State Genealogical Societies Sponsoring Webinars

There are several state genealogy societies that have begun hosting webinars that are open to the public. Most of them are free, and some charge a nominal fee (which I think it worth it for the caliber of speakers that are presenting these programs). I have listed several that I know about here and if you are aware of other state genealogical societies hosting webinars please comment below so we can let others know about these educational opportunities. 

Illinois State Genealogical Society

The ISGS is offer a new series of educational webinars on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. These webinars are free and open to the public when they are presented live, and archived for ISGS members. See the ISGS website to register. The first program will be tomorrow, January 10, 2012 on "10 Ways To Jump Start Your Genealogy In 2012" and will be presented by Thomas MacEntee. 

Utah Genealogical Association

The Utah Genealogical Association is hosting monthly Virtual Chapter meetings. These online seminars are free and open to the public when presented live, and archived for members of the association. Upcoming topics include:

January 19th --  "The FamilySearch Wiki:  Exploring Its Treasurers"  presented by Wilma Adkins

February 16th -- "US Immigration 1820 – 1954" presented by Beth Taylor

March 15th --  "Getting Started With Fold 3" presented by Peter Drinkwater

Southern California Genealogical Society

The society that sponsors the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree is hosting a Jamboree Extension Series . These webinars are free to the public. Upcoming topics include:

Wednesday, January 18th  --  "The Two Sides of Interviewing" with Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, CG 

Saturday, February 4th -- "Seeing the Patterns: Organizing Your Information" with Michael John Neill

Wednesday, February 15th -- "The Key to the Courthouse" with Jana Sloan Broglin, CG 

Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
This society is hosting two webinars with two national speakers at each one. There is a fee of $15 for GSP members, and $20 for others who wish to attend. See the GSP website for details and registration information.

Thursday, January 26th -- "Research Strategies and Evaluating Evidence." J. Mark Lowe will discuss research strategies and how to break down complex research problems into manageable segments. Amy Johnson Crow explain how to analyze evidence so that you get the most accurate information and find new research leads. 

Thursday, February 16th -- "African American Genealogy: Migrations and Manuscripts." Jim Ison, AG, CG will present "Migration Patterns: An Alternative for Locating African Origins" and Deborah Abbott, Ph.D will discuss "Voices from the Past: Using Manuscripts in African American Research."

“Know Your Records” videos now available on National Archives YouTube Channel

I am very excited about this announcement from the National Archives! I have been attending their "Know Your Records" series in Washington, D.C. for several years and had suggested that they put them online to reach a broader audience. They have overcome the hurdles of government regulations and are now posting some videos on YouTube. Here is the announcement:

January 4, 2012

National Archives Puts Popular Records Workshops Online for First Time!

“Know Your Records” videos now available on National Archives YouTube Channel

Washington, DC… For the first time, the National Archives has launched online videos of its most popular genealogy “how to” workshops.  These videos cover “hot topics” in genealogical research such as census, immigration and military records.  Now, these popular workshops led by National Archives experts are available on the National Archives YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/usnationalarchives.

The National Archives-produced Know Your Records video shorts cover the creation, scope, content, and use of National Archives records for genealogical research. "The National Archives is proud to make our most popular genealogy lectures available online and ready for viewing by anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Diane Dimkoff, Director of Customer Services. 

Genealogy Introduction: Military Research at the National Archives: Volunteer Service (8:22) Archives specialist John Deeben discusses compiled military service records at the National Archives.

Genealogy Introduction—Military Research at the National Archives: Regular Service (6:11) www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OMO-PbmMEw  Archives Specialist John Deeben explains how to use Army and Navy registers of enlistment and rendezvous reports for research. 

Genealogy Introduction—Military Research at the National Archives: Pension Records (9:04)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-AgYFhX1k  Archives Specialist John Deeben discusses how to research military service using pension records dating from 1775 to 1916.  Deeben shows samples of both Revolutionary War and Civil War pensions.

Genealogy Introduction—Immigration Records at the National Archives (11:57)

Archives Specialists Katherine Vollen and Rebecca Crawford provide an overview of immigration records from 1800 to 1957, including Customs Service and Immigration and Naturalization records, as well as records of ports and border crossings.

Genealogy Introduction: Census Records at the National Archives (11:57)

Genealogy expert Constance Potter shares tips and strategies for researching U.S. Federal Census Records 1790 to 1930, and explains how they can be used for genealogical research.

  

Background on “Know Your Records” programs

The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the Federal government. These include records of interest to genealogists, such as pension files, ship passenger lists, census and Freedmen’s Bureau materials. The Know Your Records Program offers opportunities for staff, volunteers, and researchers to learn about these records through lectures, ongoing genealogy programs, workshops, symposia, the annual genealogy fair, an online genealogy tutorial, reference reports for genealogical research, and editions of Researcher News  for Washington DC area researchers.

