One Worth Watching

Copyright Ancestral
Journeys, 2012-2013

My continuing education is incredibly important to me. I value the gift I am giving to myself to further my knowledge base and allowing my imagination to expand within the confines of real world research challenges. I believe it to be one of the best activities to engage in that will truly add depth and meaning to the idea of professional genealogist.


In 2013, I have committed to a goal of two genealogy webinars, four FamilySearch lessons and at least one business related webinar each month. That averages to five hours a month. That is obtainable, and I was able to meet that goal in January. I chose the FamilySearch platform for the year because they have so many options, varying in depth, scope and length. Generally speaking, I have enjoyed them.

This was different.

On the 28th of January, I watched “Thinking Creatively About Research Problems”, while doing the dishes. Multi-tasking at its best, right? I’ll be honest. I was floored. The 39 minute lesson is presented by  Apryl Cox, AG; and was first put online 4 May 2010. It is essentially a case study, and Mrs. Cox describes how she gets around some very difficult obstacles to find a member of her own family. The lesson is listed as intermediate level.

I was fascinated. Honestly, it was one of the best sessions I have ever listened to. Period.

So much so, that I watched it a second time later that evening, when I could really focus. So good that I looked her up in the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) Directory and sent her an email with my compliments. I was happy to receive her reply, in which she indicated that she presents this as a live session, as well.

It wasn't that Mrs. Cox offered me my own brick wall ancestor (Oscar) on a silver platter; it was the way she spoke. Naturally, fluidly, comfortably. And it made all the difference. We've all said it, and I’m sure we will say it again: there is nothing worse than having someone “present” by reading their presentation slides like a script. This lesson was filled with entertaining – and real – stories, of a real person; with real life problems. Her challenges included getting around her ancestor’s own lies, and then having to admit to herself that he lied.

I nearly lost a plate.

Creative Commons

When my "lightbulb" went off, I was up to my elbows in bubbly dish water, with a dinner plate mid-scour. It almost hit the floor. Oh my! What if Oscar didn't want his father to be identified?? I have five theories as to who Oscar's father was. Did he hide the truth, did he give a different name, different story, different identity on every record to distance himself from his actual Dad? 

Every record that I have been able to identify that Oscar would have had some influence on - his marriage license, his political campaign in the local newspaper, the information given to family members used in his obituary - all contain a different name for his father. I have always assumed (there's that nasty word again!) that I was making a mistake in my research; that I was "not seeing" something. Human error on the part of the clerk. The father's first and middle names were used interchangeably. 

I had not once before considered the idea that this could be an intentionally hidden truth.

The questions only continued to expand from there. Was he ashamed of his father, or some other member of his family? Was he, Oscar, in fact the "black sheep?" Was he adopted or illegitimate? I know that one of his sisters, Mary (Brown) Collins, was said to have been "crazy" when she died. Was there more stigma attached to the family that Oscar was running away from? 

The simple truth is that when the research becomes so personal, when the challenge drives you to search through record sets until dawn; admitting that the ancestor you seek may have not shared your own values is difficult at best, if not impossible. That is one of the greatest lessons of Mrs. Cox's lesson: you must distance yourself emotionally and think "creatively" to find the answer. I will leave the rest of the lesson for you to discover from the source; as she says it far better than I ever could. 

If you watch any webinar or session in the near future (excluding perhaps the live stream of RootsTech 2013, which I’ll be glued to); watch this one. You can bet that if I ever have the chance to see Apryl Cox speak live, I'll be first in line. I hope you'll be there with me. 

Genealogy: The Next Generation

What will genealogy look like in 2063? That is the question I am posing today, and I'm curious to see what responses I will get.

CER-10, Digital Computer, ca. 1963
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CER-10

In 1963, the idea of advanced technology looked very different than it does in reality. When they looked fifty years ahead, could they have imagined that we would be researching with tools such as Google Books, online records sources, digital cameras, and personal computers small enough to fit not just in one room, but in our laps?

With new tech and abilities hitting the market at an alarming rate now, what will genealogy look like in twenty or fifty years? Will everything be online? Will we be having the equivalent of webinar's instructing researchers how to walk into a courthouse and request records?  Will it even be necessary to do on site research, or will it all be available to us via some sort of mass media source? How will people be dealt with after death in the future? Will cemeteries still exist, or will society turn to something else?

The bigger question; will it, the research, even be necessary? Will there be a day when genealogy is just... done? Will we ever have all the answers?

(Personally, I don't think so, at least not in our lifetime, but its an interesting question to ask.)


What do you see for the future, the next generation of genealogy? 

Learn, Over and Over

Image Copyright
Ancestral Journeys, 2012

As genealogists, as researchers  and simply as human beings, one of the most wonderful gifts we can give to ourselves is that of continued learning. The mantra is simple, "don't stop."  Whatever form it comes in, there is always opportunity to learn, learn again and learn some more.

I find myself reading - constantly - on a wide array of topics. My personal library skips through what you would expect: genealogy, history, military references; and then races on with music history, loved children's literature from years past, business and marketing texts, and so much more.


There is something I struggle with though, and that is making time for online education. I do my fair share of reading through blogs, news articles, and other mentions from our friends in social media. However, I'm constantly struggling with making time for webinar's, YouTube video's, Podcast's and tutorials. I know they can help me, and when I do make the time, I always learn something.

I actually really enjoy watching or listening to them. The topics list are varied and for the most part, the presenter's are engaging and entertaining. My to-do list is just sooooo long that I have a hard time convincing myself to stop trying to multi-task and focus on what is being discussed.

