Tag Archives: Education

Plans for the rest of the year and some for next…

Presentations and Events, , , , , , , , ,

Before I start the next series of my blog, I just wanted to give a quick update for me and the rest of the year and some exciting things starting next year.

First, the last Mastering Genealogical Proof study group for 2022 is starting next week. You only have a few days left to register if you are interested. (The 2023 schedule is still being formed for both MGP and MGD so stay tuned.) You can check the webpage for all class schedules or follow my Facebook page or subscribe to this blog to be kept up to date. (At the bottom of each page is a place to enter your email address to get updates to my blog.)

Scroll to the bottom of this page to find the location for getting emails when a new blog post is published.

Second, I am starting a new group focused on WRITING in 2023. It is called the “Writer’s Workshop Group 2023” and will be held once per month to allow for attendees to work on various aspects of their writing. More information and registration can be found here. The class size is limited so do not wait to sign up!

Third, Cyndi Ingle (of Cyndi’s List) and I will be holding our NGSQ study groups again next year. If you have not participated, but would like to be notified when registration happens, please sign up on the waitlist here.

Fourth, I will be participating in the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference in April 2023. I am going to present the keynote on Thursday titled “The Virtue of the Great Lakes: Contributions to Westward Expansion,” as well as several other lectures.

Fifth, I am excited to be coordinating our Great Lakes course again at GRIP in June 2023. The instructors are myself, Cyndi Ingle, Paula Stuart-Warren, and Judy Russell. We had a blast last time and many good comments so we are excited to do it again. It is one of my favorite topics.

I am always providing webinars throughout the year. Between living through the pandemic and now having a full-time job, I have decided to limit my in-person speaking. So, I will mostly be found at online events. (No gas money, driving through stressful traffic, not to mention the time commitment for travel. Not only is that easier for me and less expense for the societies I’m speaking to, it is better for the environment.) My speaking calendar can be found at the bottom of my webpages or click here. I hope to see you at any of the events above.

NGSQ Study Groups for 2022

Genealogical Education, , , ,

Can you believe it is only a couple of weeks away until 2022? I can’t. This year has gone so slowly that I’m shocked to find us at the end of it.

Our NGSQ (National Genealogical Society Quarterly) study groups are forming for 2022 and we still have a few seats left! These discussions are run by Cyndi Ingle (of Cyndi’s List) and myself and between the two of us, we offer 4 different time slots.

We have worksheets that help us breakdown and discuss the articles. Also, each month you get 5-6 unique questions for that particular article to help lead the discussion. We focus on principles found in the book Mastering Genealogical Proof so we are covering the elements of the Genealogical Proof Standard from each article. We also host private Facebook Groups to facilitate discussion between sessions.

You can find more information and sign up at this page: https://genealogypants.com/research-and-consultation-services/classes-and-study-groups/

Just click on the section you are interested in to get more details.

We will be sending out more information to those of you who have signed up very soon. We hope to see you in 2022!

Upcoming Events

Presentations and Events,

I just wanted to pause before I start my blog series to let you know of some upcoming speaking events that will be finishing out the year for me.

Clayton Library Friends – Webinar

I will be presenting “Making Molehills out of Mountains: Getting Organized” on Friday October 29 at 2pm Central – Click here for more information.

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Fall Seminar

On Saturday October 30, starting at 9am Pacific I will be presenting on 3 topics:

  • It’s in the Bag: Preparing for a Research Trip
  • How’d You Find That?!? Tips for Locating Obscure or Hidden Records
  • Using Google’s MyMaps as a Research, Analysis & Trip Planning Tool

Click here for more information.

Bay Area Genealogical Society (Texas)

On Friday, November 19, at 7pm Central, I will be presenting “Using Church Records to Find Ancestral Origins.” Click here for more information.

Orange County California Genealogical Society

On Saturday, December 4th at 10am Pacific, I will be presenting two lectures:

  • How’d You Find That?!? Tips for Locating Obscure or Hidden Records
  • Who Lived Next Door? Using the FAN Club

Click here for more information.

I hope you’ll join me at one or more! Happy fall!

