will call back. #1 By email to The National Institute  **** NOTE: When contacting us, please INCLUDE your FIRST & LAST NAME, and the full COURSE TITLE including the COUNTRY, if it is a records course. 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 GIVE SPECIFIC DETAILS; i.e., provide the COURSE NAME, MODULE NUMBER, WEBSITE NAME, and URL; 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…

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