My Journey of the Certification Process: Entry 4

Sometimes, you just have to pick up the phone and call! That is what I learned this week as I worked on a certification portfolio report.

It seems that every genealogy road eventually leads to somewhere far away. Eventually, you are going to have to start researching in another state or even another country.

Online research brings those far away places within reach. The internet is a miracle really. It is amazing what information you can find by typing in a few keywords to Google. This week, I was reminded that not everything is on the internet.

I already knew I couldn't find all the sources I needed online. There are probably thousands of records still hidden in dusty old basements that haven't been viewed by human eyes in decades. Because of this, it is possible the records you are looking for have not even been microfilmed.

Yesterday, I picked up the phone and started calling places in my targeted area of research. I called the local library. I called the historical society. I called the genealogical society. I called the courthouse. I kept asking the same questions about all the types of records I needed. Finally, one woman says, "Just a minute," and then Jennifer answers with, "Hello, how can I help you?" Jennifer is a worker at the county courthouse. When I told her who I was researching she said, "Are you familiar with John [last name withheld] who is the family historian of that family? They have a large farm here in the county." WHAT!? She pointed out where I might find his contact information, as she was not able to give it to me.

Friends, this is the type of information you may only find if you start making phone calls (or visit the area). Some people call these "cold calls." When I phoned John, he thought I might be a solicitor. Remember to talk slow, but get right to the point. I said something like, "John, my name is Amie Tennant. I am a genealogy researcher in Ohio and am researching the [name withheld] family. I heard you were their family historian in the county."

And, there you have it. This phone call led to new information, new sources, and it didn't take long at all. I think this might be part of the exhaustive research we talk about in the GPS.

I would also add, I often learn about unique holdings when I call the history department of a local library or archive. There have been many times when I say, "I would really like to find ______. Do you have any idea where I might find that kind of information in your county?" Local historians have pointed me to unknown newspapers on microfilm, family books, and more. Talk to knowledgeable people in your targeted location. Someone somewhere knows something you don't!

Here's to more weeks of exhaustive research and a few more cold calls.

Read Entry 3 of "My Journey of the Certification Process" here.

My Journey of the Certification Process: Entry 3

If you have been following along, you may have noticed that more than a week has passed and I have not written a blog post. This part of my certification process happens from time to time...it's life getting in the way!

For two weeks, my children and I have been fighting off colds and strep throat, and it has been awful. There was still homework and housework, and just to make things interesting, wrestling season started. Even with the help of my husband, there were just not enough hours in the day. Time dedicated to certification had to be put aside for a bit.

The Family that keeps me busy!

When this happens, I try not to lose my momentum. I know that I can't dedicate the hours I want to research on the "big" projects when I am feeling lousy. Instead, I watch BCG videos and read about genealogy. I might not remember all that I hear or read, but it makes me feel better to know that I have done "something" that will benefit my portfolio.

When I have been especially busy and have only small bursts of time or energy, I work on transcription and abstraction.

Transcription and abstraction of a provided document is part of the portfolio. BCG sends you one handwritten document that could be found in the region and time period you mentioned on your initial paperwork. You also will do a transcription and abstraction of a document that you provide.

Practicing the techniques for transcription and abstraction is important. Because abstraction had not often come up in my past research experience, I have had to study that more so than transcription.

One of the best resources for learning the ins and outs of transcription and abstraction is chapter 16 in Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. 

I was still a bit confused as I read the chapter and compared it to other transcription and abstraction examples found in the document samples on the BCG website. I mentioned my confusion on the Google Group for those "on the clock." Judy Russell said it best when she said (and I quote), "There is No One Right Way. All together now. Repeat after me: There is No One Right Way." End quote.

I think the most important thing to learn during the certification process is this: There are standard operating procedures. As you learn and apply these standards, the finished product may look different than others. That's your style and that's okay. When it comes to transcriptions, the guidelines and essentials are pretty straight forward and Ms. Mills lists them in chapter 16 of the book I mentioned above.

As for abstracts, I found them...well, more abstract! Abstract examples can have different styles. Some may be written more like a list and another may be written similar to narrative format. I decided to not choose one style over another, but let my gut direct me. I ask myself, "Who is my audience? Will this be logical to my reader?" If a numbered or list abstract would help my reader to understand the document best, I use that style. If I think the narrative format might be best for the reader, I use a narrative format.