As part of my newly developed set of goals, I plan on taking advantage of two of these educational opportunities each month. Starting today.

So, here I'm going to remind you of the incredible set of videos that were made available just a few months ago, from RootsTech 2012. I've seen them all, but many are worth watching again. Take out your notes from this past March, and watch with me. While you're on the site, check out the schedule for next year.

Let me know what you learn today! 

Brickwall: The Case of Oscar F. Brown

Capt. Oscar F. Brown, date unknown.
Personal archives of author.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you are probably already familiar with Oscar Fitzallen Brown, my 2nd great grandfather. He is, and has been, my biggest brick wall in my direct line of ancestors. It's not that I cannot locate any information on him, it's that the information I have can not be collaborated; and it's all indirect.

I recently viewed a webinar presented by Michael Hait, CG, on the topic of a "What is a Reasonably Exhaustive Search?," and what that really means. [You can preview or order the webinar from the Legacy Family Tree website.] It was well done, and challenged me to go back to Oscar to see what else I might be able to come up with. I have decided to present this in a multi-part series, presenting each argument on his behalf to see which comes up as the most reasonable, which has the most holes.

You see, the real problem with determining Oscar's lineage is his father: right now, there are at least three, perhaps up to five, candidates. William, Tolman, Abraham, Isaac and a possible unknown, have been distressing me for at least a couple of years each. It's time to end this madness! I am truly hoping to be able to present a reasonable conclusion by the time I am done, or at least a "to-do" list of further research necessary.

Opinions are welcome! Please contribute if you know of another source, another place to look. 

In the meantime, we're waiting for our DNA test to come back to see what it will tell us. Keep your finger's crossed.

(If this is sounding familiar, you are right. I've blogged about Oscar's Pa before, but not in as much detail as I'm going to present now. You can read through that summary here.)

Keep reading to learn more. Up first will be Abraham Brown, listed as Oscar's father in his obituary.

Webinar Review: The Pursuit From Genealogy Hobbyist to Professional

Originally presented on 4 April 2012 by John Kitzmiller and Claire V. Brison-Banks, this webinar certainly caught my eye when it was listed on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website. I was immediately interested and registered right away. Among the excitement and energy surrounding the release of the 1940 US Census, there was this underlying anticipation for me. I could not wait for this webinar.

My first observation, and unfortunately, the thought that continued throughout the presentation, was this: these two folks do not know how to present a webinar. In their bio's, it stated that they speak regularly at conferences and other events. Although I have not seen them in person, I am sure that they are dynamic speakers (or they wouldn't be continually brought back into conferences). There is a difference, however, in my mind, between speaking live and speaking through a webinar format. There needs to be more to a webinar than just reading off the slides. I can see those, I can read them for myself. Your presentation needs to offer me more than just what is on the slides. So, I was initially disappointed. I let the presentation go and left the room to rotate my laundry. Not a good start.

Throughout the presentation, there were several long pauses with whispering in the background. Odd.

The topics covered were a brief review of what Mr. Kitzmiller and Mrs. Brison-Banks thought were the most important skills needed to be a professional genealogist; the "phases" from doing genealogy as a hobby to going pro; certification opportunities in the United States; business practice models, etc.

They described the following as important skills to have to become a professional genealogist:

1. Ability to analyze research details. 
2. Synthesize the analysis.
3. A specialty area(s) - generally a geographic area.
4. Experience
5. Credentials, either have or in the process of obtaining.
6. Education beyond High School
7. Be a life long learner.

As someone just beginning this process, I agree with all of this except #6. Certainly higher education in the form of college courses, internships, apprenticeships, etc. would be helpful, however I do not think that it is necessarily a requirement to be a good professional. I know several people that are extremely successful in their chosen fields that barely finished high school or obtained a GED later in life. That being said, #7, that of being a life long learner, is very important. Not everybody is successful in a traditional classroom setting, so for me, #6 should simply be eliminated and more emphasis should be placed on continued learning, in whatever form works best for the individual.

I was disappointed that so much time was spent on items like looking at the ICAPGen and BCG websites. It would seem to me that if someone is watching this webinar, they have probably already visited those sites; I know have, several times over. Are they worth mentioning? Absolutely. Do we need to spend several minutes of the presentation time highlighting what you can find on the main page?  No, not really.

One of the items I found helpful was the visual charts on the Business Work Flow and the Research Project. All though I have seen all of this written out, to see it in a diagram was useful.

Ultimately, I think I was hoping for something a bit more specific to the process of running a genealogy related business, versus just running a business in general. I was looking for topics such as industry specific marketing and advertising, gaining a professional reputation in the field, and obtaining an audience. Perhaps the presenters felt that generic was better for a broad audience, which generally I would agree with. The title of the webinar, however, makes it clear this is about being a professional genealogist, and there just was not that much information specific to that title. I can take a business class just about anywhere, anytime. 

Speaking skills were lacking to the end; and this is a direct quote from one of the presenters: "... has to do a lineage, um... thing..." (referring to the BCG Certification process). To be fair, perhaps the question caught them off guard, but it was formed around material they covered during the hour, so it should have been something they were able to address.

Overall, the webinar was disappointing. It even seemed that when the two individuals switched back and forth, that it was unorganized. They did not seem ready to pick up where the other left off. Although I have not given a webinar in some time (probably two years or more), that is certainly something I would have planned in advance, and been ready to pick up from a co-presenter.

Unfortunately, I have to give this webinar a rather low rating. I did not learn very much, and felt that the time could have been spent in a much more productive way.

Anybody else view this presentation and have thoughts to share? Please do so.