Beginning Concepts: Genealogical Education

Beginning Concepts, Genealogical Education,

I cannot stress enough the importance of continuing education for genealogists whether you consider yourself a beginner, a hobbyist, a professional, an advanced researcher…whatever. There is always more to learn! And different people have different ways of doing things and their ideas or variations on methodology may make more sense to you and help you break through research challenges.

My setup at one of the genealogical institutes I attended.

If 2020, and it looks like a large portion of 2021, have done anything, they have brought genealogy education to our fingertips. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many educational opportunities, both large and small, have been made accessible to participants across the world. With our digital world and platforms like Zoom, we have had so many opportunities than we have ever had before. With so many week-long institutes, multi-day conferences, and day-long seminars going virtual, so many more people have been able to participate. Think about those who can’t travel for whatever reason (disability, finances, family obligations, etc.) and those who want to attend everything but can’t due to travel and time and finances. I do hope we keep offering virtual options as our world returns to whatever “normal” is after this.

My advice for genealogical education has several steps or layers:

  1. Identify where your skills and knowledge are lacking. This could be a long or short list, but determine where you’d like to grow, and write it down.
  2. Identify places that have classes, webinars, institute courses, etc. that cover those topics.
  3. Make a plan as to when you can attend those classes. Some things are available all the time (webinars at Legacy Family Tree Webinars, for example, are available 24/7 by subscription). Some are available only once per year, or rotate every couple of years. You might find books or articles on the subject(s) as well.
  4. Join a local genealogical society. EVEN if your research is not in the place where you live. Most genealogical societies offer classes, monthly lectures on various topics, and a social network of other genealogists that can help you. Many local societies are offering virtual meetings currently so see what is available in your area.
  5. Join the genealogical society (societies) in the places where you DO research. You will benefit from their newsletters, journals, blogs, monthly meetings (if they are virtual), and any other member benefits they offer. But they have the local knowledge!
  6. Join a state, regional or national society. I recommend the National Genealogical Society, the Utah Genealogical Association, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, or a state society in the area of your research. I am a member of the Ohio Genealogical Society, for example.

For a complete list of genealogical education opportunities, visit Cyndi’s List: https://cyndislist.com/education/ where you can find so much information on genealogical classes, course, study groups, institutes, webinars, books, and so on.

Family history is an important part of our identity; the more we understand our heritage, the more we understand ourselves. And I hope, whether you are a beginner or have been doing this for a long time, you found some useful items in this Beginning Concepts series.

2020 Mid-Year Update

Genealogical Goals, ,

Every year I write a post about my upcoming adventures in genealogy at least as I have planned at that point. Last December, I posted about the plans I had for the year and, with no idea about what was about to hit us this year, wrote about goal-setting. (Ha! I’d like to report most of my goals have been sidetracked and my latest goal is to get dressed everyday.)

So, most of my speaking engagements either got canceled by the sponsoring society or by me because I don’t feel that it is safe to travel this year (and possibly next, we shall see). I was able to convert one to a virtual event (the Caprock Genealogy Conference). The most recent to convert to virtual is the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference. I will be giving a class on finding and keeping volunteers, and workshop on using Google Maps to Plan and Analyze your Research.

This week, I am the coordinator for a new course for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) “Following Your Ancestors in Time and Place.” We started on Monday and it has been a great week so far!

The course is meant to be an enjoyable “journey” through some of the processes for following ancestors as they arrived in the United States, why they may have decided to come, how they might have moved through the country, records they may have left along the way, some methodologies on how to find those records, and some in-depth tips on how to keep all of that information organized.

This course is a little different than most courses in that we have one instructor for each day:

  • Monday – Rich Venezia – “FindingYourAncestors as theyCome to America”
  • Tuesday – David McDonald – “Religion and Records: Colonials & Immigrants”
  • Wednesday – Paula Stuart-Warren – “Finding Your Ancestors as they Moved and Migrated in the United States”
  • Thursday – Me (Cari Taplin) – “Methodology for Finding Ancestors in Published Sources and Beyond”
  • Friday – Cyndi Ingle – “Organizing and Maintaining Your Research Once You’ve Collected It”

I feel like we created a great line-up of super-stars who are the best in the field in their respective themes.

Having class in a virtual setting has its pros and cons (I like sleeping in my own bed every night and not missing my family while I’m away. BUT I miss seeing my friends in person and visiting my dear friend Rose Mary in Pittsburgh when I come to town.)

