The ASG Scholar Award rewards talented genealogists with stipends to pursue advanced academic training in genealogy. At its annual meeting on October 26, 2024, the American Society of Genealogists granted the ASG Scholar Award to Allison Kotter, of Ringgold, Georgia, for a manuscript (research report) on the Fambro family of Georgia. Ms. Kotter plans to use the award to attend the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in 2025.

At the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Genealogists on October 26, 2024, the Society voted to present the Donald Lines Jacobus Award to The Vick Genealogy: The Study of a Southern American Family in White and Black, 2 vols.  (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Press for the Joseph Vick Family of America, 2023), by John Beatty, CG.

The author, John Beatty, CG, is Senior Librarian at the Genealogy Center of the Allen County (Indiana) Public Library, a nationally-known institution for genealogical research.

This work covers seven generations of male-line descendants of Joseph¹ Vick, who immigrated to Isle of Wight County, Virginia, some years before 1674. The work is notable for its thoroughness and professionalism. A particularly notable feature is its inclusion of Vick descendants of color, including some formerly enslaved by members of the Vick family, and descendants who are traced through a combination of DNA and other evidence. This work is a thought-provoking model for inclusive treatment of known and possible descendants who were both free and enslaved, white and persons of color.

The Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists are pleased to announce the four 2024 recipients of ASG Continuing Genealogical Research Grants.

Shadidah Ahmad of Watertown, Mass. (awarded a second grant in continuation of the 2023 grant), to locate and record funeral programs from churches and funeral homes, and to conduct interviews with local elders, to document the African American cemeteries in Holly Hill and Cottageville, South Carolina. The programs are being copied and digitized, their information captured on Excel sheets and entered into a lineage-linked database. Her goals for 2024 include creating a website with the digitized materials she has collected and expanding research to family Bibles as well as records of church organizations. In-person visits with community elders, two aged 100 and 102, and with family members in charge of burial plots, etc., will add flesh to the stories of a “rapidly dying history in these small, yet rich towns.”

Carolyne Ngara of Nairobi, Kenya, for  “A Comprehensive Genealogical Research of the Luo people of Kenya.”  The Joka Jok oral history program has conducted 50 interviews with members of 24 Luo clans, with the expectation of eventually conducting over 100, “preserving over half a million records on the Luo.”  Original documents, bibliographies, indexes, geographical locations, migration patterns and legal history of the Luo ethnic groups of Kenya will be compiled and studied.  The preservation of endangered records is an urgent motivator in the face of political conflict in the area.  The Luo population in Kenya comprises about four million, or 13% of the total population of Kenya, with other Luo people living in Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. U.S. President Barack Obama is a descendant of the Luo clan.

Kelly Richardson of Dickinson, North Dakota, to continue work with the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy on a project to restore and document the Gualala River Cemetery in Northern California.  Over 100 individuals buried in the long-neglected cemetery have been identified, genealogical research has been done, and descendants, most of whom do not know they have an ancestor buried there, have been contacted. Twenty-nine family sketches already published on the website (www.rclc.org/gualala-cemetery) include immigrants from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ontario, New Brunswick, Ohio, Missouri, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Norway, and West Prussia.

Pamela Vittorio of Brooklyn, New York City, for the project “Navigating the Records of the New York Canals (1817 to 1918): A Guide for Genealogical Research.” Tied to the bicentennial of the Erie Canal in 2025, this project evaluates and presents for publication records of the Erie and connecting lateral canals using the archives of The New York State Canal Society (at the New York State Archives), the Library of Congress, and New York Public Library, and regional collections. It is intended to supply researchers with tools, examples, and strategies for their work, and to help identify and find records of ancestors who may have worked along or been passengers on the canals. The project includes compilation of databases of people named in the records.

Applications are now being accepted for the ASG Scholar Award for 2025 (deadline: September 30, 2024). This annual grant of $2,000 is awarded for study at one of six major academic genealogical programs in the United States (listed below). Candidacy is open to all genealogists, genealogical librarians, and researchers working in related fields. Applicants submit a published work or a manuscript of work in progress, to be judged by a panel of three Fellows. The goal of the award is to recognize talent and build genealogical expertise by providing promising genealogists the opportunity to receive advanced academic training in genealogy.