As I have said before, these are just my impressions as I go along. Please don't use these words as advice for your portfolio, I may be doing it all wrong! We shall wait and see.

In the meantime, when my life gets busy,  I do something. Read, watch a video, or practice a paragraph or two of transcription/abstraction. The important thing is to not lose your momentum! Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!

Read "My Journey of the Certification Process: Entry 2" here.

My Journey of the Certification Process: What's the Cost?

So many of you have written your best wishes to me in my endeavor. Thank you for reading My Journey of the Certification Process: Entry 1.

I have had several comments regarding cost of preparation and cost of the certification process itself. I want to share with you today some ideas on preliminary preparation and the overall costs involved.

Suggested Preparation Ideas

The very first society (other than my local county society) I joined was the National Genealogical Society. The cost of a membership is $65.00 (as Nov 2015). This membership was my first step to preparing for certification.

Once you have become a member of the NGS, you will begin to receive the NGS Quarterly and the NGS Magazine. The NGS Quarterly is a great example of scholarly works. If you are unable to purchase a membership right now, you can enjoy these publications at many local libraries and Family History Centers. In fact, ask around at your next county genealogical society meeting to see if anyone is getting rid of their old ones. That is how I stumbled across the first NGS Quarterly I ever read.

This NGS publication was vital to my learning how to properly compose proof arguments and summaries. It also gave me more experience with proper source citation techniques.

Source citations are really important in putting together a portfolio and for me, the most difficult. I use Elizabeth Shown Mills Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace as my reference volume on how to write a source citation. [PS...this book is now in its third edition.] As I read the articles in the NGS Quarterly, I make notes all over them. On the front cover, I put important things that can be found in that volume. For example, if I find a fact that required TWO source citations, I look to see how that was done. If I find an article in which someone sourced a fact where they found nothing (called negative evidence,) I look to see how they cited a negative source. I mark the page, then write on the front of the volume "Negative Source Citation" or "Two Source Citations Together."

If I find a great Kinship Determination Project, I write so on the front cover. This makes for easy reference later.

If I find a well thought out case study that is clear and easy to follow that reminds me of something I have researched myself, I mark it. Then, I go back and write my own article taking cues from their train-of-thought as practice. I find I am not very organized in my actual thinking, but one thing I learned from my mentors is that it does not really matter in what order you researched, but it does matter in what order you WRITE about that research. In other words, you might be all over the place, but when it comes time to write your case studies, you need to be organized. That organization can be learned by reading these NGS articles.

As of 2016, the requirements for certification have changed slightly to include a resume of your enrichment activities and education. In other words, they are looking for what workshops and course work you are taking. I mentioned that I took the NGS American Genealogy: Home Study Course. At that time, it was a CD course and cost $500 USD. Today, this course has been revised, updated, and moved to the Cloud. The course is now in a series of three. The classes are American Genealogical Studies: The Basics; American Genealogical Studies: Guide to Documentation and Source Citation; and American Genealogical Studies: Beyond the Basics. To take this last course, you must complete the "Basics" and "Documentation" courses. A course syllabus for the "Basics" course can be seen here.

You do not need to be a member of the NGS to take these courses, however the price for members is discounted.

The breakdown in USD as of Nov 2015:
"Basics" course is $45.00 for members, $65.00 for non-members
"Source Citation and Documentation" same as above
"Beyond Basics" is $175.00 for members, $200.00 for non-members
"Basics" and "Source Citation and Documentation" bundled together are $75.00 for members, $100.00 for non-members

Want to take the courses for free? NGS offers the John T. Humphrey, CG Memorial Scholarship Award each year. The scholarship covers the cost of all three American Genealogical Studies courses. You can read more about the requirements by clicking here.

There are many other great preparation courses out there, so take a look.

Certification Fees

Once you have decided to start the certification process, you will need to send in a $75.00 application fee. This puts you "on the clock" for one year. If you do not complete the portfolio in a year's time, you can file for an extension for another $75.00 fee.

After you complete your portfolio, you will send it in with a $300.00 fee.

