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BCG Education Fund


The BCG Education Fund, a tax-exempt charitable trust, was created in October 2002 to promote the educational aims of the Board for Certification of Genealogists by distributing grants to qualifying individuals and organizations or for projects that serve BCG's overall mission to the genealogical community.

The Education Fund operates under section 5.01(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to the Fund are tax-deductible.

Helen F. M. Leary Distinguished Lecture Series
Hands-on Workshops at National Genealogical Conferences
Donald Mosher Memorial Award for Virginia Research
Application Information for the 2008 Mosher Award
Scholarships to National Genealogical Institutes and Conferences
Contact Us at the BCG Education Fund


Helen F. M. Leary Distinguished Lecture Series

In October 2006, as part of its mission to foster genealogical education, the BCG Education Fund established the Helen F. M. Leary Distinguished Lecture Series.

The series is named in honor of Helen F. M. Leary, Certified Genealogist (Emeritus), Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, former BCG president and long-time trustee who is known for her richly informative and entertaining lectures on methodology and regional subjects. Among her other contributions to genealogical education, Helen developed and coordinated the Professional Genealogy Track at Samford University Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, was editor and contributing author of North Carolina Research, and wrote several chapters for Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians including the chapter about lecturing. Her many scholarly publications include the seminal National Genealogical Society Quarterly study "Sally Hemming's Children: A Genealogical Analysis of the Evidence." Throughout her career Helen has worked to promote the educational aims of BCG, goals shared with the BCG Education Fund.

Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, will present the first Helen F. M. Leary Distinguished Lecture at the 2007 National Genealogical Society Conference in the States at Richmond, Virginia. A current BCG trustee and former BCG president, Jones has lectured frequently at national and regional conferences since 1997 on methodology and problem solving topics. In 2004 he received the Graham T. Smallwood Award from the Association of Professional Genealogists "for his leadership role to increase genealogical standards." His topic for the inaugural lecture is "Honesty, Courtesy, and Confidentiality: Ethics for Family Historians."

Lectures that focus on other aspects of genealogical education are under consideration for future conferences.

2008 Lecture Series


Hands-on Workshops at National Conferences

These extended sessions allow participants time to put theory into practice by working with documents and applying current research standards.

Next Workshop: National Genealogical Society’s Conference in the States 2007

Daylong Preconference at NGS 2007 in Richmond: Putting Skills to Work: Abstracts and Arguing. Mary McCampbell Bell, CG, will lead the document work on abstracting. Marty Hiatt, CG, will instruct on writing proof summaries.

Previous Projects

Daylong Preconference at NGS 2006 in Chicago: Putting Skills to Work: Research Planning and Report Writing, with Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, and Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL, on planning research; Marty Hiatt, CG, on writing reports; and Barbara Mathews, CG, on writing genealogical narratives.

Three-Hour Sessions at NGS 2005 in Nashville: Christine Rose, CG, CGL, "More Abstracting Records for Accuracy and Success" on probate records.

Three-Hour Sessions at NGS 2004 in Pittsburgh: Mary McCampbell Bell, CG, "Abstracting Records for Accuracy and Success" on land records.

Three-Hour Sessions at FGS 2004 in Austin: Christine Rose, CG, CGL, "More Abstracting Records for Accuracy and Success" on probate records.

2008 Workshops


Donald Mosher Memorial Award for Colonial Virginia Research

Merrill Mosher, CG, of Coos Bay, Oregon established the Donald Mosher Memorial Award in 2001 in memory of her husband of thirty-two years. The competitive award is given to a researcher submitting a Virginia family genealogy, a research paper on a Virginia immigrant, or an outline and plan for making previously unpublished Virginia records available. The Board for Certification of Genealogists Education Fund, a charitable trust that supports genealogical education, administers the award.

2006 Award Winner: James Lively of England, for his study identifying the 16th and 17th century English origins of the Underwood family of Virginia.

2005 Award Winner: James W. Petty, CG, AG, of Salt Lake City, Utah, for his work extracting headrights from Virginia county records.

2002 Award Winner: Selena Mayes DuLac, for publishing a book of on Henrico County, Virginia, land patent abstracts with plat maps.

Application for the 2009 Donald Mosher Award

Scholarships to National Genealogical Institutes and Conferences

In previous years, the BCG Education Fund sponsored scholarships to national conferences and institutes. These scholarships helped eight attendees defray the costs of attending these 2002 and 2003 conferences and institutes:

  • National Institute of Genealogical Research
  • Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research
  • National Genealogy Society Conference
  • Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference


Contact Us at the BCG Education Fund

BCG Education Fund
P.O. Box 14291
Washington, D.C. 20044


The five volunteer trustees of the BCG Ed Fund are:

Mary McCampbell Bell, CG, Secretary and Treasurer
Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL, Conference Coordinator
Marty Hiatt, CG
Barbara Jean Mathews, CG
Kathy Gunter Sullivan, CG


Counsel for the BCG Education Fund is Donn Devine, JD, CG, CGL.

 

 



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