The award granted at the ASG annual meeting in the fall of each year is to defray costs of attending a program in the following calendar year.

The ASG Scholar Award provides financial assistance for a developing scholar to attend one of six academic programs in American genealogy: the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) under the auspices of the Georgia Genealogical Society (formerly based at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala.); the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed), formerly NIGR, in Washington, D.C.; the Certificate Program in Genealogical Research at Boston University; the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG); or the GRIP Genealogy Institute; or one of two online courses, Advanced Genealogical Research (GENE 350) or Genetic Genealogy (GENE 201), at Excelsior University, Albany, New York. The recipient of the ASG Scholar Award may register for the program of his or her choice. The award is given in October of each calendar year, with the intention that it is used for genealogical study in the following calendar year.

• The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed), formerly NIGR, held for one week each July and based at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., is the nation’s oldest institute for genealogical education, founded in 1950. Gen-Fed provides a unique program of advanced instruction in the use of National Archives records. Write to: Gen-Fed Director, P.O. Box 24564, Baltimore, MD 21214.
• The Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), held for one week each year, was founded in 1964 to provide a structured program of genealogical study at an academic level. Based through 2016 at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, it moved to Georgia in 2017 and is affiliated with the Georgia Genealogical Society. IGHR offers tracks of study, ranging from beginning to advanced research methodology, professional genealogy, and other specialized topics. Contact: Georgia Genealogical Society, PO Box 550247, Atlanta, GA 30355-2747; email: iighr@gagensociety.org.
• The Genealogical Research Certificate Program at Boston University consists of five modules, offered on Saturdays in seven-hour sessions: Foundations, Technology, Evidence, Forensic, and Ethnic and Geographic Specialties. Write to: Center for Professional Education, 1010 Commonwealth Ave., 2nd Floor, Boston MA 02215; or web: genealogyonline.bu.edu.
• The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), sponsored by the Utah Genealogical Association, is in its 20th year and is a week-long intensive educational experience that takes students deep into their topic of choice. SLIG is dedicated to offering courses that fill a high-intermediate and advanced-level educational need. However, each year a handful of courses are included which provide a wealth of information and background information required to help intermediate and transitional genealogists strengthen their core understanding of the research process. Write to: The Utah Genealogical Association, PO Box 1144, Salt Lake City, UT 84110 or contact info@ugagenealogy.org.
• The GRIP Genealogy Institute is offered in virtual and in-person sessions (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) each year, led by instructors who are all experienced genealogical researchers, lecturers, and writers who bring their expertise into the classroom with case studies and problem solving exercises. The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds but all share their passion for family history and for learning how to efficiently break down “brick wall” genealogical puzzles. Various different week-long genealogical courses which incorporate hands-on learning in a state-of-the-art and friendly community atmosphere. Contact: grip@ngsgenealogy.org.
• GENE 350 (Advanced Genealogical Research—15 weeks) or GENE 201 (Genetic Genealogy—8 weeks) at Excelsior University, Albany, New York. These undergraduate credit-bearing courses are taught online by leaders in the field and meet or exceed standards for both genealogy and genetic genealogy.

Applications

Applicants for the ASG Scholar Award for 2025 should apply before September 30, 2024, by submitting the items below:

• a résumé that emphasizes activities relating to genealogy and lists the applicant’s publications in the field, if any (prior publications are not necessary).
• a manuscript or published work of at least 5,000 words, demonstrating an ability to conduct quality genealogical research, analyze results, and report findings in an appropriately documented fashion. If the submission is to be returned, it should be accompanied by an envelope or bagging with sufficient postage.
• a statement (100–150 words) which (1) identifies the candidate’s choice of program and (2) explains why the candidate feels that attendance will enhance his or her growth as a genealogical scholar.

