Book Review: Understanding Documents for Genealogy and Local History

Hello All:

Well, just got another book in the mail this morning.  It is one that I have been waiting to get since Christmas.  It is Dr. Bruce Durie's new book called, "Understanding Documents for Genealogy & Local History."  It is just newly published, so I have to wait a bit longer for it to come in from Amazon.  I haven't yet really read it cover to cover, but I just wanted to give my first impressions of it since I have had it. 

From the first glances through it, it does read similar to Dr. Durie's book "Scottish Genealogy."  However, it seems to go deeper than that with its focus on old documents (hence the name of the book).  It goes heavy into Latin, old terms found in the older documents, old handwriting (ie: palaeography), etc.  The book is seperated into three parts:  part 1 is entitled "Reading the Documents"; part 2 is called "The Documents"; and part 3 is "Glossaries."  The book is 448 pages including the index. 

It is a book that is mainly focused on Scottish legal documents, such as the Sasines, Kirk Sessions, Tailzies, etc. But, it also has chapters on English documents too.  It is a book that any UK genealogist can use and find helpful.  One of the great things about this book is that it gives examples of the documents and delves into how to read them - the structure of the documents.  In reading many of these old documents they followed a sort of legal formula, which does help when you know how to read them and what to look for - the formula tends to be similar with each document and you can step over the legal jardon and get to the nitty gritty of the who, what, when, and where.  In a way it has the feel of a college or university textbook - it really wouldn't be a book for a beginner to genealogy or family history.  It is definitely a book for someone who has had a bit of experience in researching their family and have gotten to the point of using the older documents (pre-1700s) and this is where this book will be very helpful. 

As I have said in the beginning, I have only really ran through the book at first glances, but from what I have read and seen in this new book by Dr. Durie it is a very good and needed reference book. I would say that it is a book that is important to have as it is such a great reference book for the old documents - it is one that is all one would need really as it is so jam packed full of information. 

Until Next Time . . . .

Book Review of Genealogy: Essential Research Methods

Hello All:

Like most genealogists and family historians I love books.  I have come across one fairly recently within the last couple months that is an absolute must read.  It is Helen Osborn's book, "Genealogy: Essential Research Methods."  Believe it or not, this is Helen's first book about genealogy.  However, Helen has been a professional genealogist and in the field of teaching genealogy for a long time here in the UK.  If any of you have ever done a Pharos course you may have had the pleasure of learning from Helen.

"Genealogy: Essential Research Methods" is a book that is different from those that one mainly sees.  It is more of a book that deals with technique and methodology rather than just sources.  It is not necessarily a book that I would recommend to a complete beginner.  It is much more involved than that.  However, I would definitely say that a beginner would benefit from it once they have a bit more experience in doing their research.  It is a book that takes genealogical research to the next level - way beyond basic sources and lookups.  In my opinion, it is a book that could well be used as a textbook in a genealogy/family history course. 

I found the book to be easy to read and follow. One of the good things about what Helen does in the book is give real life examples of what she is trying to teach the reader.  To me this is important.  It is no good to just read concepts and methods without having some sort of example of what they are about.  It helps the reader to understand and learn better and to be able to take the techniques into their own research.  Some of the topics Helen tackles in this book are:  effective search techniques, analysis of sources, research planning, source citations, organization, understanding the records (not just what they are but why they were created), problem solving, just to name a few.  The book is 272 pages (including the index at the back), but due to the subject matter it could be more than this.  Genealogical methodology and technique can be a very detailed subject with numerous pages; however, Helen does a good job of keeping things to the point and in "plain" terms.  This is a major plus as it doesn't try to go over the head of the reader and be too technical and fancy.

Helen's book is one that has been really needed for British genealogical research for some time now.  I have read books by the American genealogy "guru" Elizabeth Shown Mills, and this book in my opinion is right up there with Mills' books, which is just my opinion. I don't think I am alone in praising Helen's debut publication.  The book, from what I have read online and in the UK family history magazines that have reviewed it, it is a real hit with folks and they are quite impressed with it.

Well, don't want to say too much, but really just to say that this is an excellent book and one that should be in every genealogist's bookshelf - beginner to the professional.  I hope to see more writing from Helen - don't know what can top her first book though.

Until Next Time . . .