My Week in Review

This week I worked more on my "Report for another person" portion of the portfolio. I read over all of the examples suggested in the rubric and the BCG Action list. The rubric and BCG Action lists are very helpful and give you a breakdown of what each report should include. 

I found myself second guessing as I realized the example reports were more lengthy than mine. However, I noticed that one example report included that the research had been commissioned for 30 hours. My client hired me for less than half of that! Less hours of research will likely equal a shorter report, so I think I'm okay. I used the hours the client gave me and did some great research with that time using a variety of sources. Best of all, we found the answer to her question.

Well friends, this week I hope to finish up the "Report for another person" entirely and maybe have time to put some hours into the Kinship Determination Project. I have just received some key evidence in that case and I am anxious to dig into it more!

Follow along on my journey of certification by reading:
Entry 3 of the Certification Process: Keeping Motivated
Entry 4 of the Certification Process: Power of the Cold Call
Entry 5 of the Certification Process: Absolute Must-haves

My Journey of the Certification Process: Entry 1

I have debated back and forth as to whether it would be helpful for me to blog about the certification process I am going through. I am currently "on the clock" for the Board for Certified Genealogists certification program. I might be putting myself on-the-line here by sharing the fact that I am attempting to become certified. Let's face it...I might not "pass." But, I do not want to let this time pass by and not keep a record of it.

Many years ago in college, I let several teachers convince me I would never pass the certification process to become a licensed interpreter for the Deaf. It was expensive and difficult, they said, you'll never pass the first time. So, I simply decided I would not try.

Ten years later, I was older, wiser, and had nothing to lose. I studied and practiced for five months and took the test. I passed with no problem at all. Why had I waited ten years and allowed other people to convince me I would fail?

The process of genealogy certification has been completely opposite. I kept hearing things like, "You can do it," "You are ready," and "You'll do great!" I still have fear of failing, but those voices are in my own mind.

To begin the process, I started with a five year plan. Not absolutely necessary, but I always like a well thought out plan. I watched an interview with Elizabeth Shown Mills about her genealogy journey. She suggested (this was in 2010) anyone wishing to certify should take the NGS American Genealogy Home Study Course. It was a $500 graded course, a little too expensive at the time. But...NGS offers a yearly scholarship! I applied and was granted the scholarship in 2011. The course was wonderful. I was graded by certified genealogists for each assignment. I did not always pass the first time I sent in an assignment. Sometimes, they would send me suggestions and say "do it over."

I was so busy. A stay-at-home mom with three children, active in my church responsibilities, and babysitting children before school and after, left me precious little time to work on the course work. Looking back, I do not know how I did it, but I finished the course in just under 3 years. That was a loooong time! It certainly would not take most people that long by a long shot. The point is, it did not matter how long it took. I was learning.

The next step the BCG (Board for Certified Genealogists) suggested was to find a mentor who had already gone through the certification process. At the time, I was living near Chicago. I searched the BCG website for a certified genealogist in my area. I found Teresa Steinkamp McMillin. I sent her over an email. I peppered her with all sorts of questions, which she quickly answered.

From Teresa, I learned that it is a good idea to do some client work and report writing before attempting your certification. Boy, was she right! I started calling around to some friends and asking if I could do their family history for them. There was no shortage of willing people!

I worked and eventually people started hiring me for more difficult research. BCG and Teresa reminded me to look at every "client case" as a potential piece of my portfolio. For your certification, you turn in a portfolio of several reports. A kinship determination paper, a transcription and abstraction of a supplied document (as well as one that you provide,) a research report for another person, and a case study involving conflicting, indirect, or negative evidence. If I found that my client work would make a great report or had some interesting conflicting or indirect evidence, I would ask the client's written permission to include it in a future portfolio.

Over the last four years, I have started speaking to groups about genealogy, writing blog articles for RootsBid.com, and have written A LOT of client reports. Last spring while attending the Ohio Genealogical Society Annual Conference, I finally met Teresa Steinkamp McMillin. It was so good to meet her in person. She gave me that final push to "go for it" and turn in the paperwork to get "on the clock."

"On the clock" means that you have sent in an application to the BCG. They send you further information and helps to start the portfolio and you have one year to complete it and send it in.

