Nichter's Genealogy Corner

  Research logs are vital to keeping records of your genealogical research. However, you do not need to keep a physical research log; you can create a digital one, but make sure you don't lose the data. 

  Genealogists source materials. The source's quality will vary depending on the professional expectation for the source itself. 

  Genealogy is a science. It is very precise. Details matter. In order to be a good professional genealogist, you need to follow the general genealogical standards for high-quality genealogy. If you are not seeking to become a professional, you should strive for high-quality genealogical work, because low-quality genealogy doesn't provide useful genealogical materials. 

  Genealogist's worst nightmare. A broken trail of genealogical data. Sometimes circumstances arise where a paper trail presenting information about a family suddenly... ends. A phantom ancestor; there was information for this once, but over time, the information vanished. In cases like this, there is normally one solution: declare an unknown ancestor. 

  Genealogists travel. This is an occasional possibility when visiting locations in order to obtain information outside the internet. Make sure to be prepared for those possible times you will need to travel somewhere in order to find answers for a research question. 

  Because professional genealogical research is a serious business, as a full time or seasonal genealogist, you should have a decent idea of what you really want to keep researching over and over again for other clients. If you don't like the area you are trying to research, it's only going to ruin your research as a genealogist. Associating genealogical research with too many negative experiences is not a wise idea. ICAPGEN provides opportunities to specialize in various locations of your choice. Specialization in more than one place is doable, but make sure you love researching these specialized areas.   

  Libraries are a fantastic resource for genealogists. They contain hundreds of books individuals can read to obtain information helpful in many sections of their research. While making use of every library available, it is also good to search for libraries with a specific focus on genealogy (if some libraries don't cater to genealogists). Though it is ideal to assume almost every library will be useful in different ways for genealogists. 

  In the twenty first century, English is the most widely spoken language as the international tongue for communicating with foreign cultures. For many foreigners, English is sometimes very difficult to learn because it is strange in comparison to their language systems. What some people don't know about the English language, is actually one of the most intriguing thing about this international speech. English... as we understand it... was not native to Britain.  Even in ancient times English was enigmatic. During the fifth century AD (CE), due to some unclear conditions, there was a migration influx from Friesland, Northern Germany, and Denmark. These groups all in turn formed differing kingdoms in the shadow of the old Celtic tribes previously living there (I should note Celt is a conceptual term, and some peoples in these tribes anciently may not have used this universal term to describe themselves).    So what exactly is English? Well, one could say it is Danish,...

  This is a term that some don't use for a genealogist. A Seasonal Genealogist is a genealogist with passions for the field, but usually participates in it intermittently while participating in other interests. Unlike certain individuals dedicating their fullest energies to the field of genealogy, Seasonal Genealogist want to continue working on genealogy, during certain phases, before taking a short break to return to another ambition as part of a cycle.  

  While genealogical certifications aren't required to be a professional genealogist (especially if you are only interested in freelancing), there are some benefits to receiving a certification, because certain people (even though this isn't always true in rare cases) esteem certification as a sign of professional quality. But in the cases where quality is present, receiving a certification normally works to your advantage for the masses, because when they know nothing about you, the certification is the only thing they will recognize. There are two certifications: AG (Accredited Genealogist) CG ( Certified Genealogist) Depending on the certification you are searching for, you will need to take a test for two different certification organizations for genealogists.  For AG, you will need to go to ICAPGEN.  For CG, you will need to go to the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG).  The certifications are different, but it is possible, if you are interested ...

  Most individuals esteemed as professionals in the genealogical field will agree with the statement about to be made here: fact check a source by looking at another source if you can find them. When you cite one source alone, you may not even know because you didn't conduct thorough research, a genealogical error is being presented.  For example, if you are looking for an ancestor or relative for yourself or a client, sometimes in a census information may be inaccurately written. You may never know if an entry within the census is wrong even if you don't look for sources to confirm what you find in the first source. As a second example, in certain genealogical lineages, someone could have accidently recorded the wrong child for a set of parents. I experienced in one occasion, when I was researching a personal ancestor born in the 1700's. In one genealogical list from another genealogist, there is a list of more than one child. But when finding another source, the same pare...

  Encountering old scripts from the ancient past should be expected as part of the genealogical profession. Human beings were not recording information with the same types of scripts we use today, so encountering scripts now considered archaic will be unavoidable. In this post, you will receive a shortlist of some of the scripts in use as far back as the middle ages, because unless you don't need to read the medieval script (that is if a person has no traceable ancestry that far back), it's still important to know what type of scripts were used for that time. I should mention this list will need to be extended as I find names for other old scripts.  Old Scripts Carolingian Script Gothic (Black letter) Secretary Hand Palmer Script Note: Certain types of scripts vary depending on the locality, but this list is presently focused on the genealogy of scripts for Americans. Other scripts exist that didn't receive a mention in the list. 

  It's just part of the job. You are bound to encounter certain forms of older scripts because this is the nature of diving into the past. Depending on where you need to go in order to answer a research question, you may need to read documents from the nineteenth century, or as far back as a will dated to the year 1675. It's all dependent on the research question's overall goal. That determines what type of documents you will need to read. But, it's important to recognize trying to transcribe certain types of older documents can be extremely daunting if the words look like chicken scratch, and if you lack experience reading old documents .  Yeah, I know. When a person's penmanship is terrible, and it still affects the genealogist doing the research, it's out of your control. You will need to do your best to interpret the types of documents encountered when the writer in the days of yore didn't make the words easy to understand. They were definitely not think...

  As a genealogist, you need to have the foresight, or willingness at least to search for help from other genealogists with longer experience than your own, to use resources in order to discover materials or even use repositories to find the information for your family history, or for a client you are working to learn more about a targeted ancestor, or relative.  While the required repository will depend on the location you are needing to find information for about a relative or ancestor, there are a couple of repositories you can start with. These repositories are Family Search and Ancestry.com. You may need to pay for services in order to conduct premium-level research, but you will find it easier to conduct research online if the fear of paying for subscriptions isn't becoming an obstacle.  When Family Search and Ancestry.com fail to provide the resources you need to answer a research question as a genealogist, you may need to use lesser-known repositories. Some of the...

  Does the following quote resonate with you?  "Those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it?" Now, if you are the type of person who only seeks to live in the present , then pursuing genealogy as a hobby, or even a future profession is not for you. As a genealogist, you need to care enough about events that happened before the present, and you need to have the desire to find information about these past events. If you don't like doing any of these things, then the pursuit as a genealogist, in any capacity, is not going to be easy for you. 

  Genealogy is an acquired taste. Not everyone has an interest in this discipline, whether it is simply a hobby, or if they want to pursue it as a profession. So, what exactly is genealogy?   Genealogy is the study of family history. Genealogists embark on a journey to study a family's past.