Blog | California Genealogical Society

Tuesday Report: 2010 Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research

by Kathryn Doyle (7/13/2010)

Jeffrey Vaillant continues his series from the Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR).

Tuesday morning was filled with Court Records presented by Christine Rose, CG, CGL, FASG – one of our many local (San Jose) gems. Part I of the presentation was The System and Its Records; Part II was on Estates. Like Lloyd and Claire, Christine prepared in advance very complete documentations supporting the presentation. What I gather is clues for my research. For example, we mainly think about court records being at the local level; however, I learned that is not the case for North Carolina. Those records are in the state archives. (Yes, after each class I have been visiting the library to do research on the items learned.) And courts issue licenses for ordinaries. An ordinary is what we might call a public inn. So did my ggg grandfather Charles Fuller get a license from the court before opening his inn in Jeffersonville, Indiana in the early 1820s? I do not know and will find out if there is a record to be found.
The afternoon was devoted to Military and Pension Records from the Revolutionary War through World War II. A big time span and with the prepared materials we are left with much research to do. I picked up several ideas about looking for NARA records for the War of 1812 which is one of my interests and research challenges. Lloyd knows his records and we sit spellbound as he relates to us his knowledge. A tidbit is what U. S. President lost his citizenship? Answer later in the week.
The Tuesday evening session was Certification: Procedures, Questions and Answers presented by Elissa Powell and Thomas Jones. For me this was one of those recharge the batteries as I continue to have a goal of certification.
Other stuff: The weather continues to be about 100°F with humidity of 90% each day. It rained briefly Monday and today which temporarily reduced the humidity for about 60 minutes.
The University Center Cafeteria does an excellent job feeding what must be 1500 people per meal. Yes, the lines are long and one does learn short cuts.
Samford University has about 2700 undergraduates and about the same number of graduate students. It is an all brick campus set on gentle hills.

– Jeffrey Vaillant

Read the entire series:
Part 1 — Getting to IGHR: A Tale of Two Days
Part 2 — Monday Report
Part 3 — Tuesday Report
Part 4 — Wednesday Report
Part 5 — Thursday Report
Part 6 — Friday Report

Monday Report: 2010 Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research

by Kathryn Doyle (7/12/2010)

Jeffrey Vaillant continues his series from the Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR).

Lloyd de Witt Bockstruck began the morning by stating the “simple” Four Steps of Genealogical Research:
What do you want to find or to prove?
What kind of record would contain that information?
Where does that record exist?
How do I gain access to it?
This four step process strikes me as a good guideline for the week. The first presentation was on Tax Records. Lloyd provided a bibliography of tax record sources that have been complied for many (but not all) states. He addressed remembering to know what the law required for taxing. And in the colonial period there were rent rolls rather than tax rolls in places like Virginia (paid to Lord Fairfax), Maryland (paid to Lord Baltimore), Pennsylvania (paid to William Penn) and North Carolina (paid to Lord Granville).
Next Lloyd discussed the Pitfalls of Genealogy with a list of some twenty-eight examples! Some we all know about: surnames and forenames, Sr. versus Jr., as well as abbreviations and titles. Some people get tripped up on the sanctity of the printed word or the failure to become acquainted with local history. Ever hear the term “semi-posthumous child”? I certainly had not. Want to guess what it means? I will answer in a couple of days.
Claire Bettag, CG, CGL, presented the afternoon lecture on Federal Land Records at the National Archives. If you have heard Claire, then you will know it is impossible to nap after lunch when she is presenting. She ripped through her ten pages of prepared materials leaving behind many items for follow up. Upon my return I’ll be visiting NARA in San Bruno to follow up on several sources she cited.
Lloyd finished the afternoon with A Genealogical Bibliography divided into subjects of Atlases/Gazetteers, Bibliographies, Biography, Dictionaries, Handbooks, Indexes, Law, Paleography, Passenger Lists, Periodicals, Manuscripts, and Ethnic Guides.
There are optional evening presentations offered. Monday night was excellent. Ruth Ann (Abels) Hager spoke on History through Genealogy—the Best of Both Worlds. She presented what would be called a case study on Dred and Harriet Scott: Their Family History. Yes, this is the Dred Scott of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. One might think that about all has been written and discovered about the family. Well, one would be wrong. Ruth has uncovered new materials and explained how using genealogical methodology led to the discoveries and their information. Her book was published this year and is now in my collection.

