Earlier this month, the New England Historic Genealogical Society presented Elizabeth Shown Mills with its distinguished Coddington Award of Merit. The award is named after John Insley Coddington, who, after Donald Lines Jacobus, is considered the dean of 20th-century American genealogists. The Codington award recognizes significant accomplishments and contributions in the field. Elizabeth Shown Mills,[…]Read more
By Barbara J. Mathews, CG, FASG, and Darcie Hind Posz, CG(Excerpted from Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards) Societies exist for the sake of their society—not necessarily for the sake of genealogy. Each lineage and hereditary society has a different objective, mission statement, and purpose. Because criteria for applications are not one-size-fits-all, we need to[…]Read more
Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills and published in 2001, is a manual by professionals for everyone serious about genealogy. This book is sometimes referred to as Progen I, to distinguished it from the 2018 book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards, also edited by Mrs.[…]Read more
By Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG From time to time we have excerpted portions of the extraordinary book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards. Edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, one of America’s most respected genealogy authorities, and written by eighteen leading experts on the substance of genealogical research, Progen PPS is a priceless[…]Read more
If you profited from reading Mr. Greenwood’s sage advice on land records and don’t as yet own a copy of his book, you may wish to read the following review from the Winter 2018-2019 issue of the St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. 4th edition. By Val D. Greenwood. Baltimore:[…]Read more
“The Name’s the Same” Rule: Identifying people is a significant challenge for historical writers—particularly people who played minor roles in an event or lived low-key lives. When we encounter records that bear the right name, in the right place and time, it is tempting to assume the record applies to our person of interest. The[…]Read more
Excerpted from Judy G. Russell, “Copyright and Fair Use,” Elizabeth Shown Mills, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), 149–72. COPYRIGHT VS. PLAGIARISM Copyright and plagiarism are distinct concepts. The major differences are these: Copyright is a legal construct that takes the form of exclusive rights held by the copyright[…]Read more
By Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG Excerpted from Laura Murphy DeGrazia, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” Elizabeth Shown Mills, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), 295–316. Publisher’s Note: Last week we ran an excerpt from Laura Murphy DeGrazia’s chapter, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” published in Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice &[…]Read more
By Barbara J. Mathews, CG, FASG, and Darcie Hind Posz, CG(Excerpted from Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards) NB: Part One of this article covering lineage society membership, which appeared in the October 19 issue of “Genealogy Pointers,” covered the process of completing a lineage society application. Part Two picks up with the crucial process[…]Read more
Whatever the research problem, once we have carefully analyzed everything we have accumulated and are confident that our starting-point data is sound, we can move forward with the development of a work plan for productive research. Research plans offer prioritized, detailed lists of relevant sources that should provide information to resolve the stated problem. We[…]Read more
By Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG From time to time we have excerpted portions of the extraordinary book, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards. Edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, one of America’s most respected genealogy authorities, and written by eighteen leading experts on the substance of genealogical research, Progen PPS is a priceless[…]Read more
By Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG Excerpted from: Laura Murphy DeGrazia, “Problem Analyses & Research Plans,” Elizabeth Shown Mills, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018), 295–316. “Effective problem analysis requires a thorough understanding of three key issues. First, we must know the available sources for that problem—their accessibility, arrangement, content, and varying[…]Read more
