Preparing for SLIG 2020: Part 1

I had great success by strategically preparing for the Advanced DNA Evidence course at Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) in June 2019, coordinated by Blaine Bettinger. You can read about it by checking out my last blog post of the series here. I spent a lot of time, not only reviewing books and webinars but also searching for other resources recommended by Blaine and other prominent speakers in the genetic genealogy field. I also practiced using the DNA tools available. Many tools were new in early 2019. I feel that preparing in this way helped me to get the most out of the class.

I have now signed up for the 2020 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) course called Early US Church Records, coordinated by Rev. David McDonald, DMin, CG. And I am thinking that I should create a similar process to prepare myself for this SLIG course. I have done a lot of researching in Lutheran church records, both in Norway and in the US, but I'm not very practiced in any other religion records types. Which is why I need to take this course! I like to have a base knowledge before I take a class as it allows me to gather and retain more information than if I went into it cold.

I will be posting links to videos available online that I hope will help me get more understanding out of this course. I will also post links to books and articles that I find useful. Hopefully, I will have the same success using this process for SLIG 2020 as I did for GRIP 2019.

It might seem a little early to start preparing for a class that doesn't start until January of 2020 but I am taking two other online courses in the interim. I'm going to need to spread out my preparation time over many months to get it done. If you are aware of other resources that might be helpful in preparing for Early US Church Records, I would love to hear about it!

GRIP 2019! I Did It! (And a Big Thank You to AncestryProGenealogists!)

The week of June 23 - June 28 at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) absolutely flew by. The course I attended, Advanced DNA Evidence, was coordinated by Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D., and instructed by Blaine, Angie Bush and Karen Stanbary, CG. 

There were some prerequisites for this course: a prior week-long DNA course from an institute, a multiple week online course with homework, AND/OR familiarity with DNA evidence combined with experience with multiple testing companies,  study of the books The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy and Genetic Genealogy in Practice (Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne) as well as completion of the exercises in Genetic Genealogy in Practice.

If you've looked at my recent posts, you know that I spent considerable time preparing for the course. The links to the posts are below and each describes videos, books, and tools I used to review and to prepare myself for the course.

Oh My Gosh, I Won a Scholarship!

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 1

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 2

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 3

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 4

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 5

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 6

GRIP 2019 is Almost Here!

So, did all my preparation and review pay off? I'm very happy to report that it did! The course description gives a list of lecture topics which covered:

• Y-DNA
• mtDNA
• X-DNA
• Autosomal DNA
• DNA company tools
• DNA 3rd-party tools
• Evaluating a genealogical conclusion using DNA evidence
• Using Shared Matching
• Chromosome mapping and painting
• Advanced chromosome mapping
• Visual phasing
• Literature review of DNA evidence in case studies
• Ethical and legal considerations
• Future of genetic genealogy

Each day ended in with a case study and optional homework, each day's information building on the last. The final day, we went over the case study to see how we fared with our homework.

I need to express my sincere thanks to AncestryProGenealogists who selected me as the scholarship winner for the GRIP Institute. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. I learned from some of the best in the field. My classmates had a variety of genealogical talents and experiences and I learned from them as well. Thank you, AncestryProGenealogists!

GRIP is Almost Here! (and some other things to check off my to-do list)

In my previous posts, I talked about my prep work for my Advanced DNA Evidence course at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). I'm happy to say that my plans are almost completed. I have a few loose ends to tie up and some chapters to re-read but otherwise, I feel ready.


In addition to preparing for GRIP, I also completed a couple of other tasks on my 2019 (and earlier) Genealogy to-do list.


Task 1 - Update a cemetery on Findagrave.com: While researching the burial location for my great-great-grandfather, Knud Nilsen Stover, I discovered that the cemetery had gone through a few name changes and less than 50% of the 700+ burials were listed on findagrave.com.  I posted a query on a local Facebook group and they were quick to point out the most current name of the cemetery. I also found out the name of the church that was currently overseeing the cemetery.


