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!

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!

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.