 
 

Scottish Ancestral Tourism

Hello All -

It has been a long time since I last posted on this blog.  Things have been busy on this end of things, so not much time to blog.  I read recently in Dick Eastman's blog (a must read for any genealogist and family historian) about the need for Scotland to refocus its attention to ancestral tourism.  There is an article that Dick links to in his post from the Scotsman Newspaper online.  It can be found here:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/arts/scotland-urged-to-refocus-on-genealogy-tourism-1-2658576

An interesting statistic from the above Scotsman article shows a very promising and untapped resource in people of Scots ancestry.  The article states, " The study found ancestral tourism in Scotland is worth more than £400 million a year but that the market still had untapped potential. The £2.4bn figure is based on Visit­Scotland converting 20 per cent of the 50 million people with Scots blood around the world into potential visitors.  Of these, 4.3 million are said to be already interested in taking on planning a holiday in the next two years while more than five million are waiting to be attracted from key areas.  Of the 50 million, the Scottish Government estimates 9.4 million are American, 4.7 million Canadian and 1.5 million Australian."

This is a staggering bit of information.  I know in my own professional genealogy research for clients, many of my custom comes from these countries.  You can also add, New Zealand and South Africa to the list.    I know that many people visit Scotland every year, but out of all those how many come for researching their ancestry themselves, or after doing research into their family want to come to visit where their ancestors lived and worked.  To some this is a trip of a lifetime and being able to see and walk the same streets as ones ancestors can be a little emotional if not educational.  Seeing names, dates, and places on a sheet of paper is one thing, but being able to come to Scotland and have an "ancestral experience" makes it all come alive.

I have a few friends and colleagues who do engage in the Scottish Ancestral Tourism market.  If you are interested in going on an Ancestral Tour of Scotland, I can highly recommend the following folks to you:

Marie Dougan of Ancestral Consultants (West Lothian):
http://ancestralconsultants.com/Services/Ancestral%20Tourists

Steven McLeish of Scotia Roots (West Lothian):
http://www.scotiarootstours.co.uk/index.html

Frances Black of Scottish Ancestor (Fife):
http://www.scottishancestor.co.uk/Ancestral_tours.htm


Until Next Time . . . .

Potential GRONI Digitization Implications for Scotland

Hello All:

There are some "rumblings" out in the genealogy world about the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) planning to digitize their birth, marriage, and death records by the end of 2013 (source being in Sept. 2012 YFT).  If this comes to pass, which I really hope it does, it will have huge benefits for those in Scotland.  It is a given how great this will be for those in Ireland itself.  The records would be Births 1864-1913, Marriages 1845-1938, and Deaths 1864-1963.  The intention is to have this potential GRONI digital records be similar to the ScotlandsPeople website.  We all know how wonderful a site that is.  It has really shown the way of how to do things - England/Wales should take note.  At this point there has been no announcement about pricing, but I hope that it would be in line with ScotlandsPeople.

What I mean when I say the digitization of the Northern Ireland vital records having implications for Scotland is that many Northern Irish migrated to Scotland throughout its history.  There is no counting how many times during research for clients in the Scottish records that an ancestor was from Ireland (particularly Northern Ireland).  Usually things would have to stop at the point once the Scottish records have been exhausted, and the need for an Irish researcher would have to take over from the point left.  If this project of digitizing goes forward in earnest research can "jump" across to Northern Ireland from Scotland within a blink of an eye, and without leaving your house or office.  This will help bridge the gap in Scottish research as well as for Irish research.

It must to stressed that this potential digitization is for Northern Ireland only.  The Republic of Ireland seems to have digitized its civil registration records, but they have not made them online to the public.  Hopefully they will do so soon.  These records too will be a great benefit to all, especially those in the USA who have numerous Irish immigrants.

Another bit of Irish digitization news is that the Irish Military Pensions are in the works of being digitized too.  The company Eneclann has been awarded the project.  It is expected to be completed in early 2015.  These records are for those veterans and or their dependents who served duty from April and May 1916 to the end of September 1923.

A big congrats to Northern Ireland for wanting to get this done.  I really hope that it isn't just talk, but will go full throttle to get it completed and online to the public.  It isn't just a benefit for those in Ireland, but for the UK and the world.

Until Next Time . . .

Professional Genealogists Have the Gift of the Gab

Hello All -

I am sure you are wondering what the post title is about.  There is a new group out here in Scotland for those in the genealogy profession (researchers, archivists, etc.) to meet up and have a good ol' natter.  It is called Scottish Genealogy Network.  It has been running since about March of this year.  It got started up by those who were attending the Who Do You Think You Are Live in London this past February.  I didn't attend this time, so I was a bit out of the loop.  I noticed a post regarding it on LinkedIn and jumped at the chance to attend their meeting.  There is nothing currently like this for professional genealogists and family historians in Scotland - it is an idea whose time has finally come.