National Archives "Know Your Records" -- Voice Your Opinion

I received the following announcement from the National Archives and am very excited that they are trying to make more of their "Know Your Records" programs available for free online. It will be of value to many researchers to learn about these records so please take time to share your opinion on which programs are of the most interest to you. There are over 60 topics to choose from, and many of the genealogy topics are listed on page two of the survey. 

Help us put the National Archives Know Your Records program Online!

The National Archives and Records Administration hosted more than 370 Know Your Records talks on topics including genealogy, ethnic heritage, declassified records, Civil War, social media, and more over the past two years. We want to make them available to a wider audience by posting the videos online, and need your help to figure out where to start: which talks are you most eager to see posted to YouTube and iTunes U? Out of the hundreds, we narrowed it down to the top 60 lectures.  Read through the list of program summaries, vote on your favorites, and let us know what you think. This is just the start of an ongoing project, so we’re looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

All are invited and encouraged to participate.  You will need to sign up for an account in order to vote or comment.  Only an email address is needed and then you are in.

Visit http://kyrprioritization.ideascale.com/

Note from Angela:

Below is just a sample of the program choices that may be of interest to genealogists. Please take a few minutes and share your opinion of which ones you would like to see put online.

Civil War Pension Files at Footnote.com

Laura Prescott from Footnote.com will discuss the Civil War pension files recently scanned and published online.

Documenting Death in the Civil War

John Deeben, genealogy archives specialist at the National Archives, explores death records created during and after the Civil War by the War.

Civil War Unit and Ship Records at the National Archives National Archives Records on Ancestry.com

Sabrina Petersen will discuss National Archives files recently scanned and published online.

Passport Applications, 1795–1925

Rebecca Sharp and Katherine Vollen will discuss how to locate passport applications and how these records can enhance your genealogical research.

Veterans Records at Ancestry.com

Sabrina Petersen discusses National Archives World War I and World War II veterans’ records available on Ancestry.com.

Access to Archival Databases (AAD) for Genealogists

Archives specialist Daniel Law will introduce electronic records and discuss how to access these records on our Access to Archival Databases.

Genealogy and New Deal Relief

The lecture examines the correspondence files of the WPA and predecessor agencies to discover information about the personal and family experiences.

The Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company: A Gold Mine for Black and White Genealogists

Susannah E. Brooks will present information on both African American and white depositors at the Freedman’s Savings and Trust.

Alien Files (A-Files) for Genealogy Research

Learn how the Alien Files are a rich source of biographical information for family research in a joint NARA and USCIS presentation.

Civil War Medicine

Archives specialist Rebecca Sharp and reference librarian Nancy Wing will discuss The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion.

Civil War Records on Footnote.com

Footnote.com uses National Archives documents from recently added Civil War titles to create family histories.

Registration for the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR)

I received the following notices regarding registration for the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) and thought I would share them with those who are not on their mailing list. This institute is very  popular, so if you are planning to attend please read the instructions carefully and be prepared to register on January 17th.

Registration for this summer's Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) will open on Tuesday, January 17, 2012.

To prevent an overload of the online registration system, the opening of course registration will be staggered with different courses being opening at different times. Please see the schedule of times below. Once open, registration for each course will remain open until the course is full. All times are Central Standard Time.

PLEASE NOTE: Before a course has opened for registration, it will show up on the registration website as FULL. Don't panic. Once the course opening time has passed, it will no longer appear full (until the course is actually full, of course).

PAYMENT NOTE: In order to be in compliance with federal laws, we will not be able to take any credit card numbers over the phone this year.  If you wish to use a credit card to register, you will need to register online.

Opening at 10:00 a.m. CST:
Course 1: Techniques and Technology
Course 4: Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis

Opening at 10:30 a.m. CST:
Course 3: Research in the South, Part I
Course 5: Writing and Publishing for Genealogists

Opening at 11:00 a.m. CST:
Course 2: Intermediate Genealogy and Historical Studies
Course 7: Virginia's Land & Military Conflicts
Course 9: Military Records Research III: 1821-1919

Opening at 11:30 a.m. CST:
Course 6: Advanced Library Research: Law Libraries & Government Documents
Course 8: Researching African-American Ancestors
Course 10: Tracing Your English Ancestors

The Institute itself will take place on June 10-15, 2012.

For more information, including more information on the courses being offered and how to register on the Jan. 17, visit the IGHR website at http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/.

I've received an e-mail from a previous attendee who expressed concern that we may be "asking too much" at the time of registration due to the rate at which courses have been filling up the past few years.  Returning attendees, she reasoned, might have an unfair advantage over first-timers as they might be able to submit their registrations more quickly.