– Jeffrey Vaillant

Getting to IGHR: A Tale of Two Days

by Kathryn Doyle (7/11/2010)

Board member and conference reporter, Jeffrey Vaillant, has been on another voyage of learning. This time he took time out of a busy week in Birmingham, Alabama to report on the Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR). Jeff’s first report:

IGHR is the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research held annually at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. There are ten courses offered this year and I selected Intermediate Genealogy and Historical Studies whose course coordinator is Lloyd de Witt Bockstruck.
My trip to “genealogy camp” (as some call it) began innocently enough with a United Airlines flight from the San Francisco Bay Area to Birmingham with a stopover in Chicago – all on the Saturday before the institute to allow me to arrive a bit early. The travel time would allow me to read Virginia Winters’ book Murderous Roots (2009) which I highly recommend for mystery readers with a strong genealogical bent.
Landing at O’Hare International Airport brought the sudden news that my connecting flight to Birmingham had been cancelled. The agent at the gate informed me that the chances of getting out of Chicago were slim and to proceed to the customer service desk which he warned me would have a long line. How right he was. After waiting 2.5 hours in line I finally got to talk with a service person. No flights on any airline out of O’Hare Saturday night. What were my options? ALL the flights on Sunday were booked! To his credit the service person put me on a standby list for the 7 a.m. flight and if that did not work out he ticketed me from Chicago to Charleston, SC, to Charlotte, NC and then to Birmingham. Since the flight cancellation was weather related I got a discounted rate at the Doubletree in Rosemont and was assured that my luggage would be on the first flight out the next morning (which was my standby flight).
Up early Sunday morning, shuttle to the airport and Starbucks was my start of the the day. I found that watching the wonderfully informative screens at the gate kept me informed about the flight, including the standby list. I was number eleven and there were ten seats left. “Standbys” were encouraged to stay until the gate closed. I had an alternative so I waited it out. Four seats left and I am number seven on the list. WHAT?? My name was called and I was on the plane.
It was a short flight to Birmingham – one hour, forty five minutes – arriving before 9:00 a.m. Off to retrieve the luggage. The routing is well known. We all stand around staring at the conveyor belt which finally starts. Nope, the luggage did not arrive! Where is the luggage agent? The luggage office was closed so it was off to see a ticket agent. The luggage tag and the computer system worked well: the luggage was still in Chicago! The United Airlines Delayed Baggage Report was filled out and submitted. The assurance was I would hear within 24 hours. Well, that was not going to work since I was staying in the dorms and the luggage contained bedding materials and the like.
Since orientation was in the afternoon and it was hot in Birmingham (99°F.) I elected to stay in the airport and read Labor Day by Joyce Maynard on my Kindle. Afternoon arrived so it was time to taxi from the airport to Samford University ($45). It was amazing to see others standing around in the heat and humidity waiting to register – and the line got quite long before the doors opened. Registration was a snap due to the IGHR staff. I got my dorm room. Bare bones accommodations and the price is right.
Dinner was in the Cafeteria with more than the 300 attending IGHR. The campus is alive with various activities from summer youth sports camps to freshman orientation. The cafeteria staff must have feed 1500 people. The IGHR orientation followed. The orientation was complete and informative. I called United Airlines to find out the status on my luggage. Their call center could not find anyone at the Birmingham Airport—not surprise it being Sunday.
One advantage about conferences and institutes is the people who attend. I was able to hitch a ride to Kmart to get clean clothes and some bathing items as well as rent a room at the nearby Marriott for the night. At 11:30 p.m. my luggage arrived so Monday I could get settled into the dorm.
Ah, what an adventure. I knew I should have flown Southwest Airlines.

– Jeffrey Vaillant