Elevate Your Education!

Come to the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in January 2016!

It is the place to meet up with old friends, make new friends and take your genealogical education to a whole new level! 

Do You Have a Genealogical Brick Wall?

If your answer to that question is yes, then Luana Darby can help! She is the coordinator for SLIG's unique problem solving course that is tailored to your individual research needs! 

Enhance your problem solving skills while working on your ancestral brick walls. Develop methodology, analysis, and research skills while focusing on your own project, using resources from the Family History Library.

The 2016 course has experts from New England and the South to provide one-on-one assistance to students. How often do you have to opportunity to obtain expert guided research services as well as access to the Family History Library?
Students will be divided into small groups by geographic regions or countries and will meet as a group for two hours each day to review research progress (with one to two professional consultants, depending on group size). To assure more cohesive groups, focus areas have been pre-selected. Fee shown includes regular tuition plus a consultant fee.

Student involvement in problem solving requires commitment and advance preparation. It is divided into two parts:

Pre-Institute: Choose a project focus, ancestor, time period, geographical area, and research questions. Project submission can include timeline, pertinent pedigree and family group sheets, research logs, maps, and a short research summary, detailing what is known information and a discussion of sources used in previous research. Assigned consultants will return an initial analysis of the student's proposed research on Sunday at Institute.

Institute: Under guidance from professional consultants, student's will use a group collaborative approach to discuss research progress each day, utilizing the combined knowledge and experience of the group to solve problems.

Please note that shuttles do not run during the regular part of the day and student may be on their own for transportation to the FHL for research. It is a two-block (Salt Lake City block) walk.

Geographic research focus areas:

• New England
• Southern United States

For more information and to register, go to http://ugagenealogy.org/aem.php?lv=p&epg=87&eid=16.

What is New at The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG)?

The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) appears to be headed into a record-setting year, with over 330 people registered to date for the 21st annual event.  Participants from 45 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and the Netherlands will converge at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center in 11-15 January 2016.

Built on the strength of the past with an eye to the future, SLIG remains in the forefront of genealogical education offering courses taught by the best instructors the industry has to offer - in fact, the post-nominals behind the names of the course coordinators often take more space to print than the course titles themselves! To listen to them personally, refer to posts on the UGA blog outlining their upcoming speaking engagements.

Earlier this year we celebrated twenty years of offering in-depth genealogical education by introducing a new logo, a new slogan (Elevate Your Genealogical Education), and expanded to thirteen courses. Now, we are pleased to announce a new evening event - SLIG Night at the Family History Library.  Sponsored by The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen), and hosted by the Family History Library (FHL), the event will offer classes, labs, area-specific consultations, and light refreshments on Wednesday, 13 January 2016 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.

Other events for the 2016 institute include:

• Rev. Dr. David McDonald, CG, will deliver “Thinking Genealogically,” at the plenary session, Monday 11 January 2016, 7:00 pm. He notes: “A researcher should incorporate evaluative and interpretive skills to be a more effective researcher.  These abilities can become second nature over the course of a genealogical career.”
• The highly acclaimed, award-winning blogger, The Legal Genealogist, Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL, will deliver the banquet keynote address, Friday 15 January 2016. The title should be announced later this month, but with Judy speaking, who needs to know the title?

And last, but not least on the list of “what’s new”, SLIG will move to new dates beginning in 2017 - still in January, but a little later in the month.  Don’t forget to check out the new dates and available courses on the UGA website.

For more information please visit the SLIG website at www.slig.ugagenealogy.org

"Mull and Ponder" with J. Mark Lowe!

SLIG's own course coordinator and instructor, J. Mark Lowe, will be presenting at the following events for the remainder of 2015:

October 10, 2015
Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia
Midlothian, Virginia

October 31 – November 1, 2015
Texas State Genealogical society Conference
Austin, Texas

November 6-7, 2015
Sevier County Tennessee Public Library – Genealogy Conference Sevierville, Tennessee

November 14, 2015
West Florida Genealogical Society Fall Seminar
Pensacola, Florida

December 12, 2015

McCracken County Kentucky Genealogy Seminar

Paducah, Kentucky

Mark is the coordinator for the course entitled "Swing Across the South," which will be held at SLIG in 2016. While this course is sold out for 2016, it is an essential course for those conducting Southern research.

Southern research requires a careful understanding of how records were created, and how they have been maintained since their creation. Consideration of lost or missing records is included. The approach is interactive, with more time spent looking at records. Each day will start with a developed plan, leading to wise record choices, continuing with the analysis of information, followed with properly cited discoveries, ending with a review of evidence and a summary of what was learned, while leaving a next step for tomorrow. Additionally, the course covers basic records from Alabama, George, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and even Tennessee.

There are still eight courses left that have seats remaining for the 2016 institute. For more information, go to http://ugagenealogy.org/aem.php?lv=p&epg=87&eid=16.