To make the online registration process easier/smoother we introduced the downloadable registration guide to the IGHR website:  http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/IGHR_101.html.

This guide is a step-by-step walkthrough of the entire process, from the moment you click on the link to the confirmation e-mail you get afterwards.  We've even made efforts to keep the file size relatively small to make downloading easier and designed it so that you wouldn't use up quite as much ink when printing.

If you're planning on registering for this year's IGHR,  we strongly recommend you download and read through this guide beforehand.  Print it out and scribble some notes on it if you want.  That way you can avoid spending precious time reading over information at the time of registration.  Even IGHR veterans should gain some benefit from it as we have introduced some new options for those staying on campus or purchasing a meal ticket.

RootsTech Conference Schedule Posted

I know many of you are looking forward to the RootsTech Conference hosted by FamilySearch in Salt Lake City on February 2-4, 2012. The daily schedule has now been posted at http://rootstech.org/schedule/users

New APG Webinar Series - Tax Considerations for Your Genealogy Business

I have known that a webinar series has been in the planning stages at APG for some time, but am excited to see that the first webinar will be next week. It is open to the public, so if you are interested in creating your own genealogy business you will want to attend. Here is the announcement from the Association of Professional Genealogists:

Professional Development for APG Members and the Genealogy Community

6 January 2012 – Westminster, Colo., With the increased demand for professional development options for genealogists, the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) announces a new webinar series for 2012. APG webinars will cover topics of interest to professional genealogists with a focus on tools and best practices for running a genealogy business.

Tax Considerations for Your Genealogy Business (U.S.)
Wednesday, 11 January 2012 - 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM EST

The first offering in the APG webinar series, Tax Considerations for Your Genealogy Business, will be presented by nationally-known genealogist, educator, and writer, James M. Beidler, on Wednesday evening, 11 January 2012, at 8:30 P.M. Eastern time.

Whether you earn your income from research, teaching, writing, or another form of genealogical activity, there are many tax decisions which affect your genealogy business. Should you form a sole proprietorship or an LLC? Take a deduction for your home office? File a 1099 for subcontractors? Jim Beidler, a Senior Tax Advisor for H&R Block and owner of his own genealogy business, will share his strategies for maximizing the deductions on your 2011 tax bill while planning ahead for 2012.

To kick off our webinar series, this first APG webinar is FREE to the public as well as to members of APG. Those wanting to attend are encouraged to register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/385781994 since space is limited. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

APG Professional Development

APG will be offering future professional development webinars to its members, and occasionally to the genealogy community, on a variety of topics related to genealogy as a profession. In addition, APG members will have on-demand access to webinar recordings as well as to syllabus materials via the Members Only Section of the APG website.

About the Association of Professional Genealogists
APG (www.apgen.org), established in 1979, represents more than 2,400 genealogists, librarians, writers, editors, historians, instructors, booksellers, publishers, and others involved in genealogy-related businesses. APG encourages genealogical excellence, ethical practice, mentoring, and education. The organization also supports the preservation and accessibility of records useful to the fields of genealogy and history. Its members represent all fifty states, Canada, and thirty other countries. APG is active on LinkedIn, Twitter (www.twitter.com/apggenealogy), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/AssociationofProfessionalGenealogists).

APG is a registered trademark of the Association of Professional Genealogists. All other trade and service marks are property of their respective owners.

ICAPGEN Mentoring Classes

I received the following announcement from the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGEN). Please see my comments below the announcement.

January 3, 2011 - Salt Lake City, Utah

ICAPGen is pleased to announce that another series of mentoring classes will begin on January 20, 2012. These are free classes to help individuals prepare for ICAPGen accreditation. They are held at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. For our friends who are not able to come to Salt Lake City, these classes have been filmed and can be watched on our website: http://www.icapgen.org/icapgen/resources

For more information about the mentoring classes, click the link above.

Comments from Angela:
For those who will be in Salt Lake City these classes are free and would be helpful in learning about the accreditation program. For those who are not in Salt Lake City, these classes have been recorded and can be viewed online for free. Even if you are not interested in the ICAPGEN accreditation program many of the classes can be helpful in learning about genealogy research and methodology. I have watched several of the classes and found them to be helpful on topic such as evidence analysis and writing research reports. There is also a mentoring class syllabus available for purchase on the ICAPGEN website. This 51-page PDF file sells for $4.00 and contains details on the application process as well as handouts and homework assignments for each course. Here are links to a few of the general courses available online:



Mentoring Class: Research Binder
Mentoring Class: Working with Documents
Mentoring Class: Citing Sources
Mentoring Class: History, Geography, and Timelines
Mentoring Class: Evidence Analysis, Part 1
Mentoring Class: Evidence Analysis, Part 2
Mentoring Class: Writing a Quality Research Report
Mentoring Class: Pedigree Analysis