I hope you are doing ok making the switch to a virtual world. I know change is hard but I think this could have benefits for people who are homebound, can’t afford the travel, have other responsibilities that keeps them at home. This virtual option is opening the door for so many who haven’t been able to participate before and I want to welcome them aboard!

My scheduled speaking events for the rest of this year:

Maybe I’ll “see” you there!

Five Goals You Should Set for 2020: Part 2, Set an Education Plan

Genealogical Education, Genealogical Goals, , , ,

Continuing education is an important part of any vocation or hobby. Keeping up with the latest developments, learning about new topics, and strengthening areas you are weak in are vital for growth and development. So, let’s look at developing a genealogy education plan.

First, you’ll need to do some self-assessment. There are ways to go about this, usually, they are quite individual so take my process for what you can and adapt to what will work for you. Typically, I ask myself these three questions:

  • Where am I weakest in terms of record type, geographic area (that applies to my research or client work), ethnic group, or methodology?
  • What research (usually personal, not client-related) do I want to expand? And what kinds of education do I need to do that (usually geography related)?
  • Are there areas in my business where I need help, more information, a better system, or another area where I can find a class or webinar to help me improve?

Then, I examine the lecture, webinar, institutes, conferences, and other opportunities to IMG_3920_1024fill in those blanks. I will also seek out books, articles, blog posts, past webinars, and YouTube videos that might help start my education in that area.

Over the last several years, my education, in general, has focused on DNA and genetic genealogy methodology. When I moved from Colorado to Texas, I spent the first year learning about Texas history (fascinating!), ethnic groups, repositories, and research techniques specific to this area.

Looking ahead to 2020 and 2021, I know I want to dig deeper into my personal research overseas, specifically in Germany. I am planning on attending the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) in July and taking “Foundations of German Research” with Warren Bittner, for example. There are also a number of webinars on the topic at Legacy Family Tree Webinars1, and over the years I have purchased several books that I need to read (you don’t have a pile of books to read, do you?).

You can get very specific with your research plan. I know colleagues who employ entire spreadsheets to the topic. I try to set aside time each week (usually a couple of hours) devoted to something on that education plan (a webinar, article, book, etc.). Then I try to apply what I’ve learned to what I’m working on. It is a real shame when you attend an institute and then don’t have time to work with anything you just learned! So, that couple of hours per week is spent learning and applying to a research project.

There are a lot of new opportunities coming up all of the time, many of them online which cuts down the cost of travel. There are many webinars as well as several new online courses available through Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), National Genealogical Society (NGS), Virtual Genealogical Association (VGA), and others. I am working on some new online courses in addition to the NGSQ study groups I started so stay tuned for those.

Let me know what your 2020 education plans might hold. I’m always interested in what educational opportunities are available in the world!

1. This is an affiliate link.  ↩

Announcing NEW NGSQ Study Groups

Genealogical Education, Skill Building, , , ,

During my time as a facilitator for the Certification Discussion Groups (CDG), organized by Jill Morelli, students indicated to me that they wished for some more options in discussion groups to talk more about the “meaty” techniques and methods of genealogical research, particularly when working with evidence analysis and the Genealogical Proof Standard.

IMG_3953I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while and have finally settled upon the details. This is a monthly study group that will examine one National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) journal article per month. We will study these articles with a focus on principles taught in Mastering Genealogical Proof (MGP) by Tom Jones. We will discuss topics on the genealogy standards, evidence analysis and correlation, writing, citations, and more.

The cost is $50 for the year. For this price, you will:

  • Participate in a monthly study group session for up to two hours with your peers, led by me, Cari Taplin.
  • Receive the discussion questions at least two weeks prior to the online meeting.
  • Have access to a private Facebook Group for mid-month discussion. This Facebook group will be limited to study group participants only, no outside noise!

There will be no individual feedback given unless you want to sign up for a private consultation session. There will be no required peer feedback, except for what you choose to post and receive in the FB group. Your commitment is to read the articles, any indicated sections in MGP, and come prepared to discuss the questions (or simply show up and listen). I believe the benefit you will get out of a class is equal to the effort you put into it.

Please Note: You must have access to these articles either by being a member of NGS or from your local library. You will also need to have a copy of Mastering Genealogical Proof. Due to copyright, I cannot provide copies to you.

