Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Registered!

This morning, despite the web traffic, I was able to register for the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR). It wasn't easy though. It took about 40 minutes to be able to get completely through the registration process because the site kept shutting down due to the bombardment of traffic. So I think I started the process and only got to the first or second page about 70 times before it actually went through for me. The Advanced course, taught by Elizabeth Shown Mills, is already full (45 minutes after registration opened) so if you were hoping to get into that course you'll have to settle for the waiting list. I'm glad I'm putting that one off for at least a year!

Instead, I opted for Barbara Vines Little's Virginia course for this year. The topic is "Virginia's Land and Military Conflicts & Their Effect on Migration " and the schedule for the week sounds intense. When I hopped on to the IGHR website this morning (at 8:30-half an hour before the registration started) I had every intention of registering for the Intermediate course. Listed on the IGHR website as Course 2, it covers a wide spectrum of records, including church and naturalization records, and has a great series of instructors lined up such as Christine Rose (author of several standard genealogy books and guides, my favorite of which is her book on courthouse research), John Colletta (an expert on naturalization and passenger lists with a great book on the subject of immigration research), and Lloyd Bockstruck as coordinator. I just couldn't drop the Virginia class though because it speaks to some of the issues I'm working through now with 18th century Virginians. It always seems like once you trace your ancestors back to the 17th or 18th centuries you're either dealing with New England or Virginia in one way or another, so getting a more in-depth look at the laws, the military conflicts, and the migration patterns of those who were settled or even just passing through Virginia could have a huge effect on how you look at some of those brick walls. Add in a superstar list of instructors (Barbara Vines Little is the coordinator, Craig R. Scott is the military expert, and Victor S. Dunn covers the specific land work) and this is going to be a really jam-packed and wonderfully useful class.

Can't wait!!

5 comments:

  1. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

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  2. Congratulations! I heard Barbara Vines Little speak last year. Craig Scott is amazing, too. He's the mentor for my ProGen3 group. He knows his stuff.

    You will be pleased with your selection. I hope you plan to blog about the experience.

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  3. Yep, Amy, we're both in ProGen 3. I remember you from the ProGen dinner at the NGS conference in Raleigh last year. You're right about Craig, if there's anything (especially about military records) that you need to know, he's the man to ask.

    I'm sure I'll be chatting about it here when I get back. I'm so excited!

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  4. I'm excited for you! Maybe some of what you learn about early Virginia will help us with those elusive Bromagem's.

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  5. Wouldn't that be great? We could have another place to look for them prior to the 1770s! Ya never know...

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