Time for Formal Genealogy Education?

Once bitten by the genealogy bug many people want to enhance their knowledge and skills.  Education comes in many forms, including guide books, webinars, podcasts, magazines, lectures, workshops, conferences, fairs, and informal and formal courses.  For those who want recognition of their achievement, academic credit or are preparing for a career in genealogical research, how do you compare educational opportunities?

I will restrict the comparison to a selection of current offerings in the UK and USA.  Education systems differ between countries, but I am going to assume that postgraduate courses are more advanced and intensive than undergraduate courses.  Academic awards of degree, diploma and certificate qualifications require an extended duration of study of a range of topics.  Component parts of academic qualifications are also offered as stand-alone courses or modules.  Courses with academic credit involve assessment of the knowledge and research skills gained.

It is harder to compare courses without academic credit.  Recognition of participation may be given in the form of an informal certificate.  Course descriptions such as beginners, intermediate and advanced give an indication of the level of study, but may not have been benchmarked against academic standards.  Typically non-credit courses are of short duration.  Continuing professional development (CPD) is a recognised method updating and acquiring skills in many professions.  Non-credit courses can be part of CPD.

The total number of hours of study can be compared between credit and non-credit courses.

Academic Qualifications

Two UK universities offer postgraduate programs culminating in Masters degrees.  The University of Strathclyde program in Genealogical, Palaeographic and Heraldic Studies progresses through the postgraduate certificate and diploma and MSc.  The University of Dundee program in Family and Local History also progresses through postgraduate certificate and diploma to MLitt.  Each of the phases are rated at 600 hours of study, so a Masters degree totals 1800 hours.

Though not a university, the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS) offers a Certificate, Higher Certificate, Diploma, and Licentiateship in Genealogy.  The Higher Certificate is at a similar level to the Strathclyde University Postgraduate Certificate, indicated by the two institution's reciprocal entrance requirements.

In the UK, there are no undergraduate (bachelor level) degrees in genealogy.  In contrast, in the USA there is an undergraduate degree, but no postgraduate qualifications in genealogy.  Brigham Young University offers Bachelor degrees with a major or minor in Genealogy-Family History, and an undergraduate Certificate.  By my calculation, the major equates to 1833-3080 hours of study, a little less than the 3600 hours of a typical UK Bachelors degree.  The minor equates to 792-960 hours and the certificate to 600-720 hours.  The degree hours include some non-genealogical courses required to meet the university's broader education remit.

Courses without Academic Credit

Universities are not the only institutions offering genealogical education, and some universities offer  courses without academic credit.

In the USA, 5 day residential institutes, Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), and Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) offer mostly intermediate and advanced courses in methodology and specialist topics that equate to 40-50 hours of study.  The Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research offers shorter 2 day courses.  The residential institute format is well regarded, so this year it crosses the pond with the University of Strathclyde's introduction of the Summer Institute of Genealogical Studies (SIGS).  It is aimed at professional genealogists and intermediate to advanced level hobby level genealogists.

Family History Skills & Strategies, presented by Pharos tutors and the Society of Genealogists, may be taken with assessments earning the student a certificate, which is not currently recognised by other institutions. It is comprised of 10 courses, rated at UK  'A’ level or first-year undergraduate level, that total 168-210 study hours.

Non-academic credit courses include the Certificate in Genealogy and Family History from the University of Washington, which represents 90 hours of study, and  the Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, which I estimate represents 75 hours of study.

What education do you expect a professional genealogist to have?

What level of genealogy education do you, as a member of the public, expect a professional genealogist to have attained?  Where would you draw the line in this list:

• Masters degree 
• Postgraduate diploma
• Postgraduate certificate
• Bachelors degree
• Non-credit certificate
• no formal courses, but researched own family

Would you hire people with different levels of expertise for simple and complex work?

Is there a minimum number of study hours needed before a person can be considered a competent genealogist?

Doing genealogy for money is unregulated, so anyone can set up a genealogical research  business.  The debate about what makes a professional genealogist is ongoing and at times heated, but few would deny that genealogical education is a significant component.  Following a symposium, The Future of Professional Genealogy? last August, a Register of Qualified Genealogists has been proposed.  Input on public expectations and preferences will help make the register more useful for those seeking professional help.  So, please contribute your answers to the questions above.

Keep Clicking

When I first started blogging, I didn't give much thought to the type of blog I would create. Questions like am I a story teller or teacher didn't even enter my mind. As I started reading other blogs, I began to think I should provide tips and tricks. I'm computer literate. I've been designing business-to-business websites for as long as they've existed and understand the limits of databases and how to pull out the information contained in them. I also manage a research team and we know our way around government rules and regulations.