It has been five months "on the clock" for me. I have finished the applicant supplied document portion, the resume, and have only a few tweaks left on the report for another person. I have a good start on the kinship determination project and the case study. I think I am right on track.

My learning has not stopped just because I am in the certification process. I think I am learning more now than I ever did! I have purchased all sorts of books and read the NGS Quarterly and other scholarly works every chance I get. I highlight, I scribble notes, I attend seminars and watch webinars.

Will I pass, I do not know. I do know that if I don't pass the first time, my friends and mentors will work with me and help me try again. If you want to become certified, YOU CAN DO IT! Create a plan and start today!

Follow along on my journey of certification by reading:
Entry 2 of the Certification Process: What's the cost?
Entry 3 of the Certification Process: Keeping Motivated
Entry 4 of the Certification Process: Power of the Cold Call
Entry 5 of the Certification Process: Absolute Must-haves

"Finished" Family Line Is Questioned

I was very excited to make a cousin connection a few months ago on Ancestry. She found me because our DNA matched.

We quickly began to email each other back and forth. Everything was going along nicely, until she was contacted by Our Families USA saying that our Bowser family line was incorrect. What? I couldn't believe that. My aunt and scores of other people recorded our great grandfather as John Bowser. John was the son of Henry Bowser and Catherine Long of Montgomery County, Ohio. Henry Bowser, born about 1810 in Ohio, was the son of George Bowser and Elizabeth Moyer. At least that is what we all thought. After all, this family line was "finished" a long, long time ago.

The message my cousin received called into question the validity of the relationship between Henry and his parents George and Elizabeth (Moyer) Bowser. Their evidence suggested that Henry's parents were not George and Elizabeth, but rather Henry Bowser Sr. and Mary Bowman, also of Montgomery county.

My cousin was worried. Not only because of their information, but she found something of her own.

"John Bowser, Retired Farmer, Tells Story of Vital Interest," read the newspaper headline. The Newark Advocate had interviewed our great grandfather and published his story in the March 15th, 1920 paper. It stated:

"It is told by John Bowser, 77 years of age this coming birthday, a retired Dunkard farmer, who is now living at the home of his son Arthur K. Bowser, at 1109 West Pleasant street, Springfield, O. In reciting his experiences he says: "I was born on a farm in Montgomery county, located between Salem pike and Wolfe Creek pike, which was owned by my father who was known as "Young Henry," and before that my grandfather, "Old Henry." This takes us back over a hundred years ago. This farm of one hundred acres cost $1,400, but is now part of the city of Dayton and is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars."

John Bowser 1841-1923. Picture courtesy of the Barnhart family collection.

Oh no! I had never seen this. In all honestly, I had never questioned this family line because like I said, this line was "finished."

Was it true? Was John's father Henry the son of a Henry Sr. described in this newspaper article as "Old Henry?" I am going to need to investigate...thoroughly!

It may be a while until you read the final proof summary of this investigation. The lesson learned today is never assume because a family line is "finished" that it is correct!

Update: More information in this "finished family line" has been discovered in the most unusual place! Read more of the unfolding story here: "Finished" Family Line Questioned, Part II.

More family mysteries uncovered. Read more here: http://www.mykithnkin.blogspot.com/2015/07/dna-may-have-revealed-family-secret.html

Well That's Weird

I love it when I come across something unusual or strange while doing my family history work. A week or so ago, I had just that experience.

While researching my ancestors Samuel West and Mary Ann Prugh of Madison County, Ohio, I found I needed a source for their marriage date.

Fortunately, FamilySearch has Ohio County Marriages online, indexed, and digital images attached. I quickly found them. Here is a screenshot of that marriage record.

Notice anything weird about that date? It is 29 Feb 1839. Twenty-nine February? That meant they were married on a leap year...how cool! That is when I realized the problem. The year 1839 wasn't a leap year!

I wonder if they were actually married on the 28th? Or maybe it was March 1st?

Here's my theory. I noticed that the rest of the marriage book is not exactly in chronological order. It is close, but there are a few marriages recorded out of sequence. Next, I see that this marriage was not recorded until April, so several weeks had passed. Perhaps the justice of peace had just written down the 29th of February by mistake in his notes or he was trying to recall the date from memory. After all, I am always getting the dates wrong when writing a check! (As a genealogist, I probably shouldn't admit to always getting dates wrong...but you know what I mean!)

