Hello everyone. I hope you are all doing well. Do you realize that I have been doing this blog since 2008? I can't say that I have been a consistent writer but I can say that I have been doing a lot of genealogy. So what has been happening since my last post earlier this year?
1) I am finishing up my first set of classes at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies. The Methodology course has been great. There were a total of 14 classes including Transcribing, Abstracting, and Extracting; Effective Searching and Recording; Paleography; Genealogy and Copyright Guidelines; and Genetics and Family Medical History. There are also three in-depth Analysis and Skills classes which help you put the information you learn into practice. Once I complete this course I will start on my focus classes for American and German research. My wife will focus on English and DNA research.
2) We have been very busy with our new genealogy research company, OurAncestories Genealogy. We are completing our first year in business and have had some incredible clients with challenging projects. Several of the projects involved extensive DNA research while looking for birth families. One client had two consecutive generations where non-parental events occurred, making the search even more difficult. Ancestry's Pro Tools and BanyanDNA came along at just the right time to help us with these complex cases. Our projects have included research into 18th century German church records, New Jersey medical school yearbooks, and a variety of other record sets in the midwestern and southern United States. I am also preparing an historical atlas for a tour group that will be visiting their family homes in Germany at the end of next year. So far I have over 50 towns documented for this tour group.
3) My speaking schedule has been pretty active. I have been speaking across Florida and have also done several virtual presentations for groups in England this year. I had two presentations at RootsTech 2024 and will be doing two more presentations at RootsTech 2025. You can see some of my archived RootsTech presentations here. A list of my current presentation topics can be found here.
What is in the future? I plan on continuing my genealogy work and will be able to focus more time on that once I retire. Yes, I am planning on retiring from my full time job as a Supervisory Biologist for the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Everglades Restoration Program at the end of 2025 - a little more than a year from now. I will have spent over 32 years in various environmental protection positions in Florida and it is time to hang up that part of my life and focus on the next phase.
I will be posting more over the next couple months as we approach RootsTech since I am one of the official RootsTech Media representatives again this year.
RootsTech 2025 Early Registration is open until October 31. Virtual online attendance is FREE while in person attendance is currently $99 for all three days. You can register by clicking the image below.