So I wrote a post about using census records in your research and taking full advantage of every bit of information contained in them. And I was one of the worst posts I've ever written and to this day I go back and forth when I think about deleting it. That experience taught me I am not a teacher. So I stuck with what I knew best -- telling stories.

But then I realized my stories sometimes contained research case studies -- not tutorials on how to do something in the abstract sense but rather how I did something to solve a specific research problem, using a tip or technique I learned from someone else. So today I'd like to present a case study, using a lesson gleaned from Hilary Gadsby's great post, Killing Them Off -- It Can Help Knock Down Those Brick Walls.

I have begun reviewing the beginning of my tree -- me -- working backwards and reviewing my research and what gaps I would like to fill in about each person (not quite a genealogy do-over, but sort of). As I got to the siblings of my paternal grandfather, I realized I did not have a death date for my grand uncle, Leo James Jennings. So that was my goal: to kill off Leo.

Effie Davis (Beard) Jennings; Leo James
Jennings' mother, who died in 1906; photograph
courtesy of Janie Darby

The first thing I did was write down what I already knew, how I knew it, and transcribed all the records I did have.

• He was born on 29 October 1898 and that his parents were Charles Edward Jennings and Effie Davis Beard. I could surmise he was born in Roanoke, Virginia, as his parents were living there during the year of his birth.
• In 1900 he was living with his parents, four half siblings and his older sister in Roanoke.
• His mother died in 1906 when he was eight years old.
• In 1910 he was living with his widowed father and three living siblings.
• His father sent him to live with his half sister in Erwin, Tennessee by 1911, when his younger brother (my grandfather) was placed in an orphanage.
• He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1916 at Big Gap, Virginia.
• His father died in 1917.
• He was discharged from the Army in 1919 and had served as a Sargent with the 104th Supply Train
• He married Bonnie Sue Wolfe sometime before 1920.
• In 1920 he and Bonnie Sue were living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and he worked as a mechanic at a tobacco factory
• In 1922 he and Bonnie Sue were still living in Winston-Salem but he was now working as a machinist at South Royal.
• In 1924 he and Bonnie Sue had a son they named James Wolfe Jennings; the son was born in Appalachia, Virginia.
• On 10 August 1932 he was admitted to the U.S. Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Sawtelle, California, and suffered from myocardial degeneration, cardiac hypertrophy, conjunctivitis, and deviated nasal septum. His marital status was listed as divorced.

Sawtelle Veterans Home; photograph courtesy of the California
Historical Society Digital Collection

Frankly, I thought he was near death then, but couldn't find a death or burial record of any type for that general timeframe. So, I started researching his ex-wife, Bonnie Sue. I learned:

• In 1930 Bonnie Sue was divorced and living in Appalachia, Virginia, and was the proprietor of a grocery store.
• In 1940 Bonnie Sue was widowed and living with her father in Orlando, Florida.
• Bonnie Sue died in 1969.

The 1940 federal census and 1940 Orlando city directory entries for Bonnie Sue seemed to confirm Leo's demise. Why no death record? After broadening my search and not concentrating on his death, I discovered a 1940 census record for Leo. He was alive!

• In 1938 he was living in Los Angeles, California, and was working as an engineer for Econolite Corporation.
• In 1940 he was living in Calabasas, California, working as a supervising inspector of traffic signals, and he was married to Kathleen G. Jennings, who worked as a secretary at a law office. They owned their own home and had a live-in housekeeper.

So I started trying to kill off Leo again with a different date for his possible death. I finally got a hit from Find a Grave worth pursuing. A Leo J. Jennings was buried at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. However, the date of birth and the date of death were listed as "unknown."

Rats!

I clicked the cemetery link and discovered the cemetery had a website. So I clicked through to the cemetery site. On their home page, I discovered a burial search. I used it and lo and behold there was Leo's death date: 8 October 1973.  He certainly lived longer than I would have suspected with all the heart and respiratory issues he had in 1932.

Further research, included finding Leo's funeral notice in the Los Angeles Times, dated 5 October, which indicated he was buried on 8 October. His Department of Veterans' Affairs BILRS Death File listed his death date as 3 October 1973.

Screen shot of the burial search results for Green Hill Memorial Park,
Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Confusing with so many possible death dates, but I was successful in killing him off. The beautiful thing about this case study is that once I entered his death date in my Ancestry.com tree, I started getting lots of hints about his second wife, Kathleen, who likely would have been a brick wall since I did not know her maiden name at the time.

So Hilary was right, killing them off can help break through those brick walls in your tree, but be sure  you explore each record and source thoroughly. Keep clicking your way through the information.

I'm signing off now to resume killing some more of my pesky brick wall ancestors.

_______________
The Irish Wife
Newly Discovered Photographs
The Mother Nobody Knew
A Lover Not a Fighter