Another possible theory is the clerk that was recording the marriages transcribed the date wrong when writing it into this marriage book.

Whatever the reason for the inaccurate date, I think it is fair to say they were likely married in February and it couldn't have been on the 29th.

Several months ago, while working on Ancestry, I had another weird experience while looking at a census. I couldn't quite make out the name, so I had to zoom in on the image. When I did, the strangest thing happened! A picture of an old man with a little girl sitting on his lap just popped up right there on the page. I shrunk the image down and poof, they disappeared. I again zoomed in and there the picture was again. I knew no one would ever believe me, so I took a screenshot of the image.

See! I told you! Isn't that the strangest thing!?

Like I said, I just love running across these weird little things. Have you found an unusual or strange record lately or in the past? What has been your craziest find?

Want to read other spooky and strange genealogy readings? Try this!
Haunting Illnesses of the Past

My First Blog Book Has Arrived!

My very first blog book has arrived and I am thrilled! There are a few things about printing the blog book that I wish I'd known sooner.

In my last post, I wrote about creating my first blog book. (You can read that here.) I used a blog-to-print, online service called blog2print. For about $17.00, blog2print "slurped" my blog posts and formatted them into book form.

The bottom line? I was very happy with the results, but I will do some things differently next time.

What I Did and What I'd Do Different

I ordered a soft cover book with a total number of 24 pages. I felt a soft cover book fit the number of pages better than a hard cover book. I was happy with this choice. I would likely choose to do a soft cover book for anything under 50 pages.

I set my book to "compact" for the page layout, but should have chosen "snapshot." By choosing "compact," I allowed the system to move my photos around to make the best use of space. Unfortunately, many of my captions were printed in unusual places and even on different pages altogether. Next time, I will choose the "snapshot" layout.

I did NOT add a page break in between posts. I did this to save space and unneeded pages. This was a good choice and I was happy with the look. I will definitely do that again.

I chose to print in color. The majority of my photos were color to begin with. For this reason, I had my book printed in color. The additional cost was very minimal and I am happy with the choice. I would base this decision on whether the majority of the images you are printing are color or black and white.

I added my name as author. At the last minute, a fellow blogger mentioned they had forgotten to add their name as author of their book. I wanted to make sure my name appeared on the front cover. There was no field on the set-up page to add an author's name. Instead, I used the "side text" on the front cover to add "By Amie Bowser Tennant."

The Results

The cover was perfect! The image looked great and my name appeared on the side as author.

All the images were clear and just what I had hoped.

My first page looked like this:

Notice, the posts were formatted to come one after the other; I like that. However, by choosing the "compact" page format, the captions of my photos were added to the text in some unexpected places, as I mentioned before.

If you notice in the image above, the screenshot of a FamilySearch page has the caption a paragraph away. Now look at the bottom image. I had created a caption prior to uploading the image to my blog post. In that way, the caption is "stuck" to the image and you avoid this problem of captions not being with their appropriate images.

Was that a bit confusing? Don't worry, there is an easier way. If I had chosen the "snapshot" page layout, then the page would be formatted with my captions closer to the actual image. See image below as an example.

The BEST thing to do when using blog2print service is to add your captions to your photos before adding them to the post. The next best thing would be to choose the "snapshot" page layout option. If you are not pleased with either of these options, I would suggest using another service all together.

Blurb.com allows you to edit each page and by so doing, you will not have the caption-picture problem. It is more editing work on your part, but you may be happier with the results.

Conclusion

Before you place your order, ask relatives if they would like a copy! Whoops, I didn't do that. I was so excited to make my first book that I didn't even think about offering the option to the family. Several family members are now interested in purchasing a copy as well. It is not difficult to order more, but some forward thinking would have avoided having to order again.

Overall, this was a wonderful, easy, and pretty successful venture. I am anxious to continue printing my blogs into book format in the future. Maybe you should try it too!

If you enjoyed this article about blog books, read my earlier post:
"Creating Your First Blog Book: Here's How"