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Major Breakthrough in Historiography, January 16, 2006
Reviewer: William R. Erwin (Durham, NC United States)
Dr. Carolyn Earle Billingsley has made a major breakthrough in American, especially Southern, historiography. She has elevated genealogy into the first rank of scholarly tools for understanding society and what springs from it. In the process she has overturned former conclusions as to how the Southern frontier was settled and developed. The core element is communities of kinship.
They have been right under our noses all along. Although writers have noted the importance of kinships episodically, they have explored them indifferently. It is common practice for biographers to devote a few pages to family background but little more. One extraordinary exception was Robert A. Caro who described President Johnson's families and environment in the Texas Hill Country in vivid detail. You could almost see little Lyndon as an incipient statesman. A friend wisely observed, though, that we do not know what cultural baggage those families brought to those hills and where they got it.
Dr. Billingsley's process opens up vast possibilities for research among families and persons for whom manuscript and printed documentation is skimpy or virtually non-existent, which is to say, most of them. As a longtime manuscript librarian I know how spotty the records are. Many a worthy in his or her time is now unknown when the opposite was the case in their own time and place.
Dr. Billingsley has not only theorized about the process but also demonstrated it in a study of a migrating, changing community of kinship, one without much documentation beyond genealogy. She has shown us how to do it. She has identified the core element of Southern society that defined its culture, politics, economics, and religion. As she noted, church history is incomplete if you are unaware of the familial interconnections of the clergy among themselves and communities of kinship.
Reading this book, I felt like I was reading about my own community of kinship, a most useful term, from Virginia and, especially South Carolina, to Alabama and westward. Our complex was quite larger and more concentrated in one region. In our principal county, the metropolis of Birmingham rose among us. Large numbers of us stayed and, having developed a rural society from scratch, participated in making a city.
Perhaps her Earles connect to our Earles in South Carolina and Alabama, two galaxies touching at the edges. One of our prominent relatives was a neighbor of her kinship community in Bibb County, Alabama. Cases in point!
21 August 2006
2006 APG Professional Management Conference
The 2006 APG Professional Management Conference
August 30, 2006 Boston
Presented by the Association of Professional Genealogist in conjuction with the annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
Registration Information
In order to attend the Professional Management Conference (PMC), individuals must also register for at least Wednesday’s Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference. The following are the PMC rates only:
Early Member Registration (by December 31, 2005) $100
Regular Member Registration (by July 1, 2006) $110
Late Member Registration (after July 1, 2006) $150
Non-Member Registration (any date) $150
Three ways to register or order an FGS brochure:
1. Online: www.fgs.org - the FGS conference is a 4-day conference from August 30th through September 2nd. Online registration for the conference is coming soon.2. Write: Federation of Genealogical SocietiesP. O. Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-09403. Call: 888-FGS-1500 toll free
The Schedule
Wednesday ~ Main Deck ~ All Players
Stolen Ancestors: How to Identify, Reclaim, and Protect by James Jeffrey
Kinship Theory for Genealogists by Carolyn Earle Billingsley, PHD
Print on Demand - A Publishing Option for Genealogists by Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA, and Jake Gehring
Wednesday - Port Side
It’s A Small Biz: Genealogy Is Just the Product You Sell by Beverly Rice, CGPricing Your Services by Kory L. Meyerink, AG, FUGAThe Part-Time Professional Genealogist: A Jekyll and Hyde Existence by Ann Mohr Osisek
Wednesday - Starboard Side
DNA for the Professional Genealogist by Thomas Shawker, MDThe Role of the 21st Century Genealogist in International Probate Research by Eileen M. O’Duill, CG, CGLSpeaking! by George G. Morgan
The Ship's Log
Stolen Ancestors: How to Identify, Reclaim, and Protect. James K. Jeffrey. Client work presents much pleasure, opportunity for professional growth and development, and—on occasion—reason to pause. Customers call upon our expertise in creating presentation pieces, to sort out confused lineages, and to break through brick walls. Discover how to quickly spot the confusion of persons, fabricated lineages, and fictional ancestors.
Kinship Theory for Genealogists. Carolyn Earle Billingsley, PhD. We as genealogists have long insisted that our field is a legitimate discipline closely akin to scholarly history, but efforts to construct a theory of genealogy have had mixed results. This lecture proffers the following: the central organizing principle in the discipline of genealogy is the reconstruction and analysis of kinship. This theoretical base defines genealogy and places the field at a point midway between, and equal in status, to history and anthropology.
Print on Demand: A Publishing Option for Genealogists. Jake Gehring and Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA. Learn about “print-on-demand,” a recently developed technology which can offer new publishing and marketing options for the professional genealogist. This lecture will present a description of this printing service, uses of the service by professionals, the pros and cons of the service, and vendors.