There are three sessions, two daytime and one evening.

Sign up now or click for more information.

This is meant to be an INTERMEDIATE discussion group, not a beginner or advanced. If you aren’t sure if you fall into that category here are some possibly helpful descriptors to help you decide (all or none could apply but this is the type of group I’m aiming for):

  • You’ve read NGSQ articles and generally can follow them (I’m not asking if you fully understand them, but they aren’t “Greek” to you either)
  • You own Mastering Genealogical Proof(or at least know what it is and will buy a copy before this class starts)
  • You own or have access to a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills
  • You’re interested in certification or accreditation and have participated in one of Jill Morelli’s Certification Discussion Groups (CDG)
  • You know what the Genealogical Proof Standard is.

If you aren’t sure, send me an email and we can discuss it further.

To keep the discussion manageable and allow everyone a chance to speak, class size is limited to 25 participants, so sign up now!

I’m looking forward to studying with you!

Review: New Jersey Family History Institute

Genealogical Education, New Jersey, , , ,

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending the New Jersey Family History Institute … from the comfort of my own home! Melissa A. Johnson, CG® has put together a fantastic two-day course on New Jersey Family History Research. I have a project in mind to work on some of my New Jersey ancestry and so when I saw this opportunity, I jumped on it. njfhi-logoThe course is offered online or in person “to learn all about sources and strategies for researching NJ ancestors and families.” 

I expected two days of lectures giving me a run-down of the unique history, geography, record sets, and other information to help me with my New Jersey research. I even figured I’d fold laundry while I listened. What I got was a whole lot more. I did manage to fold the laundry, but I also found myself paying very close attention, taking notes, answering class exercises in the chat, and creating a research plan for a future research trip!

Melissa has done a fantastic job of creating an in-depth, interactive course (even with the online audience), with in-class exercises pertaining to the topic of the hour. She asked for people to share their answer to the exercises, including those online, and would read them out for everyone’s benefit, which also made me feel like part of the class. Optional homework was given as well.

This course covered topics ranging from the basic timeline of New Jersey, highlighting key points as they would pertain to records and research, to laws and their impact on research findings, a breakdown of the court system, major resources, libraries, collections, and so on. A lot of attention was given to differentiation between the Colonial period and post-statehood. Melissa is a fantastic instructor, not only because she provides the students with the information they need to be successful in their research, but by also giving relevant exercises that were challenging and educational on the topic at hand. Furthermore, she is very cognizant of the online community tuning in as well, repeating questions from those in class and interacting with us in an individual and meaningful way.

While this course is over for this year, I suspect it will be held again. The website indicates that more courses will be added in the future on other topics as well. You can join the mailing list to be informed when new events are added.

I will be watching this educational resource for future opportunities and encourage you to do so as well!

Fox listening in
Even my dog “Special Agent Fox Mulder” (Fox for short) had a fun time listening to Melissa’s course!

Mid-Summer Catch-Up

Events, Genealogical Education, Genealogy Conferences, , , , , , , ,

I returned from a fantastic week at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) where I had the pleasure of taking “Advanced DNA” from Blaine Bettinger, Angie Bush, and Karen Stanbury, CG. I learned a lot and I learned I already knew a lot which is almost just as important when you are trying to build your confidence in your DNA analysis skills! GRIP has a fantastic line-up for July as well as their 2020 courses published. It’s one of my favorite institutes!

I have some exciting things planned for the rest of my year that I wanted to share:

Phew! I’m tired just thinking about it. I hope to see you at at least one of these events. Be sure to say hi if you see me about.

Laura G. Prescott SLIG Scholarship Announced

Genealogical Education, , ,

One of the best, brightest, kindest, and most selfless genealogists in the genealogy community, Laura Prescott, has decided to enter hospice care after years of fighting a tough battle with cancer.

The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) has announced a scholarship in her honor. As if the writing of this post, the fund has reached over $14,000!

What a wonderful gift to remember and honor such a kind and generous person whose smile would just light up a room!

You can read the full details and how to donate here: https://ugagenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/07/new-laura-g-prescott-slig-scholarship.html?m=1

Please consider a donation, no matter how small, to help honor this lovely person and gift the community with a wonderful legacy in her memory for years to come.