I called the church and after a few conversations with the church secretary and the chairman of the cemetery board, I was able to get a copy of the spreadsheet with all the burials listed. My plan was to update the spreadsheet into a format that I could upload into findagrave.com. I quickly learned that what makes perfect sense for data fields in a spreadsheet tracking burials does not necessarily work for the data fields required by findagrave.com. For example, there are no birth or death dates in the cemetery spreadsheet, just age, if known, and burial date.


After mulling over my options, I decided to hand enter each burial with as much data as my research time would allow. Since the cemetery was very near the Minnesota and South Dakota border, I used birth, death and marriage records from each state. I was also able to locate obituaries online for about a third of the burials. Hand entering also allowed me to become more familiar with each person buried there.


So I decided to go a step further and try to attach family members to each burial. Findagrave lets you add father, mother, and spouse. Findgrave will add siblings based on each burial's parents as listed. All the burials have now been added with as much information as I could uncover. I have sent "edits" to findagrave.com for those burials that were previously entered if I found new information: birth, death or marriage dates or locations, family relationships, or burial location. Another member of the Facebook group is taking photos of the stones. Soon the entire cemetery will be completed and hopefully will help future researchers.


Task 2 - Apply for Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) membership: I have had this on my to-do list for a few years, but I knew I would have trouble with my g-g-grandmother's documentation. It is her grandfather that was the patriot who fought in the Revolutionary War and so her information was critical. I have been working on it for a number of years and decided that while I have no direct evidence of her birth parents, I had enough indirect evidence where a case could be made. The local registrar was extremely helpful and even met with me at the Minnesota History Center twice to point out the areas where I needed to find more documentation. My application was submitted in early April and I was just informed that I was accepted as a member of the DAR!


Task 3 - Apply for The Mayflower Society membership: The same Revolutionary War patriot that allowed my membership in the DAR was also a direct descendant of a Mayflower passenger. But there was quite a bit more work to do for the Mayflower Society. In both lineage societies, you only need to prove back to a known proven descendant and in the Mayflower Society, I had to go back another generation with documentation. They also require marriage information for all marriages, not just the one that proves descent. My great-grandfather was married four times and I was able to get a marriage certificate for each. My own marriage certificate was more difficult to get!  The Mayflower Society application was sent in mid-April and I will probably hear something in August.


Task 4 - Write an article for possible publication: This is a little overwhelming for me, but I have completed the article and will submit it soon. Whether or not it is published remains to be seen!

It's so nice to be able to check items off my to-do list. 
It's just about time to start packing for GRIP. Hope to see you there!

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 6

 I have been working on many of the tasks outlined in my first several posts about preparing for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). The course I will be attending is "Advanced DNA Evidence," coordinated by Blaine Bettinger.

I have finished reviewing the first two books mentioned in Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 1. I am now just beginning to study the newest book mentioned in my last post, "Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies," edited by Debbie Parker Wayne. I am so looking forward to each chapter as they all promise new learning for me.

I have also been reviewing the webinars previously mentioned and watching new ones that have been made available. I have also been spending quite a lot of time investigating the new tools made available by some of the DNA companies. And I am having some great successes if I do say so myself!  I am starting to feel less intimidated by the word "Advanced" in the course title! But there is still a lot of work to be done.

My next set of tasks has to do with DNA tests organization. I manage the tests of many family members and monitor a few more. I have tested with five different DNA companies and have one or more other family members in each company as well. Almost all of the tests have been uploaded to Gedmatch or the newer Genesis. So there are a lot of logins, passwords, test IDs, and permissions to keep track of. I have a spreadsheet with this information that I will update. I will also need to double-check the logins and passwords to be sure they all work.

Some of the third-party tools require paid subscriptions so I will also want to be sure those are kept updated as well.

I also plan to create a set of ancestor fan charts, one for each person whose family I am researching. Each set will consist of a color chart similar to the one seen here, a basic ancestor chart. I'll also add a chart that will indicate which of those ancestors I have connected to through another descendant - a genetic ancestor chart. Another chart I like is an ancestor chart that shows which ancestors would have contributed to the X-DNA of the subject of the chart. My chart is on the right.

Oh my gosh, I just realized that GRIP is only 2 months away. I have a lot of work to do yet!

