Online Family History Lessons

If you have been participating in the online genealogy community, there is no doubt that you have heard of "DearMyrtle". Myrtle has a blog, conducts podcasts and also her own genealogy instruction website that is free for those wanting to learn more about family history.

Myrt has developed several lessons regarding genealogical research for you to learn the how-to of genealogical research. Some of the lessons that you can study are:

#1 - Primary Birth Records - "YES, "competent" is a word we will use to describe your family tree climbing abilities."

#2 - Choosing a Genealogy Program - "The first advantage of using a genealogy management program, is that you are able to type in the name, dates, localities on each ancestor 1 time."

#3 - Relationship Terms - "MY SON'S NOW WIFE didn't imply a previous marriage. It was used to protect the estate from being diluted from claims by subsequent wives should this one die and the son remarry. "

#4 - Home Sources- " When times were rough, people used whatever precious book they had on hand to record names and dates of births, marriages & deaths."

#5 - Calendars & Dates - "Naturally because we're living in an imperfect world,
different countries adopted the newer calendar at different times! For instance, the Gregorian calendar began on October 5, 1582, but was not adopted by Great Britain and the American colonies until September 14, 1752."

#6 - Government Records - "... we look to other sources for original documents that were created at the time our ancestors lived."

#7 - Public Library Sources -"Despite being in a Florida library, we found information on his ancestors who are from Florida: Manatee, Sarasota, Hillsborough &Leon counties, Louisiana , North Carolina and early Baltimore County Maryland."

#8 - Previously Compiled Genealogies - "Just remember, when using previously compiled genealogy, its better to question than to perpetuate the myth."

#9 - Conflicting Information - "The bottom line is that you will need to document every source and the dates stated or implied by that source."

* Reader's Feedback: Regarding Lesson #9 - "Even vital records can be wrong. My daughter's death certificate has incorrect information on it and I was the one that supplied the info. I don't know if it is incorrect because of transcription errors or because of the severe emotional distress that I was in at the time! "

#10 - County Boundary Changes - "The hard and fast rule for genealogy researchers is record the place or locality as it was at the time of the event."

#11 - Local Histories - "As you continue your family history research, you'll need to move from finding the original documents of birth, marriage and death to reading contemporary diaries and printed local histories."

As you can see, these lessons cover a variety of challenges that all family historians and genealogists face on a regular basis. Myrt provides short lessons with an assignment at the conclusion of the lesson that assist to reinforce the concept being taught.

If you would like to learn more about the "how to" of genealogical research, check out DearMyrtle Lessons. Have fun!