Minnesota Historical Society new accessions list and more online finding aids

Have Minnesota historical and genealogical connections? Take a look at the recent records accessions plus a long list of newly online finding aids (inventories and other information) for other collections held at the Minnesota History Center in downtown Saint Paul. Before visiting be sure to check the open hours for the Gale Library as it […]

GRIP Genealogy Institute Interviews on YouTube!

This is a great opportunity to learn more about the 2026 courses offered by GRIP. My interview about Digging Deeper: Records, Tools, and Skills for the June virtual week is on the National Genealogical Society’s YouTube channel. Jeanette Shilega does a fantastic job of asking coordinators some questions and understanding what we are saying! Check […]

RootsTech in Salt Lake City is this weekend March 5-7, 2026

Don’t forget to check out the many deals being offered by vendors at RootsTech this weekend. https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/expohall/promotions. DNA kit sales, society membership discounts, genealogy software deals, and more. If  you are not at RootsTech, do you know that many of the presentations are also online. For FREE. https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/registration/online/ Some vendors are posting sales on social […]

Cyndi’s List turns 30 today! A genealogy must have.

It was March 4, 1996 when Cyndi’s List was born. It began as a list of websites for members of the Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society from their own member, Cyndi Ingle. Thirty years later, it’s grown into a worldwide extravaganza of genealogy and history links. Thousands and thousands of links to help our genealogy research. […]

Swedish parish records added to MyHeritage

“If you have Swedish heritage, some of the most important records for tracing your family are now fully available on MyHeritage. We’ve completed the publication of the Sweden Births, Marriages, and Deaths collections, spanning 1850 to 1945 (1920 for births). Together, these collections include more than 33 million historical records drawn from Sweden’s Lutheran Church […]

Pullman Porters records, history, and struggles

It’s already the end of February and Black History Month. It’s been an extra busy month for me with some big decisions, working on genealogy presentations, family things, client consultations, and a whole lotta other stuff. One of the presentations I did this month was for the Western New York Genealogical Society on railroad records. […]

My genealogy speaking calendar has been updated

Sunday is for updating my speaking calendar that can be viewed by clicking on the Speaking tab at the top of the blog. A few dates are waiting for the organization to fully execute our contract and to make their own announcement. If your organization needs a speaker in April, July, and months beyond, I […]

Beltrami County, Minnesota, History Center has added more library and archive space

“Emily Thabes, executive director of the Beltrami County Historical Society, said the addition is a great opportunity to repurpose museum space more effectively while expanding its collections.” The new wing in Bemidji honors longtime supporters and volunteers in its name, the Louis and Mary Lou Marchand Library. Read the full article from Minnesota Public Radio […]

Family history sleuth? Please don’t avoid online family trees.

Every time I see someone posting on social media or saying out loud something akin to “I avoid those online family trees.” That may be followed by a comment that they are useless and baseless. Oh, do I disagree. Do I trust all family history details that someone told me, wrote about today or 120 […]