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 4

Whew! There has been so much going on in the world of Genetic Genealogy that I have to keep restarting this post! New videos, new books, new tools! We'll get to all that later - I'm going to continue on from the last post about 3rd-party tools.

My last post talked about the Chrome Extension, MedBetterDNA, and how I use it to take notes and color code my matches on Ancestry.com.

This post will list some of the other 3rd-party tools that I've tried, some with success and others, not so much. Usually, the lack of success is not the fault of the tool but rather the end-user!

The first 3rd-party tool that I tried was gedmatch.com. Because most of the tests that I manage are on Ancestry.com which does not have a chromosome browser, I download the raw data from Ancestry.com and upload it to gedmatch.com to use their chromosome browser and other tools. Of course, I obtain informed consent from each test taker first. There are many free tools available there and an additional set of tools if you join Tier 1 for a small monthly fee.

Trying some of the tools on gedmatch.com was, and still is, a very visual way for me to understand how sharing DNA between family members works. There are great tutorials for using gedmatch.com and its new, updated version, Genesis,  the best place to start is the Gedmatch wiki. You do need to create a free login.

Some of the other tools that I am currently practicing with include:
DNApainter.com - a tool that lets you take the chromosome match data and create a map of your chromosome based on which grandparent (or great-grandparent or g-g-grandparent) you inherited the DNA from. It can help you identify unknown matches because, if they match you in the area you received your paternal grandfather's DNA, you only need to look at the part of the tree to research the match. Blaine Bettinger has a video on youtube that explains the process.

Visual Phasing - Using Steven Fox's automated spreadsheet, I compare myself and two siblings and attempt to "paint" each chromosome for each sibling and myself, based on which grandparent we inherited our DNA from. It's a "logic puzzle" and you use other distant cousins to determine the match. Information can be found in the very helpful Facebook Visual Phasing Working Group.

One of my favorite tools is found at geneticaffairs.com, a DNA match clustering tool that groups your matches based on how they match each other. The first time I tried this tool, I was very pleasantly surprised to see how my MedBetterDNA notes from Ancestry appeared at the bottom of the report. I was especially happy to see that my notes agreed with the clustering chart from geneticaffairs.com.

Here is a screenshot of the chart (match names redacted). I have marked the family surnames on the report so that I can more easily remember which cluster is from which family group.

My results from the geneticaffairs.com tool using Ancestry

Following the chart is a report which gives more information on each match. It was in this report that my MedBetterDNA notes surfaced. The very first part of the report with names redacted is below.

My geneticaffairs.com report with MedBetterDNA notes in far right column 

Many of these are discussed in the familytreewebinar.com "A Guide to Third Party Tools For DNA Testing" by Michelle Leonard. There is a fee to join the Family Tree Webinar series but it is very reasonable and there are so many excellent videos that it is an outstanding value in my opinion.

My goal is to continue practicing with these tools as well as learn the new tools that were recently released by several testing companies.

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 3

In my last two posts, Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 1 and Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 2, I described how I am preparing for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) course, “Advanced DNA Evidence,” coordinated by Blaine Bettinger. I have been viewing and reviewing the many webinars covering DNA topics. I also want to add this link to RootsTech as they have grouped all their DNA webinars from the past few years together. It makes it much easier to find these webinars; thanks RootsTech!

Now, on to the next topic: I created a list of all the 3rd-party DNA tools I have tried using and which ones seem to work for my purposes. I'll share that list in a future post. For now, the one I use the most is the Chrome extension, MedBetterDNA. With all of the new announcements at RootsTech this year, my process will probably change over time, but I am still using this extension for now. 

Ancestry allows you to keep notes on your matches, notes that only you can see. If you create a note, you’ll see an icon of a notepad next to the person’s name. You can click on the note to read it. MedBetterDNA “pushes” that note to the match screen so you don’t have to click and you can see all your notes as you scroll through.

I use colored icons, depending upon the grandparent we are related through, as part of my note. I also include the relationship to me, if known, otherwise a red question mark icon. I include the number of cMs and the number of segments (ex: 189 cM/11). And then I try to find the most common recent ancestor or ancestral couple (MCRA) and add which child of that couple the person is descended from. I try to be consistent but it’s not always perfect.

