FamilySearch's Genealogy Courses - Review Part 1

While participating in the Inferential Genealogy Course with my fellow SecondLife genealogists, I realized that FamilySearch has a plethora of genealogy courses available, and I thought I would take a look and see which ones I wanted to do (this would also allow me to mark something off my to-do list).


Since the Inferential Genealogy course, FamilySearch has redesigned the site for the Learning Center, which I applaud.  It's much easier to navigate now.


When you first "arrive" at the Center, you have options.  You can choose your courses by place, skill level, subject, format, or language.


I chose skill level, beginner.  I figured I would just start at the beginning and see where it took me.


What I found was a list of 56 results, specifically for beginners.  These include 17 episodes of "5 Minute Genealogy," the "Ancestors" series Seasons 1 and 2 (BYU television),  "Getting Started in Genealogy" and "Getting Started in Family History."  There are other random courses as well that seem pretty interesting, including "Principles for Beginning Genealogy" by Dr. Tom Jones.


I decided to take a look at a couple of the series to see what they're all about.  The first one I clicked was "5 Minute Genealogy: Episode 1 - Find a record in 5 minutes."  According to the handout (yes, there is a PDF handout), this video series is "designed to help you quickly discover your family history.  Each episode guides you through basic research principles that will help you have success finding your ancestors."  Let's see.


I was greeted by host Jessie Davis, who tells me she will take me from zero to a family record in 5 minutes.  She recommends viewing the episodes sequentially, and in each episode I'll learn what to do with the records that I find.

This is Jessie telling me what she will do in 5 minutes.  I want one of those sweaters.

She began at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (what better place to start?).  She got some tips from one of the librarians there, and found a death record for her great grandfather in less than 5 minutes.  She then took herself to a local deli to see if she could do the same for some random people.  I won't tell you how it ends, but I think you can probably guess.  The second episode sort of summarizes what the series is all about, but it's very cleverly done ... as a movie.  

... which was very reminiscent of one of my all-time favorites, Mystery Science Theater 3000:

When I started watching the series, I was afraid it was going to follow the "you don't have to know what you're looking for ..." mantra.  Fortunately, it does exactly the opposite.  The series literally walks you through the process from the initial pedigree chart to organizing to sharing your research.


I never got past the 5 minute series, mainly because I found it so entertaining and informative that I couldn't stop watching.  I highly recommend this series for beginners, but intermediate and even advanced genealogists may get something out of it as well.  And because each of the episodes is about 5 minutes long, you don't have to be glued to your computer for extended periods of time.  (Psst ... they're also downloadable, so you could even watch them on your laptop while you're vacationing on a desert island!)

Inferential Genealogy - Case 2

This is my third post in the Inferential Genealogy series.  My previous posts can be found below:


Post 1
Post 2


The IG study group met on Tuesday, June 7 to discuss Case 2.  All I can say about Case 2 is ... it kicked my butt.  I don't profess to be a genealogy genius or anything, but I've certainly done my fair share of research on- and off-line.  If this course was meant for beginners, they must grow 'em pretty hearty over there at FamilySearch.


At the beginning of the case, we were told of a published family history that gave a grand story about Obediah Overton and something about how he was linked to George Washington, blah blah blah ... which turned out to be complete and utter fiction.  Then we learned that Obediah Overton actually "ended up" in Orange County, Virginia.  That's pretty much it.  No date of birth, no place of birth, nothing.  Our focused goal was to identify the parents of Obediah Overton from Orange Co., VA.  Piece o' cake, right?  Yeah ... 


Anyway, we were given a series of 8 documents ranging from deeds to tax lists to wills and marriage records.  I took copious notes on each document (mainly due to the technical difficulties we were experiencing with the journal portion of the course, but also because I was so stinkin' confused that I had to draw myself a picture).  Of the 8 documents we were given, one ... yes, one ... had the name of Obediah Overton.


Long story short, there were several problems with Case 2 that would not allow my brain to draw a conclusion - even a far-reaching one - about the identity of Obediah's parents.

1. The documents were "recreations."  I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind not using the actual documents.  It can't possibly be a copyright issue.  Whatever the reason, the recreated documents were horrible.  For example, names were either misspelled or a different name altogether (Howerton was written "Harrison," Moore was written "Morris," etc.) or the document clearly said "Overton" but the instructor was saying "Howerton."
2. We never got to see the entire document.  Granted, we were told what the document was and what it contained, but references were made to information on the document that we were not able to see.  Is that any way to analyze a document?
3. The instructor had a LOT more information that we did (obviously), and made what appeared to be "giant leaps for genealogy kind."  They may or may not have been assumptions on his part, but we had no evidence to back them up.  It made it very difficult to follow the facts.
4. Because we weren't given the date of Obediah's birth, it was very hard to place him within a timeline of the documents we were given or relative to the other people named in the documents.