This past meet up was in Stirling.  This month it will be in Perth.  The group is very informal and I think that those who attend like it that way.  It is a good chance for those of us in the professional to meet each other and "talk shop."  Most of us in the genealogy profession work by ourselves (self employed) without too much contact with others in the field.  However, once a  month those of us working in Scotland can get together.  You know of peoples names and faces, but you don't necessarily get a chance to speak in person to them.  This monthly meeting is a good chance to do that.

Speaking for myself, I had a great time.  There is nothing like meeting up with those who share your profession and being able to talk about all sort of topics associated with working day to day in genealogy and family history.  It was hard to tear myself away from it all, but I had to go in order to get back home in time.  You can easily loose track of time as all the conversations can be interesting and educational as well as a good laugh.  The topics of discussion can range from DNA, genealogy books, client research, and even general non-genealogy topics such as the Olympics.  The meet up is usually the last Saturday of the month and the locations are different each time.  There would be some travel involved, but it isn't too far and it is only once a month.  It is well worth it in my opinion.

If you haven't been to one of the monthly meetups and you are in the genealogy/family history profession in Scotland (you don't have to be a researcher) please join in.  It is very informal and a really good time.  As I mentioned earlier in this post, the next meeting is in Perth on the 25th August.  This time around we are planning on taking a quick tour of the A.K. Bell Library in Perth - it will mainly be the local studies/archives area of the library if able to do so at the time.  We are to meet at the library's main entrance at 1:00 pm, then have a quick tour about, then meet over at the Salutation Hotel for our informal get together.  It sounds like a really good outing. 

If you need any further information and details about this month's get together or about the Scottish Genealogy Network (SGN) in general just contact Chis Paton by email:  christopherpaton  at  tiscali.co.uk. 

As I mentioned before, these get together's are very informal and friendly.   All are welcome who are in the genealogy/family history profession in anyway shape or form.  If you wish to read other blog posts about our group please view the links below:

Here is Kirsty Wilkinson's blog:
http://professionaldescendant.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-scottish-genealogy-network.html

Here is Chis Paton's blog:
http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-scottish-genealogy-network.html

Until next time . . .

A Couple Good Shows to Watch

Hello All:

There are a couple of shows that I have seen the past week that look really interesting genealogically speaking.  If you are interested in Dundee research then there was the show "The Great British Story: Dundee" on BBC last week.  You can still watch it on BBC IPlayer or on "catch up" on your tv.  It shows Deacon Blue singer Ricky Ross tracing his Dundee ancestors as well as doing a bit of local Dundee history.  He even meets up with two cousins at the end that he didn't know about, which always a good thing.  If you want to watch it online just go to the link here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01k88mz/The_Great_British_Story_Dundee/

The second programme that seems really interesting is called:  "Turn Back Time: The Family."  It is also on BBC.  It is interesting in that it not only takes modern day families to live a week in various periods in the past, but it has them living in the way their own ancestors lived.  For example, in the first week the families were living during the Edwardian period.  One of the modern families lives a wealthy life in Barkshire, but in the Edwardian period one of the ancestors of family lived as a general labourer during that time.  It was very stark and real to them - life as they hadn't experienced before.  Next week the families will go forward in time to the roaring 20s, and as last episode they will be following in the footsteps of their ancestors who lived during that time.  If you missed the first episode you can catch it on BBC IPlayer or "catch up."  You can watch online at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01kd08c/Turn_Back_Time_The_Family_Episode_1/
The second episode of the programme can be seen on Tuesday, 3rd July on BBC 1.

Until Next Time . . .

Go To RootsTech From Home

Hello All:

2nd-4th February in Salt Lake City it will be the 2nd conference of RootsTech.  I haven't been myself, but I have heard really good things about it from some of the particpants while I was at WDYTYA in London last year.  This year it is said to be better than previous.  Which is normally what happens as the conference organizers learn from what worked and what didn't, and what sort of new ideas to implement.

Well, like most of you (especially here in the UK and other countries outside of the USA), I will not be able to go.  But, there is good news.  RootsTech will be live streaming some of their classes & keynote addresses online.  These classes from what I have read in other online sites regarding the conference are those that are in Room 151.  You will need to look at the RootsTech website for the schedule to find which classes are involved to be shown as a live stream.  What is important to remember is that the times are US Mountain Time (in the UK that would be 7 hours behind - example, session is at 2 pm in Utah it will be 9 pm here in UK).  And another important fact is that it is all FREE (and you can watch in your pjs & slippers).

Here is a link to a copy of the schedule found on the RootTech website:
http://rootstech.org/schedule

The RootsTech website doesn't have on their website yet on how to access online live streaming, but just keep an eye on their website for information on how to do it (rootstech.org).

Until Next Time . . .