The advantages of online learning are obvious: you can learn anywhere, anytime, in absolute comfort and privacy. You’ll find top-quality instruction: wikis, formal classes, informal webinars, and much more, for as much or as little as you are willing to spend.
Some are geared towards hobbyists, others focus attention on the needs of the serious intermediate and advanced researcher.
Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama
Institutes are in-depth opportunities for you to explore specific topics, usually in a full week of classes, with the finest genealogists in the country. While tuition is not cheap, the experience can be invaluable and unforgettable. Some courses address the needs of beginners, but mostly these are geared to intermediate and advanced genealogists.
The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy is organized into 10-12 subjects, called tracks. The foremost experts in the field for each subject provide students with at least twenty hours of in-depth instruction on their topic. The format allows coordinators and instructors to build on the understanding gained from each lecture, building a foundation rather than giving scattered information. Students leave with a much deeper understanding of the topic at hand. Continue reading
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Have you been researching for awhile and are ready to sharpen your skills? Or are you a newbie interested in discovering this vast new world of family history?
Attending a national conference may be just what you’re looking for. Presentations cover a wide range of topics and address the needs and interests of every skill level. Shop the vendors, network with others of similar interests, and just have fun! Here are some wonderful opportunities for 2013. Continue reading
Some folks fall into their genealogy project with a wealth of goodies already at hand: Aunt Matilda’s compiled family history, Grandma’s ancient Bible complete with a hundred years of births, marriages, and deaths, or– wonder of wonders– “someone” has put the entire family tree on the Internet.
These resources may be wonderful– or they may be junk. It’s up to you to learn how to determine the difference. Beginner’s luck may give you lots to work with, but without an understanding of how to analyze what you’ve got, there’s a good chance you’ll head down some some dead end roads. Continue reading
There’s something special about turning the calendar page to a new year: there’s a sense of anticipation, opportunity and adventure, a “second chance” to “get things right” and make the future better than the past. We sit down with pen (or computer!) in hand and make our list of New Year Resolutions, optimistic that we’ll achieve wonderful things if only we commit our goals to print.
For the general public, there are the usual ambitions to lose weight, save money, or get a better job. We genealogists have our own aspirations. The New Year is a perfect opportunity to identify and plan for the achievement of our family history goals, dreams, and desires. Continue reading
It’s a new year– filled with new opportunities. Don’t let the winter weather get you down– here are a few suggestions for field trips and learning experiences to get the winter season off to a good start.
Thursday, January 10: History for Lunch: “From Pieces of Eight to Federal Reserve Bank Currency: Iowa’s Monetary Journey.” 12 p.m. – 1 p.m., Centennial Building, 402 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City. Sponsored by the State Historical Society of Iowa. Presented by Jim Ehrhardt, a member of the Old Capitol Coin Club in Iowa City, Iowa’s fascinating history of coins and currency will be the topic of the first “History for Lunch” of 2013. Continue reading
“Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world.” – Calvin Coolidge
We wish our clients and friends the blessings of peace, goodwill, faith and family this Christmas season and in the year ahead.
Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois
Many Swedish immigrants in the 1800s settled in the upper Midwestern states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas. Why? It was largely a function of timing– during the peak immigration years between 1850 and 1880, the American Midwest offered a familiar climate and cheap, available land.
The Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, is a wonderful resource for anyone of Swedish heritage and especially for those whose ancestors made the upper Midwest their home. Continue reading
Your Swedish Roots: A Step by Step Handbook. by Per Clemensson and Kjell Andersson. Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004. Hardcover, 222 pages.
As a newbie to Swedish and Swedish-American research, Your Swedish Roots perfectly answered my needs as a solid introduction to research both in the United States and in Sweden. The authors are native Swedes, and their expertise is impressive. Continue reading
Celebrate Iowa’s history and cultural heritage this holiday season with these special holiday events:
November 19 – December 31: Pella Historical Village Christmas Walk. Tour eighteen buildings lavishly decorated for Christmas. Themed rooms ranging from Nutcrackers to Victorian to Sinterklaas and traditional. Thousands of lights. Contact: 641-628-2409; pellatuliptime@iowatelecom.net. Website: www.pellatuliptime.com Continue reading