Introduction to Genealogy

Have you been looking for a genealogy course that offers college credit? Jackson State Community College in Tennessee is offering a 3-hour "Introduction to Genealogy" course which will be taught by Tennessee State Librarian and Archivist, Charles Sherrill. The course will focus mainly on Tennessee genealogical research, but it will cover many source types. Cost of the course is $395. It runs from August 28 to December 15, 2010. The deadline for registration is the first week of class, but you will not want to wait that long to sign up. The course is being taught online and does not have set meeting times. To speed things up, mark "non-degree seeking" on your form so that you don't have to do pre-admissions testing or send high school transcripts. The admissions form is at http://www.jscc.edu/admissions.

Here's a more comprehensive description of the course:

LIB 1001: Introduction to Genealogy. Students in this in-depth course will become familiar with many online and print sources, will interact with one another and the instructor in discussion forums and email, and will complete lessons to learn interesting genealogical skills.

Students will learn

* why people are given certain names at birth
* what family stories and traditions have been passed down
* how to chart what they already know about their ancestry
* how to use free software to organize and manipulate family data
* how to use the records common to genealogists, like the U.S. Federal Census, vital records, and military records
* how to locate and use court records, immigrations, and land records


Class participants will also have access to Ancestry Library edition through ProQuest.

Those interested in taking LIB 1001 in the fall semester at Jackson State Community College will need to apply for admission to the College online at http://www.jscc.edu/admissions. There, find the online admission form, and enroll as a non-degree-seeking student to avoid needing to send transcripts and taking placement testing. The campus ID you are sent upon admission will allow you to register for the course online.