Genealogy Software and Research Tools

Our SLIG guest blogger this week is George Morgan, coordinator for course 6:  Genealogy Software and Research Tools.

Technology tools, software, and social media have become essential to success in modern genealogical research. You can accelerate your investigations and expand your research reach today as never before.

The 2012 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy curriculum includes the “Genealogy Software and Research Tools” course, taught by George G. Morgan, Drew Smith, and Laura Prescott, leaders in the genealogy technology arena. The course includes 20 hours of in-depth classes in the modern software and online research tools. These include: the major genealogy database programs and utilities for both the PC and Mac; Windows emulation programs for the Mac that allow you to run every PC-based genealogy program; creating and using blogs; working with wikis; capturing and sharing images; and taking advantage of podcasts, videocasts, webinars, and Internet radio. Online research tools including Evernote and Dropbox and many available mobile apps will be explained and demonstrated. Social media of all sorts will be discussed and demonstrated in extensive detail.

This course differs from attending RootsTech the following week in that it provides an immersion in learning about the software and research tools that can help supercharge your research. If you extend your stay to attend RootsTech, you can further expand your technological knowledge by taking to vendors and in seeing demonstrations of the latest hardware.

George G. Morgan is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc. and the author of the first and second editions, and the new third edition of How to Do Everything: Genealogy for McGraw-Hill, and the first and second editions of The Official Guide to Ancestry.com.

Drew Smith is the author of the landmark book, Social Media for Genealogists, and a reference librarian for the University of South Florida Library in Tampa Florida. He and George are co-hosts of The Genealogy Guys^SM Podcast and help host the My Society radio program produced each week by the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

Laura Prescott is a professional researcher, writer, and speaker. She is the outgoing president of the Association of Professional Genealogists, genealogy project manager for the Nickerson Family Association, and a consultant for Fold3.com. She lectures and writes for national audiences on a variety of genealogical topics. Her specialties include the use of manuscripts in genealogical research, genealogy on the Internet, genealogy for Mac users, and merging history with genealogy.

Visit our website for more information about how to register for Course 6 (or any of our other offerings at the 2012 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy).

If you enjoyed this article we invite you to share it via your favorite social networking media using the appropriate icon below. You may also reprint this article in any email or print newsletters you wish to distribute provided you include the date of original publication and the following text:

This article reprinted with permission of the Utah Genealogical Association. To learn more about the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) or the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), please visit their website at: ugagenealogy.org.

Upcoming: UGA Family History Fair

UGA will host the UGA Family History Fair (formerly South Davis Fair). It will be held at Bountiful High School on March 3, 2012 from 8:00 - 5:00 pm. This fair is now under the auspicious of the Utah Genealogical Association. The fair will be a spectacular event! Don't miss it. More details will be forthcoming on the UGA Events page.

Keep coming back to the website, Additional information for this events will be available as it gets closer.

Virtual Chapter Tonight-Mobile Apps for Genealogy

The Utah Genealogical Association Presents:

A.C. Ivory

Speaking On

Mobile Apps for Genealogy

There are many genealogy apps made for mobile devices these days that can help you organize, share and learn more about your ancestors. Whether it is an extension of your database software or it connects to an online database, mobile apps can now help you do genealogy research just about anywhere.

A.C. Ivory specializes in using Mac computers and mobile devices along with learning new technology and techniques to help further genealogical research and strives to help others learn how to use technology in their own family history. He has previously worked for Ancestry.com in the Document Preservation Services department and now currently works as a professional genealogist at Ancestry.com's official research firm, ProGenealogists. His research specialties include Southern States and New England.

September 15, 2011, 7:00 pm MDT @

virtual.ugagenealogy.org

The UGA Virtual Chapter meets online on the third Thursday of the month. These meetings are free to members of UGA. To join UGA visit our website at ugagenealogy.org. Membership is just $35.00 per year. Members can join the meeting by going to http://virtual.ugagenealogy.org, logging in using their username and password, and then proceeding directly to the "Member's Virtual Chapter Page." Click on the Virtual Chapter icon. When invited to join the meeting, sign in as a "guest."

Midwest U.S. Research with Kory Meyerink

Our SLIG guest blogger this week is Kory Meyerink, coordinator for Course 5:  Research in the Midwestern United States.

Researching in the Midwest states is one of the most important areas to learn about when doing U.S. genealogy for several reasons. That’s why the Midwest course has been one of the most popular courses in the history of the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. In fact, Midwest research is important even if you don’t have research in the eight states included in this course!

That’s a strong statement; can I back it up? Certainly. But first, let’s identify the eight states covered in the 2012 Institute course: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. Well, what’s so special about those states? That list includes two of the most populous states in the nation (Ohio and Illinois) as well as an ethnic diversity that can’t be found elsewhere in America. More immigrants settled in the Midwest than any other region in the country and, since all Americans are descended from immigrants, the discussion of immigration sources and strategies will pertain to all American research.

In addition the Midwest (especially Ohio and Missouri) is the gateway to the west. The vast majority of families who settled west of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers came through the Midwest and often lived there for several years. But, beyond that, the record collections and research strategies for Midwestern research pertain to almost all of the “western” states. Consider the following: Land records in the Midwest are all public domain lands, just as they are in the western states. Vital records in the Midwest set a pattern followed by most of the western states. The same is true of newspapers and other published records, including local histories and biographical sources. Their commercial success in the Midwest encouraged their development in the west, and even in the southern and eastern states.

But, it’s not just about the west. Many of our ancestors lived in large cities all over the country, but the Midwest has the most. Once you’ve learned about research in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, etc., then you’ll be prepared for any other city, from New York to Atlanta to New Orleans. You see, it’s not about specific localities, but rather research principles that pertain to the Midwest that apply elsewhere. Ports of arrival may not be in the Midwest, but we certainly will be discussing passenger lists because of the flood of immigrants to the Midwest. The same principles for research ethnic and religious records in the Midwest pertain to other U.S. research areas.

Paula Warren’s discussions of research repositories and manuscript collections will open everyone’s eyes and make you think about similar collections elsewhere in America. Yes, it’s true. Midwestern research is a foundation for your successful research in the rest of the U.S. and even elsewhere (consider Canada, Ireland, Germany, England, etc.). It’s also a favorite area for people taking the Accredited Genealogist exams, because so many potential clients have Midwest ancestry.

So, review the course listing for the Midwest course and sign up. We’ll see you in January!

Visit our website for more information about how to register for Course 5 (or any of our other offerings at the 2012 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy).

If you enjoyed this article we invite you to share it via your favorite social networking media using the appropriate icon below. You may also reprint this article in any email or print newsletters you wish to distribute provided you include the date of original publication and the following text:

This article reprinted with permission of the Utah Genealogical Association. To learn more about the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) or the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), please visit their website at: ugagenealogy.org.