Speaker: Irene Lambert, MGA
Talk: “Genealogy Document Examination: Identifying the Writer of Your Family Papers” [T-110]
Date: Thursday, April 7, 2011
Time: 12:15pm
Irene in her own words:
“I met a handwriting analyst while working for Edward Hospital in Illinois. The hospital was doing a feature on the analyst for our in-house paper, so she went around talking with employees and analyzing their writing. When she looked at my writing, she said that I had a great sense of humor and enjoyed laughing. I was the Secretary to the President of the Hospital, so I was very serious in that position, and I wondered how she knew. She taught the basics of handwriting analysis, and I signed up. That did it for me. It explained so much about me and others, that I decided to take the course and become certified. At the end of the certification course, we had to do a complete analysis and report. My husband urged me to analyze him, so I did. We had been married 27 years at that point, and yet I found out things about him I did not know. Luckily, they were positive traits, and they helped me to better understand him.”
“Graphology is the generic term for handwriting analysis and is listed in The Library of Congress under “Psychology.” It is also listed as “Miscellaneous Professions” in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Both of these publications are published by the U.S. Government.”“I have been certified in handwriting analysis since 1985, receiving my Master’s certification in 1992 from the International Graphoanalysis Society. I have self-published two books for my fellow analysts, Vocational Direction Through Handwriting Analysis: The Vocational Graphoanalytic Inventory and Genealogy Graphoanalysis. The Vocational book was written after I created and copyrighted a system to identify aptitudes by analyzing the handwriting of an individual. I was fascinated with the idea that I could counsel people on the best careers for them by analyzing their handwriting. My degree is in Medical Office Management, which was the wrong career for me. I think that is the reason why vocational handwriting analysis interested me so much. After receiving several requests by genealogists, I wrote a handwriting analysis book offering the basics in measurements and trait locations, Graphoanalysis for Genealogy.”
“Ten years, ago, I got involved with genealogy handwriting analysis and realized the wealth of information I could offer people about their ancestors. Some of the information includes emotional makeup, thinking patterns, fears, how they cope with their fears, success traits, and aptitudes. People get very excited to finally know their relatives. I was asked to join The Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council, Inc., and I enjoy participating in their Road Shows. The public signs up with a genealogist and some sign up for me, bringing in the writing of an ancestor. During one of these sessions, a woman brought in several samples of writing, knowing the writer of only one sample. She asked me if the others were written by that same person. This gave me a great idea to include this information for the general public. I studied document examination and did some cases in the past for detecting forgery. In Genealogy Document Examination, the main function would be comparing the writing to a known document and identifying the writer. My talk for this NERGC in 2011 will be on Genealogy Document Examination. My first two NERGC presentations were focused on the basics of handwriting analysis, but I thought that I would offer information on document examination to help people identify the writings of their ancestors. I will, though, give a brief explanation of handwriting analysis.”
Irene Lambert, MGA
Lambert received my B.S. degree from Rider University, Trenton, NJ, and a Competent Toastmaster Certification from Toastmaster’s International. She has a Master’s Certfication in Graphoanalysis (1992) from the International Graphoanalysis Society. She was named “Graphoanalyst of the Year” (2005) by The International Graphoanalysis Society of Ontario, Canada.
She has been giving lectures and seminars since 1987. She has appeared on Television shows and the WINE radio show in Connecticut. Her web site is: www.iplambert LLC.com.
The New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC)
The New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) is being held April 6-10, 2011 in Springfield, MA. More information is available from the conference website.