ICAPGen Conference

I attended the ICAPGen Conference this week and found a couple of classes that made it worth my time and money. I enjoyed Lynn Turner's class on "Writing an Excellent Report". It is always hard to decide what style to use in your writing, but I have found that if the report isn't professional looking than I have wasted my time doing the research.
I also enjoyed the class my Karen Clifford on "Entering the Speaker Circuit". I feel like I am getting to that point where I should be teaching genealogy classes, not just attending them. I was able to get some really good ideas on how to get started.
I also talked with Karen Clifford who is an important team member for the Accreditation process at the FHL. She said that it was just a rumor that things had been put on hold. She said they had just reviewed a list of people that have submitted their projects and they are getting ready to set them up for the test. I sure hope I was on that list.
My History 434 class is drawing to an end. I am so glad I took this class. I would never have had this blog up and running and now I also have my website. I have learned alot this semester and hope that with this new found information, I will be able to get my genealogy business up and running via the internet.

BYU Graduates and Accreditation from the FHL

Okay, I need to vent. I have had my research project in to the accreditation board for some time, hoping to take the accreditation test at the FHL. I have heard they have put the latest batch of submissions on hold. I really think that creates a problem for those who now have their degree, but would like to get credentialed so that they can further their careers. I really feel that BYU and the Accreditation board needs to work together to insure that once a person has graduated from BYU with a degree in Family History, they will have the opportunity to take the accreditation test in a timely manner. When I graduated from nursing school, I got to take the state boards within a couple of months. This would seem to be more responsible. BYU's family history program pushes accreditation over certification, but it is disappointing to not be able to do so, because they have slowed down the process.

What do some of you others out there feel about this issue?

Disasters Website - How it relates to Genealogy

I was excited to find this website. http://www.gendisasters.com/. What a great way to tie in events to our genealogical research. It will help to answer questions about why we can't find certain records, why so many of our ancestors moved on to another place, or it may just answer the question we all have, "what was going on in my ancestors lives?".

Allmendinger Information Added to my Website

I have begun to add information regarding the Allmendinger side of my family to my website. Please check in once in a while to see if there is anything that interests you.
My Allmendinger ancestry began in Boll, Württemberg, Germany and from there moved to Sarata, Bessarabia, Russia. The history behind the Germans for Russia is very interesting.
A good book to read on the subject is "The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862" by Karl Stumpp.
Sarata had it's beginnings about 1820 with 36 families having come from Württemberg and 54 famlies from Bayern. The Allmendingers came with the first wave of immigrants. Life was not easy, but these German people were hard working and were able to make great improvements to the countryside in which they settled.

I am working on a project to extract some death records for Missouri. Having access to digital copies of death records from 1910-1956, on the Missouri State Archives website is wonderful. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/. It is exciting to see that the future of genealogy is being able to access digital copies via the internet. It is such wonderful time saver and can also be a cost saver, if you don't live near an archive or wonderful Family History Library (Salt Lake City).

Website, Wiki, and "Your Tree By Dee"

Websites, Wikis, and "Your Tree By Dee" Well, I have my website up and running now. http://yourtreebydee.googlepages.com/. It really wasn't too bad. I would advise doing your homework before attempting to create one, especially if your as computer literate as I am. I had started to create a website a couple months ago and it was a disaster. I paid alot of money and could not figure out how to get it up and running. This website through google was a breeze and it didn't cost me a cent. Of course, the site is a work in progress, but at least I got the main page going.

I also added an article to a wiki site. familysearchwiki.org. If you want to take a look, it is title Compiled Records for Mid-South Research. This turned out to be a positive experience also. The site was very user friendly and I was able to publish my article without any difficulty. While, I am talking about wiki's, I would recommend a good article in November 2007's Internet Genealogy Magazine. The is a really great article on wiki's for us who are just learning about all this new jargon.

I am waiting for my appointment to take the test for accreditation. Hope it is soon. If you visit my website for my business "Your Tree By Dee" feel free to let people know that I have my business up and running and would love to do their research. I have a degree in family history from BYU and have done private clients for about 5 years. I also work for a couple of companies on a contractual basis, so I feel I am very professional researcher.

Updating yourself daily on whats new in the world of genealogy

I just returned from a trip to Europe for 2 weeks. We took a cruise down the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Strasbourg, Alsace. Lots of history there. Now it is time to get back to work on genealogy. I am trying to decide which RSS feed to go with. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I spent some time yesterday updating myself on what is going on in the world of genealogy. It is amazing how just being out of the loop two weeks can put you behind. The world of genealogy is changing daily. With technology such as it is, you can see new resources being added at such a fast pace, that is necessary to browse through blogs, podcasts, and news updates on a daily basis.

From a Hobby to a Profession - My Story

I started doing genealogy in 1980. Unfortunately, with not much knowledge of "how to" under by belt. I was what they called a "Tree Climber". Get as many names as fast as you can. I was really proud on myself as the numbers grew. Then one day I started wondering who these names in my database really belonged to. That was the beginning of a wonderful adventure. History became my passion. (This is from someone who absolutely hated history in high school). I also began to find out, that because I hadn't kept research logs, or good source citations, I was reseaching through records I had already researched before. It was time to do something about it.
In the mid 1990's I began to organize my files, cite by sources, and clean up my PAF files. I was overwhelmed and wished I had started about 5,000 names back. It was a slow go, and I am still not finished, but things are looking up.
By the year 2000, some friends were beginning to ask for genealogy research assistance and it was at this point that I decided to start my own business. In the beginning I charged very little and because I was still slow at my research techniques, I really wasn't making anything at what I was doing.
My focus towards doing genealogy professionally came after I injured my back at work. I was an RN for 28 years, but knew I could no longer stand on my feet 12 hours a day. So I had to decided what I wanted to do the rest of my life. Genealogy!
I got accepted to BYU in 2004. My husband and I moved to Pleasant Grove. I graduated in 2007, started my business "Your Tree By Dee", and now I am on my way. I will soon be taking the test for Accreditation and just about have my project done for Certification. I love to attend genealogy conferences. I continue to take classes at BYU to help me be better in my field of work.
I am excited about all the technological changes that have come about in the past 27 years since I have been doing genealogy. I hope to hear from others of you out there. I hope that I can network with you and know that I will learn much from this blogging experience.

UGA Conference

I just attended the UGA Conference in Salt Lake City and wanted to share some of the new information I gleaned (not necessarily new, just new to me) while attending:

• The prices for obtaining document packages from the NARA are going up significantly. The price change takes place on October 1st. So if they receive your order by September 30th, you can still get copies of the files you need at the old price. Although, we all hate to see prices rise, I can understand why the NARA needed to raise their fees. It is quite time comsuming to print off these files, which in some cases can be over 100 pages. Time is money in this world we live in.
• Genealogy Musts - Blogs, Podcasts, RSS Feeds - The best way to find out at a moment's notice what is new in the world of genealogy. (Okay, so I have been slow in getting on the genealogy band wagon). A person will find new resources every couple of days, by using these sites, they are also the place to find the best genealogical information. As you can see I am a fast learner, since I now have my own blog.
• You can publish your genealogy via a RootsWeb Website. Since I have all my personal genealogy on WorldConnect, I plan on utilizing this feature
• Take advantage of Genealogy Conferences. You will get information you most likely would never find on your own and you are getting that infomration from people who know what they are talking about.