Lynn's Ancestral Fan Chart

Color, instead of just words, seems to help me discern the matches more easily. Below is the key I use for my icons. I keep them on a notepad on my desktop so I can copy/paste. For close matches, I use multiple icons if they match on multiple lines. I use these specific colors for grandparents to match the Ancestor Fan Chart as created by my genealogy software program. There are also online charting tools to create similar charts. My chart is on shown on the right.

My Key:

💛   -    Descendants of ancestors of) Julia Moe (maternal grandmother)
♥️   -    Descendants of ancestors of Joseph Eken (maternal grandfather)

💚   -    Descendants of ancestors of Myrle Piper (paternal grandmother)

💙   -    Descendants of ancestors of Francis Puncochar (paternal grandfather)

❓   -    Not sure of the relationship

Here’s a sample page of some of my 3rd cousins with my notes. Youll have to look closely to see the colored icons. I’ve redacted the living people’s names:

So now I have most of the cousins I could identify all color coded. You can see on the 3rd cousin page above that all four colored icons appear.

When I get a new match, I look at their tree if they have one. If they don’t, I click on “Shared Matches” which tells me the matches we have in common. And, if all is right with the world, and the planets align, I get a page like this one:

And hopefully, you can see that every single one has a yellow heart icon which tells me they are related through my maternal grandmother’s line!

One problem is that even though I created the note, it doesn’t show up on other kits I manage. I have seven siblings' tests so I need to copy the note to for every match plus change the cMs shared. For paternal matches, I also need to add the information to my dad's and uncle's match list. They have a different color scheme (to match their ancestral fan chart) so I need to consider that as well.

So, after that lengthy explanation, one of the many items on my list of preparations is to keep updating the notes for all siblings and older generations. That should be a weekly task and will keep me busy all spring! It should also help me when I begin using some of the newly announced DNA tools from Ancestry and others. 

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 2

In my last post, Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 1, I described how I am beginning my preparations for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) course, “Advanced DNA Evidence,” coordinated by Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D.  In addition to Legacy Family Tree Webinars, there are some other webinar sites that I regularly use and I will survey those for webinars on DNA topics that will help me review and study.

In no particular order:

Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS): The society has regularly scheduled webinars available free to the public, but you must register. They also archive the webinars which are available to members only at any time. 

Rootstech has a wonderful collection of webinars from their annual conferences. There are sessions available from 2019, 2018, and 2017, including these from February/March 2019:

Examining Your DNA Matches with DNA Painter - Johnny Perl
Connecting Your DNA Matches - Diahan Southard
Essential Considerations for DNA Evidence - Blaine Bettinger

Youtube has many DNA videos available on a variety of DNA topics. I used the search terms "genealogy" and "DNA" and there were many available. Look for well-known DNA experts as the presenter as there are probably many that aren't as valuable for learning.

The Association of Professional Genealogists has a members-only area with videos from well-known experts. There are a few discussing DNA but most are somewhat older, 2012 - 2013 and only two from 2018.

Minnesota Genealogical Society also has a members-only area with videos archived. There are a few discussing DNA.

If you want to learn about the basic science of genetics behind DNA for genealogy, the University of Utah has some videos here.

And as mentioned in the previous blog post, DNA Central has some great videos for learning. It does require a subscription but there are other resources beyond videos as well.

Does your state or local genealogical society archive videos for members to view later? There are many more out there than I could possibly list!

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 1

I’m very excited to be registered for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburg (GRIP) course “Advanced DNA Evidence” coordinated by Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D. The course runs from June 24 through June 28, 2019. I’m looking forward to being part of the class and learning from the instructors and other class members.

In January of 2018, I attended the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) "Establishing Genealogical Proof with DNA” course coordinated by Karen Stanbary. I’ve been reviewing my notes on preparation for that class and have created my own list for the GRIP course. I want to be sure that I have reviewed everything I’ve covered in previous courses so that I am properly prepared.

This and the next few blog posts will cover some of the resources that I am planning to use over the next few months to prepare for the class.

In the course description, there are several prerequisites listed. Most were also prerequisites for the 2018 SLIG course so these will be reviews. I’ve added to them my own list of resources that I am planning on using to these prerequisites in order to prepare for the course.

