GenealogyClassBlog

On Wednesday I introduced the class to the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, which is a free resource offered online by the Newberry Library in Chicago. In trying to research your ancestor’s experience with the local court, especially the county court, you will need to determine which county would have recorded your ancestor’s business. Even if your ancestor was living in one place for several decades, if the time period was during the formation of the state’s county boundaries, it is possible that he or she lived in different counties. Add that to the possibility that your ancestor may have done business in the closest courthouse rather than his or her county seat, and things may not be as simple as you’d expect. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows the county boundaries as of any date you select in the Interactive Map. The URL for this resource is http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/index.html. Enjoy exploring!

One of my very favorite professional genealogists is Christine Rose, CG, CGL, FASG. Christine presented a workshop for the Tulsa Genealogical Society in 2005. She has served on the faculty at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University, and has presented numerous lectures at national conferences. You can read more at her website. She will presenting lectures at the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ 2009 Annual Conference to be held in Little Rock, Arkansas, 2-5 September.

A knowledgeable and experienced researcher, Christine specializes in courthouse research, spending several months on the road every year with her husband Cecil, doing professional research and studying Rose families all over the country. She is fun and positive, yet takes genealogy and the study of evidence very seriously. She co-authored Complete Idiot’s Guide to Genealogy, with Kay Ingalls, CG, an excellent how-to genealogy book. She also wrote, Genealogical Proof Standard, which I described in the mini-workshop I presented to the Tulsa Genealogical Society last May. It explains the process genealogists should use to reach conclusions. The Tulsa City-County Library is purchasing copies which library card-holders will be able to check out — one for Martin Regional Library and the other for Hardesty Regional Library.

Mark your calendar for 28 March, 2009, from about 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The presentations will be free and open to the public, at the Hardesty Regional Library near 93rd & Memorial in Tulsa. Christine will be presenting four lectures, two before and two after a long lunch break, but the exact timing or order has not been set:

• Addicted to Courthouses!
• Estates:  a Goldmine!
• Court Records:  The System and It’s Records.
• Solving the Problem in 25 hours or less

CG, for Certified Genealogist, and CGL, for Certified Genealogical Lecturer, are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists. She is also a Fellow, American Society of Genealogists.