It’s a Small Biz: Genealogy Is Just the Product You Sell. Beverly Rice, CG. There is much to do and many facets to consider before you leave the world of a regular income, retirement accounts, and health insurance to become a small business owner. You must consider two separate entities that are co-dependent: the product (you and your genealogical skills) and the management of a small business, making a profit or at least not taking a loss. This lecture will focus on the balance between the two.
Pricing Your Services. Kory Meyerink, MLS, AG, FUGA. Pricing services may be the most mysterious aspect of running a business. Setting prices too high may result in not generating enough business to pay the bills and earn a decent living. Setting prices too low devalues the services offered and de-motivates the researcher, clearly an unprofitable way to run a business. Low prices will eventually bankrupt the business, especially when unexpected expenses arise.
The Part-Time Professional Genealogist: A Jekyll and Hyde Existence. Ann Mohr Osisek. This is a primer for those individuals considering careers as professional genealogists. What are the expectations, struggles, disappointments, and triumphs? This lecture will encourage others to forge ahead with their aspirations as professional genealogists and not become discouraged in the process. Balance, fortitude, and focus will be stressed. The importance of support network of family, friends, and the genealogical community will be discussed.
DNA Testing for the Professional Genealogist. Thomas Shawker, MD. This talk will explain the principles behind Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA tests for genealogy show how to interpret the results, and demonstrate how they can be used for genealogy. There will be a discussion, with examples, of what DNA test professionals should recommend to their clients, how the results should be interpreted, and what reference sources are available that professionals can use to advise their clients.
Role of the 21st Century Genealogist in International Probate Research. Eileen O’Duill, CG, CGL. In recent years, genealogists have become increasingly involved in the legal cases, particularly intestate matters. Identifying the nearest next-of- kin and documenting a relationship to the deceased requires research skills and determination. Rules of evidence as they apply to a genealogist’s work will be examined. Particular emphasis will be placed on ethics involved in locating the nearest next of kin.
Speaking! George G. Morgan. Breaking into the national genealogical conference speaking circuit can be frustrating but it can be done. Program chairs are looking for new ideas and perspectives about records, methodologies, and helpful electronic products and services. Learn what they are really seeking and how to break into the national conference business. This lecture also will address speaking contracts and the pros and cons of using transparencies or computer-based visual materials to excite and educate audiences.
The Crew
Carolyn Earle Billingsly, Ph.D. earned her BA (1994) in history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. After studying in Austria on a Fulbright Scholarship (1994–1996), she was awarded her MA (1998) and PhD (2001) from Rice University, in the fields of southern history and anthropological kinship theory. Her dissertation, published as Communities of Kinship: Antebellum Families and the Settlement of the Cotton Frontier (University of Georgia Press, 2004), is based on a genealogical study of an extended kinship group.
Jake Gehring is a popular technology writer and lecturer and is employed with the Family and Church History Department of the LDS Church. Jake graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in genealogy/family history and is former editor of Genealogical Computing. He is a member of the APG Board of Directors.
Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA, has served as an officer, committee/board member, and volunteer for APG and FGS, is a former indexer of the NGSQ, and contributor to the APGQ and The Colorado Genealogist. She is a local and national lecturer, with a special interest in problem solving using neighborhood reconstruction, land and related records, and records of the deaf and blind.
James K. Jeffrey is the collection specialist in genealogy at the Denver Public Library, president of the Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England Family History Society, Trustee of the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History, and a 2004 recipient of the P. William Filby Award for Excellence in Genealogical Librarianship. He is past president of the Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies and The Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists.
Kory Meyerink, MLS, AG, FUGA, is the editor and primary author of Ancestry’s ALA award-winning, Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records. A professional researcher in Salt Lake City, he is a vice president at ProGenealogists, Inc. where he guides research, writing, and development of Internet genealogy tools. Named a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association in 2002, he has been accredited since 1980 (Germany, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New England states).
George G. Morgan owns and operates Aha! Seminars, Inc., a company focusing on continuing education for U.S. library personnel and genealogists worldwide. He is the author of the “Along Those Lines ...,” online genealogy column at Ancestry.com, three highly successful books, and more than 200 articles and online columns. He is past president of ISFHWE, a director of the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and a director of the Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa). He teaches online genealogy classes for MyFamily.com and was program chair for the highly acclaimed 2003 FGS Conference held in Orlando, Florida.
Eileen O’Duill, CG, CGL is a Dublin-based genealogist specializing in international probate research. Eileen has researched over 200 estates involving Irish next-of-kin worldwide and has been admitted as an expert witness at kinship hearings in five New York counties. She is a member of the Council of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland. She co-authored Irish Civil Registration: Where Do I Begin? with Steven ffeary Smyrl and is recognized as an expert on the General Register Office of Ireland.