Reading material to review:

• The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy  (Blaine T. Bettinger)
• Genetic Genealogy in Practice (Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne); also must successfully complete the activities

Webinars were not listed as prerequisites but I find them very helpful in “cementing” the concepts needed for understanding the uses of DNA in genealogy.

Webinars to watch or review:

There are already 70 webinars with the subject “DNA” at Legacy Family Tree Webinars.  Over 20 of them are free without a subscription. You need a subscription to view the remaining webinars, but the subscription is very reasonably priced. And there are 20 additional DNA webinars scheduled for the remainder of 2019. I plan to view as many as possible but I will start with these for review:

• Foundations in DNA 1: Genealogy and DNA, Blaine Bettinger
• Foundations in DNA 2: DNA Overview, Blaine Bettinger
• Foundations in DNA 3: Y- DNA, Blaine Bettinger
• Foundations in DNA 4: Mitochondrial DNA, Blaine Bettinger
• Foundations in DNA 5: Autosomal DNA, Blaine Bettinger

Blaine Bettinger has also created a new DNA resource area, DNA Central, using a subscription model. There are a wide variety of resources available, including courses and webinars. Courses include an introductory course for DNA testing at each of the “Big Five” DNA testing companies: Ancestry, MyHeritage, LivingDNA, 23andMe and FamilyTreeDNA. There are also webinars on a variety of DNA topics available from a variety of presenters. DNA Central has a resource page which has links to some additional webinars, podcasts, blogs, third-party tools and more. 

Reading the books, completing the exercises and reviewing the webinars should keep me busy for the next few months!

Oh My Gosh, I Won a Scholarship!

As an avid family historian with a lifetime of experience in the public education system, I firmly believe in lifelong education. Since beginning ProGen 25 in 2015 one of my personal genealogy goals has been to attend one genealogy institute per year. I’ve been very fortunate to have done just that once a year from June 2015 - January 2019.

I was able to extend that goal by attending virtual institutes presented by Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) in the fall of 2017 and 2018. All were wonderful learning experiences. The opportunity to learn from the best and network with other budding and professional genealogists is very valuable to me.

Last November I decided to fill out an application for one of the AncestryProGenealogist scholarships. I had applied for this and other scholarships over the past few years without success. I updated my resume to reflect some volunteer work I had completed last summer and the genealogy institutes I had recently attended.

I also wrote an essay briefly explaining “my genealogy career up to this point, where I see myself in the future as a professional genealogist, and how attending my top-choice institute would benefit my career.”

I filled out the application and rated the four genealogy institutes based on my preference. This was probably the toughest part as I have experienced two of the four institutes and heard only wonderful things about the remaining two. 

So, since I had attended the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) twice and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) three times, I decided to rate Genealogy Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) and Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (GedFed) as the top two.

At the end of January, I received an email that said, “CONGRATULATIONS! You have been selected as a GRAND PRIZE Winner in our Contest.”  I had to read it a few times to let it sink in. I won one of the grand prizes which included the flight, hotel and course fee to the Genealogy Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP)! 

I am so grateful for the opportunity and truly appreciate the scholarship program that AncestryProGenealogists sponsor.

More Genealogy Education Goals and My Progress, Part I

After writing my educational goals last January, it became apparent that while they were OK goals, they were't specific enough.

This table below shows the specific skill areas that I feel I need to grow. I'm very comfortable with many record types but recognize that I need to learn more about many others.

There are also some research skill areas I need to improve on. I've been searching on the Internet for over twenty years, now I need to research on the Internet. That is, I need to make my searches more concentrated toward a specific task rather than blind searches for whatever may pop up. Sources and citations will be an area that I need to continually work on.

The geographic locations are areas that apply to my personal research and that may change and grow as either new information in uncovered or as I help others in their research.

And the writing skills are the areas I would like to improve in before I publish my ancestors' stories.

Record Types	Research Skills	Geographic Locations	Writing Skills
Land and property	Sources and citations	Northeast: New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts	Beyond the family tree
Wills and probate	Maps and plat books	Midwest: Ohio, Illinois	Using historical context
Historical law	Online searches	Europe: Czech Republic	Editing
DNA	Finding female ancestors	Scandinavia: Iceland, Norway	Copyright
Federal records			Layout and publishing

After I made this table, I started listing ways that I might start building those skills and turned them into long-term goals (not just goals for 2015).

