Tag Archives: research

My Path to Certification

As much as I freaked out when the Family History Library announced that they would be discontinuing microfilm ordering, I now think I’m in heaven with access to all sorts of digital images! I still wish I knew more about the Family History Library’s schedule for digitizing and uploading to the internet; what are their priorities and limitations due to licensing? Last week I ventured into one of my local centers to see how viewing images at a center would be. I was optimistic and pleased when I left. I copied and uploaded about 100 images to my Google drive. The pain happened when I returned home to download the images. I had not taken the time to name the files so I spent too much organizing them later.

Today I arrived at the center with an organized plan. I spent a good portion of my genealogy time this last week working on a spreadsheet for one of my ancestors. He is featured in the first section of my Kinship-Determination project. While his parents will provide fodder for my first proof argument in the narrative, he produced a wealth of documents during his lifetime. I am using this spreadsheet to construct a timeline as well as to catalog all the documents I have for him. By knowing exactly what I have, I will see what I do not have or where I may need to do further research. The timeline will also be helpful for when I sit down to begin writing the narrative.

Having a plan really optimized my time at the center today. I retrieved and saved about 80 images. Of that number at least 70 were on my list. I found everything on the list except two lands deeds. Either I copied the page numbers wrong from the index at home or the indexer made an error I need to track down. The rest were bonus and lucky happen-stance. I found a couple of documents that the index had missed; I did not even know to look for them but I still found them!

A compiled general land deed index

Over the next week, I may begin the laborious task of transcribing all the documents I just found! Stay tuned!

“Standard 53 (Chapter 4—Standards of Writing): Selection of appropriate options. Genealogists select the proof option appropriate for the proved conclusion’s context.” – Genealogy Standards, Board for Certification of Genealogist

The Kinship-Determination Project (KDP) requires the use of at least two proof summaries or arguments justifying kinship of two parent-child relationships in different generations. There are three options for writing a proof: proof statement, proof summary, and proof argument.

The BCG website blog has a series of posts called “Ten-Minute Methodologies.” In January 2015, Judy Keller Fox wrote a piece on proof arguments and summaries, explaining the differences between the two.

http://bcgcertification.org/blog/2015/01/ten-minute-methodology-proof-summaries-and-arguments-1/

Extra! Extra!

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My friend Dan was very busy this weekend; he finished editing his brand new show Discovering Your Past. The show is all ready and it premiered this morning on YouTube. He conducted an interview with me for the first half of the show, and then I sent him out on a genealogy treasure hunt. Each episode of the show will be about 30 minutes long. In each episode, he will discuss different research problems and our adventures trying to find answers.

So sit back and enjoy the first episode!

The Book: Progress report – September 6

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It has been two weeks since my last progress report, and sadly, I have very little to report. I haven’t been able to do a thing on the book. Work and family have taken every spare minute. Oh, and my ProGen assignment for September and October has expended every other remaining moment of time. I have to write a proof argument; the first draft is due September 25^th. Knowing that I am very busy at work this month, I tried to get a head start on this assignment. I spent a good portion of the three day Labor Day weekend working on the proof argument.

I am fairly excited about writing this proof argument. Genealogical writing is an area where I would like to focus my genealogy work in the next couple of years. I chose one ancestor who has been rather elusive in the direct evidence department so I think he is a good candidate to write about. After I submit the assignment this month, my ProGen Study group mates will edit and critique it. I then get to rewrite the report for October and submit it for a second round of evaluation. I have also enlisted the aid of my co-worker to do some additional editing. I am hoping to publish the report at the end of October/early November. I may even try to use CreateSpace’s ebook publishing software and directly market my work on Amazon. When it comes to my eventual goal of becoming a certified genealogist, I want to have several published works on my resume.

One absolutely, amazing genealogical thing finally happened this week. I received my grandfather’s World War II Naval military file from the National Archives. Because he served in the Navy, his records were not burned in the big fire in the 1970s which destroyed most of the Army’s service records. The process took about five months from my initial request to having the documents in hand. I am not my grandfather’s next of kin; I had to enlist my father’s aid in acquiring the file. Since it has been less than 72 years since Roscoe retired from the Navy, his records are not available to the public. There must be at least 100+ pages in his file, and the envelope I received was easily an inch and a half thick. The file gives me additional background documentation for the book.

Many of the documents in the file are copies of originals that I already possess. Roscoe and Gladys (surprise, surprise!) kept copies of all of Roscoe’s orders and military paperwork. There are some documents in the file that are new to me, including: character references from people in Kentland when Roscoe made his original application in 1942; a copy of his county birth certificate; reviews by senior officers of Roscoe’s performance; and a copy of Roscoe’s commission. If you ever have the opportunity to find an ancestor’s military file, it is completely worth it. I am fairly tempted to go back and reorder the complete military file for some of my Civil War ancestors. I have purchased several pension files in the past, but never the complete file.