The ASG Scholarship Committee, chaired by the ASG vice-president, will make the selection for the award. Announcement of the award winner will be made by November 10, 2024. Applications should be addressed to:

Nathaniel Lane Taylor, Chair
ASG Scholar Award Com­mittee
P.O. Box 11
Barrington, RI 02806

Email submission is preferred, to: nltaylor@nltaylor.net

Read more about the award and see a list of past recipients at Awards > ASG Scholar Award.

The American Society of Genealogists announces 2024 Continuing Genealogy Research Grants. Four grants of $2500 each are available. Grant projects can involve a wide spectrum of genealogical interests. More details, and descriptions of grants given in 2022 and 2023, are available on our website at this link, along with an application packet. The application deadline for this cycle is March 1, 2024.

These grants were established by ASG in 2022 as a limited program to assist genealogists with the unfinished, un-started, or “back burner” projects we all have on our desks waiting for financial aid to help cover researching/writing time, costs of supplies, fees, travel, and other usual genealogical research expenses.

Reception to the program has been remarkably rewarding, attracting superior projects that will be valuable to many researchers and writers. Last year we received 17 applications for four grants. We expect that number will rise as news spreads of the impressive work the grants are supporting.

The Society’s 85th Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, October 28, 2023, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with 39 Fellows in attendance, 14 in person and 25 by videoconference. Some of the remote and in-person attendees posed together:

Left to right: Joslyn, Murphy, T. Jones, Garrett-Nelson, J. Anderson, Gumina, Dearborn, Bamberg, Williams, Stott, Hoff, Johnson, Saxbe. Not pictured: Taylor.

Some remote attendees:

Row 1: Rose, Remington, Mathews, Sanborn, Hart.
Row 2: Harris, W. Fiske,  Baldwin, Hinchliff, Mills.
Row 3: H. Jones, Smith, Dobson, Reed, J. Fiske.
Row 4: Sperry, Hatcher, Battle, Hill, Byrne.
Row 5: West, C. Hansen.
Not pictured: J. Hansen, Hyde, Mahler.

The ASG Scholar Award rewards talented genealogists with stipends to pursue advanced academic training in genealogy. At its annual meeting on October 28, 2023, the American Society of Genealogists granted the ASG Scholar Award to Jari C. Honora, CG, of New Orleans, Louisiana, for his unpublished monograph, “Rooted in Revolution, Radicalism, and Race: The Roudanez Family.” Mr. Honora plans to use the award to attend the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in 2024.

At the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Genealogists on October 28, 2023, the Society voted to give its Donald Lines Jacobus Award to Descendants of Thomas Snell (1634–1725) of Fillongley, Warwickshire, England and Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts  (Baltimore, Maryland: Otter Bay Books, 2019), by Stephen F. Snell.

A mid-seventeenth-century immigrant to Bridgwater, Plymouth Colony, is traced in the classic five-generation format in all lines, covering about two thousand descendants. An extraordinary feature of this work is an appendix presenting images and transcriptions of eighty-four documents handed down in the Snell family, including thirty original deeds from 1677 through the eighteenth century, many of them (including the earliest) never recorded in their appropriate jurisdictions, and therefore not available elsewhere.

The Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists held their annual meeting on Saturday, October 28, 2023. Darcie Hind Posz of Washington, District of Columbia, was elected to the Society as its 173rd Fellow.

Ms. Posz, a Certified Genealogist, has worked professionally as a librarian, genealogist, or researcher for private hereditary societies and the federal government, including the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (U.S. Department of the Interior), and, currently, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (U. S. Department of Defense). She has balanced professional research employment with a tireless record of service to scholarly genealogical organizations including the Board for Certification of Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (GenFed), and Association of Professional Genealogists.

As a genealogical writer, Ms. Posz has, to date, published two books and dozens of articles in national and specialized genealogical journals. Not only are her publications substantial in quantity and quality, but they cover an unusually wide demographic, geographical, and methodological range. Ms. Posz is expanding our acquaintance with the great breadth of American genealogy, and doing so in style.

The Fellows acknowledge the passing of Harry Macy Jr. (1935–2023), our 133rd Fellow. A cherished expert in New York genealogy, Harry is remembered as a gracious and generous mentor by all of us who worked with and learned from him. A fuller memorial will follow in due course.