Ann Mohr Osisek has served as managing instructor for genealogy programs at the Disney Institute in Orlando, Florida, taught genealogy classes for the Orange County, Florida Adult Education Program for fourteen years, and is a genealogy instructor at Seminole County (Florida) Community College. She is vice president of the Florida State Genealogical Society, a past president of Central Florida Genealogical Society and their long-standing education chair.
Beverly Rice, CG, has been teaching and lecturing on genealogical and historical topics for over twelve years. She has been a Family History Center volunteer librarian for fifteen years and is on the faculty of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Beverly is the secretary for the Association of Professional Genealogists. She has been a small business owner for over 25 years, and is currently making the change from genealogy as a “not-for-profit business” to genealogy as a “for-profit business.”
Thomas Shawker, MD, graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and works as a research physician at the National Institute of Health. His academic accomplishments include over 100 scientific publications. He is past president of the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Genealogical Society, currently serves as chairman of the NGS Family Health and Heredity Committee, and is the author of the book, Unlocking Your Genetic History in the NGS book series.
August 30, 2006 Boston
Presented by the Association of Professional Genealogist in conjuction with the annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
Registration Information
In order to attend the Professional Management Conference (PMC), individuals must also register for at least Wednesday’s Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference. The following are the PMC rates only:
Early Member Registration (by December 31, 2005) $100
Regular Member Registration (by July 1, 2006) $110
Late Member Registration (after July 1, 2006) $150
Non-Member Registration (any date) $150
Three ways to register or order an FGS brochure:
1. Online: www.fgs.org - the FGS conference is a 4-day conference from August 30th through September 2nd. Online registration for the conference is coming soon.2. Write: Federation of Genealogical SocietiesP. O. Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-09403. Call: 888-FGS-1500 toll free
The Schedule
Wednesday ~ Main Deck ~ All Players
Stolen Ancestors: How to Identify, Reclaim, and Protect by James Jeffrey
Kinship Theory for Genealogists by Carolyn Earle Billingsley, PHD
Print on Demand - A Publishing Option for Genealogists by Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA, and Jake Gehring
Wednesday - Port Side
It’s A Small Biz: Genealogy Is Just the Product You Sell by Beverly Rice, CGPricing Your Services by Kory L. Meyerink, AG, FUGAThe Part-Time Professional Genealogist: A Jekyll and Hyde Existence by Ann Mohr Osisek
Wednesday - Starboard Side
DNA for the Professional Genealogist by Thomas Shawker, MDThe Role of the 21st Century Genealogist in International Probate Research by Eileen M. O’Duill, CG, CGLSpeaking! by George G. Morgan
The Ship's Log
Stolen Ancestors: How to Identify, Reclaim, and Protect. James K. Jeffrey. Client work presents much pleasure, opportunity for professional growth and development, and—on occasion—reason to pause. Customers call upon our expertise in creating presentation pieces, to sort out confused lineages, and to break through brick walls. Discover how to quickly spot the confusion of persons, fabricated lineages, and fictional ancestors.
Kinship Theory for Genealogists. Carolyn Earle Billingsley, PhD. We as genealogists have long insisted that our field is a legitimate discipline closely akin to scholarly history, but efforts to construct a theory of genealogy have had mixed results. This lecture proffers the following: the central organizing principle in the discipline of genealogy is the reconstruction and analysis of kinship. This theoretical base defines genealogy and places the field at a point midway between, and equal in status, to history and anthropology.
Print on Demand: A Publishing Option for Genealogists. Jake Gehring and Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA. Learn about “print-on-demand,” a recently developed technology which can offer new publishing and marketing options for the professional genealogist. This lecture will present a description of this printing service, uses of the service by professionals, the pros and cons of the service, and vendors.
It’s a Small Biz: Genealogy Is Just the Product You Sell. Beverly Rice, CG. There is much to do and many facets to consider before you leave the world of a regular income, retirement accounts, and health insurance to become a small business owner. You must consider two separate entities that are co-dependent: the product (you and your genealogical skills) and the management of a small business, making a profit or at least not taking a loss. This lecture will focus on the balance between the two.
Pricing Your Services. Kory Meyerink, MLS, AG, FUGA. Pricing services may be the most mysterious aspect of running a business. Setting prices too high may result in not generating enough business to pay the bills and earn a decent living. Setting prices too low devalues the services offered and de-motivates the researcher, clearly an unprofitable way to run a business. Low prices will eventually bankrupt the business, especially when unexpected expenses arise.
The Part-Time Professional Genealogist: A Jekyll and Hyde Existence. Ann Mohr Osisek. This is a primer for those individuals considering careers as professional genealogists. What are the expectations, struggles, disappointments, and triumphs? This lecture will encourage others to forge ahead with their aspirations as professional genealogists and not become discouraged in the process. Balance, fortitude, and focus will be stressed. The importance of support network of family, friends, and the genealogical community will be discussed.
