• Posted on July 2, 2014
• by Gena Philibert-Ortega
• Leave a comment on New Course Announced: Research African American Ancestors

Researching African American  genealogy can be difficult but it is not impossible. The new National Institute for Genealogical Studies course Research: African American Ancestors focuses on three aspects of genealogical research and how these relate specifically to researching African Americans: research skill, knowledge of records, and understanding of historical context. The course is organized into reverse chronological eras, beginning with the twentieth century and moving through the late nineteenth century and Reconstruction, the Civil War era, and the antebellum (pre-Civil War) period. In each lesson, case studies and assignments demonstrate and test the skills being developed. Research: African American Ancestors written by genealogist and author Michael Hait, CG  begins on Monday, July 7th. Use coupon code Take25AA for 25% off. Hurry! Offer ends July 14th.

• Posted on July 1, 2014September 4, 2014
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Next Course: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting

By Shannon Bennett, Student The next required course I am taking for the National Institute is Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting. If you have followed my journey so far you might be able to guess what my reaction to this course is going to be. Of course, it was pure excitement! Seriously, even though these may be tedious activities to do, and the least fun of all the possible genealogy chores, they are important skills for successful research. Practice makes perfect, both in the world at large and in genealogy. Every year I can see my skills improve, and I am interested to see how this course will add to my experience. It will hopefully fill any holes that I still have in these three related areas. After looking through the course table of contents I was excited to see practical exercises. Once again, practice makes perfect and these practical lessons will help with that. Every time I have to read, analyze, and dissect a period handwritten document the sharper my skills are. I kind of hope there are a few unusual ones thrown in there because it is the weird ones that make you really work. Even if they are a record type that I might not personally go try and find it would still be interesting to work through them. I also looked through the suggested reading list. Thankfully I have all of the books on my shelf already.  I was excited to see Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry on the list since I just picked it up and have not had the chance to read it yet. Confession time: I have an interest in old handwritten documents. Mr. Sperry’s book was the latest in my collection on books and pamphlets that teach the reader how to understand various hands from different time frames and geographic locations. When I began my genealogy adventure I never knew that one of my odd interests would come in handy down the road. Needless to say I am excited to get this course started. I hope you will follow along with me and see how it goes. Don’t forget at the end I will have a live chat where you can ask me about the course and hear more about what I learned. Oh, and of course, feel free to comment on any of the posts as we go too!…

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• Posted on June 3, 2014September 4, 2014
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Finishing Up Demystifying Culture and Folklore

By Shannon Bennett, Student     Whoa, what a course. It made me think. It made me analyze my family connections. Most of all it showed me how great of a story my family narrative is! Amazing stuff, and I am so happy that I registered for it. For those of you who are still not convinced, I am not sure there is much else I could say to sway you.  However, I will do my best. The rest of you who like stories and putting pieces of information together in new ways need to take this course.  Need reasons? Okay, here are a few. This course makes you think about your family in ways that traditional genealogy may not. While you may have thought, in a roundabout way, about what your ancestors lives may have been like, I bet you didn’t do it like we learned in this class.  Did you ever think about various influences that could affect their decisions? Or how about the cultural cues or biases they had and how that effected their American born children? My upbringing certainly influenced the ways I raise my children just like the way my parents were raised influenced my childhood.  Going through the stories again and again, listening to different perspectives, and looking at the family through the documents it was easy to see how and why this happened. The immigrant ancestor was still present in many ways; they were still affecting in subtle ways how their descendants behaved decades later. In this faster paced world where fewer people seem to have the time to sit and chat a while learning about the family mythology is also changing.  I learned about my family from listening to the stories my parents and grandparents told me. My kids, while learning the same stories from me, are also learning about their ancestors through the Internet and other resources.  Which is why I think taking a course on learning about the family myth is so very important. I can pass family stories on in person or via the web, reaching more cousins than I possibly could even 20 years ago. Combining all these thoughts, lessons, perspectives, and stories together is a good thing in my opinion. It can only make our knowledge of our heritage sounder.  Think of all the amazing information you can discover when looking at something ordinary and mundane in…

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• Posted on May 20, 2014September 4, 2014
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Your Ancestor the Hero

By Shannon Bennett, Student Well I am almost done. Really digging into the meat and potatoes of the Demystifying Culture and Folklore course now. Plus, we discuss one of my favorite mythologists, Joseph Campbell. Ah, hero myths, we should all be familiar with that concept thanks to Star Wars and Harry Potter. Now, before you go away and start thinking that I am going off the deep end and there is no way we can draw comparisons between family stories and a classic hero myth, let me tell you that you are wrong.  You can. Legends, myths, and folklore don’t have to be old. They also don’t have to be false. You can find them in your own history and this last section of the course shows you how. We learn that “the hero is one who develops his/her skill, talent, etc. and takes the journey to prove that part of his/her life; then returns to the community (or family) to use the lessons learned to better the group.” I am sure many of you can think of an ancestor who would fall into that description. For myself I can think of several. Most of my hero ancestors were immigrants or those who left what they knew in a colony and ventured further west into unexplored territories. Think about those people. What they left behind and what they had to overcome. They just didn’t go out there did they? Most of them had a skill or trade that was useful or there was a steep learning curve so they could survive. Those who immigrated usually settled in a community like theirs from where they came from. Those who went first had their community come to them. They lived the hero’s life. Then those stories were passed onto us, their descendants. They became legends and people in our family folklore. Characters to teach us lessons, show us strength, and influence who we would become.  Think for a minute about stories you were told as a child about your family. How did they shape you? Do you do things now because of the family mythos? I bet if you think hard enough you can find several examples. For me I think about the few stories I know of my immigrant ancestors. They were German and Irish men and women escaping hard times at home. Many already had family groups here before they…

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