Now, all of that being said ... let me tell you the positive things I got out of Case 2:

1. I am SO going to search out tax records for everyone in my tree!  Apparently, the tax assessor knew everything.  And everyone.  Fair warning all you people in the tax offices in Indiana, Missouri, and South Dakota ... I'll be calling on you.
2. You never realize how much information is contained in one document until you can't see the whole thing.  I have gotten so used to skimming a document for a date, a name, and a place that I forget to look at all the other stuff.  Won't be doing that anymore.
3. Timelines.  I'm pretty sure I mentioned it before ... and I usually keep one for the person I'm researching.  It never occurred to me to do a timeline for the documents too.

So, it wasn't a complete waste of time.  There is definitely room for improvement as far as the information we are given, but it's still a good course.  We'll be reviewing Case 3 at Just Genealogy in SecondLife on Sunday, July 19 at 5:15 p.m. Pacific time.  Our IG study group has outgrown the Family History Centre (I think we had over 45 people at the last meeting), so we are now meeting at the Tabernacle that is caddy-corner to the Centre.

If Case 3 is anything like Case 2, I'm glad we have a little over a week to get it done!  (Especially now that my final algebra class is underway ... I'm really wishing I had a fast-forward button on that).

Inferential Genealogy - Case 1

As I mentioned in my initial post on Inferential Genealogy, I was given a "homework" assignment to study Case 1.  I did.  It was fascinating.  What I liked most about it was that it forced my brain to go in unfamiliar directions - to think outside the box.  I am discovering that there are record types out there that, while I never thought they would be of much value to my research other than as peripheral information on a particular ancestor, are actually quite valuable and clue-ridden when it comes to applying the process of inferential genealogy.


Case 1 took us through the 5-step process:

1. State a focused goal;
2. Search broadly;
3. Understand the documents;
4. Correlate the evidence;
5. Write down your results.

We were provided several images of documents used to "identify the parents of Maxfield Whiting who married Lettice Johnson in 1753."  (that was our focused goal).  Among the documents were marriage records, wills, probate records, a letter written by a father for his daughter, and court records.  By the time all was said and done (and with a few hints from Tom Jones), I had correctly identified Maxfield Whiting's parents.  I was very proud of myself!


... until I started on Case 2.  But that's for another post.


We discussed Case 1 in our Just Genealogy group in SecondLife this past Sunday, which helped the the thought process gel a little more in my head (this is a good thing).  Here are a couple of things I took away from this part of the course and our discussion:

1. CITE YOUR SOURCES! (ok, I already knew that, but it bears repeating)
2. When you make assumptions, say so.
3. The people you seek may not be the main focus of a record.  They could be witnesses, notaries, heirs, informants, etc.
4. When two people with the same surname are listed on the same record, it is likely that they are related in some way.

Bottom line, I enjoyed this case and it made me feel like I was on the right track.  Now ... on to Case 2.

FamilySearch, SecondLife, and Inferential Genealogy walk into a bar ...

Trust me ... it was hilarious!  Seriously though, I am participating in a fascinating new study group in SecondLife - thanks to DearMYRTLE, who (in addition to everything else she has going on) managed to arrange it all!  We will be studying Inferential Genealogy.  It is one of the many courses available at  FamilySearch.  It is hosted by Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, UGA, FNGS.  Not only that ... this is where my favorite 4-letter word comes into play ... it's FREE!


Our first meeting was on Tuesday, May 31.  We had so many people in attendance, our little corner of the SecondLife world was closed.  I think we had a total of 35 people (including Mr. Myrt, who sacrificed his place so someone else could attend - such a gentleman!) around the firepit at JustGenealogy.

We discussed the Introduction and the handouts (we were instructed not to work ahead).  One of our assignments was to come up with our own definition of Inferential Genealogy.  Here's mine (in a nutshell):

Inferential Genealogy is the process of taking a lot of different documents from a lot of different places and using them to draw conclusions about relationships and identities when no single record is able to do it.

The introduction explained the difference between kinship acceptance and kinship determination.  I doubt I will be accepting any document at face value anymore.  Additionally, the five-step process was discussed in detail:

1. Start with a focused goal (be specific)

2. Search broadly (time, location, and associates)

3. Understand the records (why and how?)

4. Correlate the evidence (differences, similarities)

5. Write down results

Needless to say, this week has been a little crazy and I haven't had a chance to even decide what my goal is going to be.  I'll work on that a little later.

Our next meeting is Sunday, June 5, at 5:15 p.m. (Pacific) at the Family History Centre in SecondLife.  You can view the full schedule at DearMYRTLE's blog here and in the Genealogists in Second Life group on Facebook here.  We will be discussing Case 1 (which is my "homework" from Tuesday).

The course is really very interesting so far.  I encourage you to check it out!  If you want to know more about SecondLife, I encourage you to check out Myrt's "Get a Second Life" workshop webinar on June 8.  More information can be found here and here.