My Trails into the Past

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme. I have completed forty-six (46) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. I literally only left the house to get a book from the will-call at the library. On Sunday, I pulled weeds and pruned the roses. We had some rain this week, but I was in classes during the day. Genealogy Blog Writing : Week 4: Favorite Photo—Nana with Her Sisters . I showed a shot of my grandmother with her two living sisters, Nellie and Loretto, all three wearing pearls. Social History Adds Context to Our Families—An Example for My Coor Family . The SLIG institute class I attended this week was about using social history to add context, so I found some newspapers to describe James M. Coor’s decision to move to Erath County, Texas, and some possible resources to describe farming in...

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme. Genealogy This week I spent at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) in Salt Lake City. It’s held for five days at the Hilton Hotel. My course was Advance Southern Research, coordinated by J. Mark Lowe, along with Anne Gillespie Mitchell, Kelvin Myers, and Ari Wilkins. I am ready to start cluster research on my tricky families, and to listen for the stories when studying the records. Also during the week, I saw friends from all over the U.S.  Many congratulated me on achieving certification. Others I met for the first time in person, even though I might be “friends” with them on Facebook. Then the rest were those I met for the first time. I’m great about the greeting and hugging but forget to take “selfies” with them.  I did take photos...

It's the second week in January, and that means I'm in Salt Lake City to attend the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). It's always a fun week co-mingling with other like-minded genealogists from all over the US and from several countries. I'm happy that it was not snowing when my plane landed on Sunday afternoon. The weather is cold, but so far dry. There is some inversion and the air quality is not perfect, but we stay indoors most of the day. I'm taking Advanced Southern Research from J. Mark Lowe, along with additional instructors of Anne Gillespie Mitchell, Deborah A Abbott, Kelvin L. Meyers, and Ari Wilkins. This is going to be a great class with wonderful instructors. My mother's entire ancestry is southern. I have found family in the states Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. I have not gotten back far enough yet to know their origins, but likely they have been her...

I became a Certified Genealogist® officially on December 22, 2018 and will hold the certification for five years. I was so excited when I got the news. I submitted on October 5 and waited (not so patiently) over two and half months. What helped, was I started working on another project: looking for the father of Samuel Johnston. To become certified, I had to submit a seven-part portfolio to the Board for the Certification of Genealogists that demonstrated my ability to follow the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). [1] It really was the culmination of many years of research practice, several years of education, and then putting together the portfolio. This portfolio was then judged by three competent genealogists who use a rubrics to determine whether I have met the standards of the GPS. Education was a major factor in helping me prepare for certification. I had started conducting genealogy research as a self-taught researcher. I read The Source and attended presentations b...

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing started this meme and I loved the idea. Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. Genealogy 1. Genealogy Courses This week I atteded Rick Sayre’s Advanced Land Tools: Maps class at SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy). We had five full days of classes and a banquet on Friday night. I learned so much about how to accessed maps online and offline, how to overlay old maps onto Google Earth, and how to plot land both on paper and in a program called DeedMapper . Check out my blog posts about my SLIG experience.     The week wasn’t just about class. I made some new friends, visited with old friends, read through several of the BCG certification portfolios, and purchased some new genealogy books. I got in some exercise each day walking back to the hotel from the library each afternoon. Some of the CGS members pre...

#SLIGExperience The theme for our Land class today was online maps. We learned about many different websites that house lots of images of maps. Some great sites are: Library of Congress National Archives National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bureau of Land Management USGS David Rumsey’s Historical Map Collection to name a few good sites. State archives, libraries, and historical societies are also other great sites for historical maps. Screen shots of two sites we visited in the Family History Library lab: David Rumsey's Map Collection BLM website Here’s a map I found that was interesting—wish I noted which site I found it! This depicts the San Francisco Bay Another classmate and local genealogy society (California Genealogical Society). Laura Lee and me   I’m so excited by what we’ve learned so far! Copyright © 2018 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My ...

#SLIGExperience The second day at the Advanced Land Tools: Maps was fantastic! After learning all about migration routes, we worked on land platting. With protractors and rulers, and the land description, we were able to plat it out. It’s not so hard. Reminded me a lot of high school geometry class (which was my favorite math class). After learning to do it on paper, we went to the Family History Library computer lab and learned how to plat the same land using a program called Deedmapper . It’s a program I definitely want to buy. I walked back to the library, stopping first at the Salt Lake City Visitor’s Center and the gift store there. They have lots of neat stuff – some with “Salt Lake City” written on it, some candy treats, some jewelry, and books. Check it out. After dinner, I visited the Ancestry Pro Genealogists open house and had fun socializing with lots of SLIG participants and Ancestry employees. I even met a member of my local genealogy society I...

#SLIGExperience My syllabus and name tag along with this year's lapel pin I’ve completed first day of Advanced Land Records: Maps with Rick Sayre as the Coordinator. We also met our other instructors: Melinda Kashuba, Kimberly Powell, and Jerry Smith. The morning was an overview of what our week will be, plus Rick gave us an introduction to mapping America and a lesson on land division. After lunch we headed via bus to the Utah State Archives, where Melinda led a discussion about how to read maps and then we met in small groups to look at and analyze a few maps. Luckily we received a list of what to make notice of and to think about how the maps could help us genealogically. My team: Linda & Jane One of our maps we analyzed It was much fun seeing the variety of Utah maps that the archives have in their collection. I really love hands on activities. Copyright © 2018 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.

#SLIGExperience That’s what I’m writing about this week—my experiences at the 2018 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. We had a great kick-off Sunday night with a welcoming reception with nice hors d’oeuvres. After introducing the SLIG staff and then all of the instructors for the 14 courses, we were treated to entertainment. I am taking Course 12: Advanced Land Tools: Maps. It is coordinated by Rick Sayre, cg . After quickly looking at the schedule, I can see that this will be a great course. This is my sixth SLIG experience. I love learning about a subject in depth. I love seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I look forward to the energy at SLIG Central. Better go to bed early—the week starts tomorrow! Copyright © 2018 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.