When we first set out on that long and winding path in search of our ancestors, we usually have a fairly clear view of the first few steps. We've maybe talked with relatives, looked at family photos, and have some useful documents. These are golden nuggets that encourage us to set forth. But the trail soon becomes very misty. We stumble across dead ends and roadblocks. And after that—nothing! What's more, what do we do with those few valuable pieces of information we DO have? They need to be stored safely, but also must be easily available for when we need to use them.
We find out very quickly that we need help.
We at the NGS Learning Center are here to serve as your guides in helping you see the path ahead more clearly. We can alert you to obstacles that might stand in your way, advise you of signposts to put you back on the right track, and provide you with the basic equipment—skills and knowledge—that will support you in your quest.
Through our courses, conferences, research trips, and publications, we can equip not only those just beginning on the path of genealogy, but also those more seasoned travelers. For as all family historians soon discover, learning is never-ending because research problems are constantly changing. With each generation or new family, we face new and more challenging obstacles.
For this reason, we offer a range of Pathways to help you on your genealogical quest. The guide below will give some help in deciding which of these to choose at this stage of your journey— and, we hope, inspire you to get started!
Pathways to Learning
- Basic:
For the beginning family historian, it can be as simple as discovering how to fill in a pedigree chart or finding a new record source online.
These skills can be developed with the NGS online course or the NGS Home Study Course.
- Specialized:
Many records that genealogists use are found in libraries, record repositories, and in special collections. Finding those records and learning how to use them can be a difficult task, particularly when working on immigrant ancestors.
Much-needed help can be gained through participation in an NGS sponsored research trip to: Salt Lake City, Washington DC, Ireland or Germany.
- Advanced:
A seemingly impossible situation is created when the family historian runs out of usable records that enable the researcher to link generations of a family based on statements of fact. Any genealogist might be able to overcome that obstacle by learning something about methodology, for example, learning how to use indirect evidence.
Answers to these problems can be developed by reading the NGS Quarterly or by attending an NGS Conference in the States.
- Technical:
Most family historians will discover that in order to solve a particular research problem they need an exacting skill, one that is directly related to the issue at hand. A classic example is learning how to draw a land plat that depicts an ancestor’s farm.
Such skills can be learned as part of the NGS Home Study Course or at an NGS Conference in the States.
- Personal:
The successful genealogist develops skills that are also very personal. For example, frequently the excitement of finding a record interferes with one’s ability to transcribe all of the information or to cite the source properly. To resolve this kind of problem the family historian needs to develop disciplined research habits.
Personal skills are developed through years of research, learning, and an affiliation with the National Genealogical Society.
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