DNA Testing for the Professional Genealogist. Thomas Shawker, MD. This talk will explain the principles behind Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA tests for genealogy show how to interpret the results, and demonstrate how they can be used for genealogy. There will be a discussion, with examples, of what DNA test professionals should recommend to their clients, how the results should be interpreted, and what reference sources are available that professionals can use to advise their clients.
Role of the 21st Century Genealogist in International Probate Research. Eileen O’Duill, CG, CGL. In recent years, genealogists have become increasingly involved in the legal cases, particularly intestate matters. Identifying the nearest next-of- kin and documenting a relationship to the deceased requires research skills and determination. Rules of evidence as they apply to a genealogist’s work will be examined. Particular emphasis will be placed on ethics involved in locating the nearest next of kin.
Speaking! George G. Morgan. Breaking into the national genealogical conference speaking circuit can be frustrating but it can be done. Program chairs are looking for new ideas and perspectives about records, methodologies, and helpful electronic products and services. Learn what they are really seeking and how to break into the national conference business. This lecture also will address speaking contracts and the pros and cons of using transparencies or computer-based visual materials to excite and educate audiences.
The Crew
Carolyn Earle Billingsly, Ph.D. earned her BA (1994) in history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. After studying in Austria on a Fulbright Scholarship (1994–1996), she was awarded her MA (1998) and PhD (2001) from Rice University, in the fields of southern history and anthropological kinship theory. Her dissertation, published as Communities of Kinship: Antebellum Families and the Settlement of the Cotton Frontier (University of Georgia Press, 2004), is based on a genealogical study of an extended kinship group.
Jake Gehring is a popular technology writer and lecturer and is employed with the Family and Church History Department of the LDS Church. Jake graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in genealogy/family history and is former editor of Genealogical Computing. He is a member of the APG Board of Directors.
Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA, has served as an officer, committee/board member, and volunteer for APG and FGS, is a former indexer of the NGSQ, and contributor to the APGQ and The Colorado Genealogist. She is a local and national lecturer, with a special interest in problem solving using neighborhood reconstruction, land and related records, and records of the deaf and blind.
James K. Jeffrey is the collection specialist in genealogy at the Denver Public Library, president of the Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England Family History Society, Trustee of the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History, and a 2004 recipient of the P. William Filby Award for Excellence in Genealogical Librarianship. He is past president of the Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies and The Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists.
Kory Meyerink, MLS, AG, FUGA, is the editor and primary author of Ancestry’s ALA award-winning, Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records. A professional researcher in Salt Lake City, he is a vice president at ProGenealogists, Inc. where he guides research, writing, and development of Internet genealogy tools. Named a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association in 2002, he has been accredited since 1980 (Germany, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New England states).
George G. Morgan owns and operates Aha! Seminars, Inc., a company focusing on continuing education for U.S. library personnel and genealogists worldwide. He is the author of the “Along Those Lines ...,” online genealogy column at Ancestry.com, three highly successful books, and more than 200 articles and online columns. He is past president of ISFHWE, a director of the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and a director of the Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa). He teaches online genealogy classes for MyFamily.com and was program chair for the highly acclaimed 2003 FGS Conference held in Orlando, Florida.
Eileen O’Duill, CG, CGL is a Dublin-based genealogist specializing in international probate research. Eileen has researched over 200 estates involving Irish next-of-kin worldwide and has been admitted as an expert witness at kinship hearings in five New York counties. She is a member of the Council of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland. She co-authored Irish Civil Registration: Where Do I Begin? with Steven ffeary Smyrl and is recognized as an expert on the General Register Office of Ireland.
Ann Mohr Osisek has served as managing instructor for genealogy programs at the Disney Institute in Orlando, Florida, taught genealogy classes for the Orange County, Florida Adult Education Program for fourteen years, and is a genealogy instructor at Seminole County (Florida) Community College. She is vice president of the Florida State Genealogical Society, a past president of Central Florida Genealogical Society and their long-standing education chair.
Beverly Rice, CG, has been teaching and lecturing on genealogical and historical topics for over twelve years. She has been a Family History Center volunteer librarian for fifteen years and is on the faculty of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Beverly is the secretary for the Association of Professional Genealogists. She has been a small business owner for over 25 years, and is currently making the change from genealogy as a “not-for-profit business” to genealogy as a “for-profit business.”
Thomas Shawker, MD, graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and works as a research physician at the National Institute of Health. His academic accomplishments include over 100 scientific publications. He is past president of the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Genealogical Society, currently serves as chairman of the NGS Family Health and Heredity Committee, and is the author of the book, Unlocking Your Genetic History in the NGS book series.
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