1. I will read scholarly journals.
2. I will attend a genealogical institute. 
3. I will attend one or more conferences.
4. I will participate in webinars. 
5. I will continue to build my library, read books and participate in book studies. 
6. I will work with unfamiliar record types.
7. I will keep a record my educational activities and evaluate them quarterly.

The seventh goal, "I will keep a record my educational activities and evaluate them quarterly," is actually the reason behind this post. I have been very faithful in recording my activities this year. What follows is my evaluation of the work I have done in the last 6-7 months toward building those skills.

I use Excel to track my educational activities. Tabs across the bottom of the workbook are labeled:

• Webinars
• Institutes
• Conferences
• Book Studies
• Article Studies

The columns in each worksheet are similarly labeled but vary slightly for each activity type. Typical column headings are:

• Date - the date I participated or viewed
• Sponsoring Organization - conference, institutes, or society sponsoring event
• Presenter - name and credentials, if known
• GenTopic - general genealogy topic, say "Research Skills"
• SubTopic - topic sub-category, say "Online Searches"
• Length - time spent viewing or attending
• Handout - link to downloaded handout (organized on my computer)
• Notes - link to notes taken (organized on my computer)
• Rating - mini-review on topic and/or speaker

Goal 1- "I will read scholarly journals."

I have probably tripled the amount of time I spend reading journals as compared to years past. However, I need to spend more time studying the articles. I joined an National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) Study Group and need to make an effort to schedule myself accordingly. These are the journals I subscribe to:

• Association of Professional Genealogists; "APG Quarterly"
• Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International; "Nase rodina" (Our family)
• Minnesota Genealogical Society; "Minnesota Genealogist"
• Minnesota Historical Society; "Minnesota History"
• National Genealogical Society; "NGS Magazine" and "NGSQuarterly" (e-magazine)
• New England Historic and Genealogical Society; "NEHGS Register", "American Ancestors"
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Society; "The New York Researcher", "The Record"
• Southern California Genealogical Society; "The Searcher"

Goal 2- "I will attend a genealogical institute."

I met this goal by attending IGHR, Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, in June 2015. I could stop there and just say I met this goal. But instead I want to encourage anyone who might read this to participate in IGHR or one of the other institutes available. There are several including:

• GRIP, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh
• SLIG, Salt Lake Institue of Genealogy
• NIGR, National Institute on Genealogical Research
• IGHR, Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research

There are also institutes on genetic genealogy and one or more virtual institutes. If there are others, I would love to hear about them as I have heard nothing but wonderful things about each of the ones listed above. And my own experience was beyond expectations, one of the best values for my genealogy dollars.

The list of speakers at the week-long IGHR in June reads like a "Who's Who" in genealogy expertise. The coordinator of the Intermediate Genealogy & Historical Studies course that I took was Angela McGhie and I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed the course. I also learned so much from Angela and her guest speakers. Fun & learning - you can't beat that! Speakers (and their topics) during the week-long course included:

• Thomas W. Jones (Using Evidence)
• Debbie Parker Wayne (Tax Rolls; DNA)
• Kimberly T. Powell (Online Searches; Manuscript Collections)
• John Phillip Colletta (Immigration & Naturalization)
• Gerald Smith (Local & State Land Records)
• Michael Strauss (Military Records)
• Judy G. Russell (Court Records)
• Angela McGhie (Essential Skills; Vital Record Alternatives; Advanced Census Research; Federal Land Records; Historic Newspapers; Wills and Probate; Evidence Review, Techniques)

The session topics were very closely aligned to my genealogy goals, particularly in Record Types and Research Skills, so I feel that this course was especially suited for me and my goals.

I plan to attend another Institute in the coming year. Because I have family in Birmingham, it may be IGHR as 2016 is the last year it will be held at Samford University. But I have heard such wonderful things about SLIG, GRIP and NIGR; it's a very tough decision.

I will continue my evaluation of my progress toward my goals in Part II.