Judy Russell's Whirlwind Schedule

SLIG's own course coordinator and instructor, Judy Russell, will be presenting at the following events for the remainder of 2015:

October 7th
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"An Evening with Judy Russell"
http://hsp.org/calendar/an-evening-with-judy-russell-the-legal-genealogist

October 9th
Church History Museum Auditorium, Salt Lake City, Utah
“After the Courthouse Burns: Rekindling Family History Through DNA,”
http://blog.bcgcertification.org

Octobr 17th
Louisville Genealogical Society, Louisville, Kentucky
Family History Seminar and Book Fair
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kylgs/seminar1.htm

October 24th
Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, Indiana
Genealogy and Local History Fair
http://blog.library.in.gov

October 30th & 31st
North Hills Genealogy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Fall Conference
http://www.northhillsgenealogists.org/upload/files/NHGFall2015BrochureLetter(2).pdf

November 7th
Fairfax Genealogical Society, Dunn Loring, Virginia
12th Annual Fall Fair
http://fxgs.org/cpage.php?pt=21

November 14, 2015
Hudson County Genealogical Society, Secaucus Public Library
"Genealogy and DNA"
http://www.hudsoncountynjgenealogy.org/events.html

December 5th
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, David Library of the American Revolution
"Autosomal DNA Testing"
http://www.bucksgen.org/index.php/bcgs-programs

Judy is the coordinator for the course entitled "Corpus Juris: Advanced Legal Concepts for Genealogy," which will be held at SLIG in 2016. While this course is sold out for 2016, it should be on everyone's list to take to improve their knowledge and skills as a genealogist.

Judy's course offers students an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the rich research resources of the law, including those generally available only at law libraries. Students will work with legal records and sources, gaining a better grasp of legal history and its implications for research as well as the skills to find and apply the law to solve genealogical problems. Individual sessions will focus on specific legal disciplines (criminal, civil, naturalization and the like) and students will have the opportunity to visit and use the resources of a major university law library.

There are still eight courses left that have seats remaining for the 2016 institute. For more information, go to http://ugagenealogy.org/aem.php?lv=p&epg=87&eid=16.

Angela McGhie's Upcoming Presentations

Angela Packer McGhie has focused her career in genealogy education. She is a course coordinator at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR). She has been an instructor at the National Institute for Genealogy Research in Washington, D.C., and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. Angela served as the administrator of the ProGen Study Program from 2008-2014 and is now on the board of directors.

Her upcoming presentations for the remainder of 2015 are:

October 8th
New Jersey Chapter of APG
"Writing a Business Plan"

November 4th
Prince Georges County (Maryland) Genealogical Society
"Using Identity Characteristics to Locate Your Ancestors"

Angela is the coordinator for the Advanced Evidence Practicum, which will be held at SLIG in 2016. The course provides hands-on experience and is an opportunity for advanced genealogists to challenge themselves and put their research skills into practice. Participants work on five complex genealogical research problems—a new one each day. The objective is to give students experience in conducting research on complex problems, analyzing and correlating information, and reaching conclusions. Participants will practice using indirect evidence, broadening research to include the FAN club, resolving conflicts, and organizing evidence into a written summary. The research problems are varied, offering students the challenge of stretching their mind and skills in directions that their research may not normally take them.

Participants will work individually on the each of the cases and then gather to discuss their progress with fellow classmates and the instructor. They will compare sources, strategies and methodologies, discuss difficulties encountered, and receive guidance from the case study author. This course is designed for advanced genealogists who have sufficient experience and education to work on complex genealogical problems.

The 2016 cases will be presented by:

• Nancy A. Peters, CG
• Paul Graham, AG, CG
• Michael Hait, CG
• Cathy Becker Desmarias, CG
• Angela Packer McGhie

For more information, go to http://ugagenealogy.org/aem.php?lv=p&epg=87&eid=16. There are only a few seats remaining, so register today!

Future SLIG Dates Announced!

Due to changes with other Salt Lake City programs, SLIG has been able to secure dates later in the month of January at the same reasonable rates we have previously enjoyed. Please mark your calendars:

2017: 22-27 January

2018: 21-26 January

Background: SLIG dates were previously locked into the second week of January by a large (over 20,000 attendees) convention called Outdoor Retailer (OR) that met annually on the third week of January. OR has recently moved their dates earlier in January, freeing up the last two weeks of the month for consideration. By moving to the fourth week of the month, we have the ability to offer rooms both prior to and following SLIG for those wishing to come early or stay late for research or other programs.

Location: SLIG will continue to be held at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. Lodging reservations will open in June at the same time as SLIG registration each year. We kindly request that you wait to reserve your room at that time and that you utilize the reservation method posted on this website to assure that you are booked inside the block and at the contracted rate. Fulfilling our contracted block committment is key to maintaining economical participant fees each year.

See http://ugagenealogy.org/cpage.php?pt=396 for the announcement and for more information on the 2016 Salt Lake Institute for Genealogy.