I’m on the Clock!

The clock is ticking…

The countdown has begun — I’m officially on the clock! I submitted my preliminary application to the Board for Certification of Genealogists, kicking off the journey to become a board-certified genealogist. Although I am excited, I am also a bit anxious about what’s involved and, of course, whether I will pass.

The certification process comes in two parts. I have a year to finish Part 1. While that seems like a lot of time, Part 1 has four elements, some of which are pretty involved.

1. Sign and abide by the Genealogist Code of Ethics
2. List my genealogy activities and discuss how they  helped me prepare for certification
3. Document work: the BCG will supply me with a document, such as a will or deed.
   • Cite the document
   • Transcribe the document
   • Abstract the document
   • Analyze the document
   • Identify a single focused and testable research question
   • Analyze the information and evidence as it relates to the research question
   • Submit a research plan
4. Write a kinship determination project using a descending narrative lineage that includes three generations. It must include two proofs and adhere to the genealogical proof standard.

Yikes! And if I am lucky enough to pass, then I move on to Part 2. The pass rate is low, so I already know this won’t be easy.

Part 2 also has several elements:

1. Once again, I need to sign and abide by the Genealogist Code of Ethics
2. Prepare a research report for another person. It cannot be for or about my own family.
3. Supply a case study from my own research that demonstrates the genealogical proof standard and solves a significant problem of a relationship that can’t be resolved from uncontested direct evidence.

Yikes, again! I am most anxious about the research report since I do not do them often, but each of the elements in Parts 1 and 2 will be challenging.

Why Do This to Myself?

Honestly, I never thought I’d be here. I don’t take clients, and becoming certified wasn’t on my radar. Over the past few years, all I wanted was to become a better genealogist. So why put myself through this? Two reasons: to see how my skills really stack up and to take my research and writing to the next level—maybe even enough to appear in a genealogical journal if the stars align.

I’ve never been all that confident about my writing skills. When I took Mastering the Art of Genealogical Documentation with Thomas Jones, he encouraged us to write and share our family stories, even if we weren’t entirely sure of ourselves. As he put it, why lock all this information away in a database no one will ever see? If uncertainty about our skills got in the way, he suggested starting with family stories on a blog. That advice stuck with me, and it’s what inspired my very first blog post. Over the past four years, I’ve been following that advice, writing family stories on the blog. Now, as I get ready to move to the next level, the certification process will push me to write for a different audience and meet expectations that go beyond blogging. By the end of it, I’m hoping to have work that’s solid, well-crafted, and maybe even worthy of publication.

So, what does this mean for the blog? It might mean fewer posts, or just simpler ones, and I’ll need to be selective, avoiding topics that overlap with my certification work. But I have some ideas to keep it going. Next, I am going to start a Just the Facts series of articles about my grandparents, and we’ll take it from there.

Wish me luck. And yes…there will be citations. Many, many citations…

Des