Back from IGHR, whew!

Alright, this is just a post to say, sadly, that IGHR 2010 is now over. It was my first time there and it was wonderful. To anyone who hasn't been yet, I really do recommend it very highly. A listing of courses on the docket for next year can be found here
http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/IGHR_future.html

Also, some news for next year came down the grapevine while I was there. Apparently, they are going to try something new for the online registration process for the 2011 Institute to help with the overflow problem crashing their servers, as it did during the last registration. The idea is to stagger the registration by time so that not everyone is trying to register for all courses at the same time. In theory this could be a big help, but we'll have to wait until January to find out. Til then, I'll be studying up and finishing the NGS HSC course to get ready for Course 4: Advanced Methodology next year. That class actually had a pop quiz on the first day and a good deal of homework throughout the week. Whew! Gotta get myself as ready as possible for that one!

Heading to IGHR

Hey all, I'm getting to head off to IGHR for the week. I'll be getting together with the ProGen'ers tonight so I may see some of you then. Then tomorrow I'll be sitting in the course on Virginia Military Conflicts and their Effect on Migration, can't wait!

Be back next weekend

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!!

Reminder- IGHR 2010 Registration Begins Jan 19th!

Hey all, I got my reminder email this morning to let me know that registration for the Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research begins at 9am CST on 19 January 2010. This will be the first year I'll be able to attend and I can't wait!


Here's the info page
http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/

courses for 2010
http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/IGHR_courses.html

and courses planned for the future
http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/IGHR_future.html