Minneapolis, Minnesota building permits available for historical research, too

Paula Stuart-Warren  Libraries, Minnesota  , , ,  Leave a comment

On January 14, 2025, I posted about the new online availability of Saint Paul, Minnesota building permits via the Ramsey County Historical Society. Apparently it was a popular subject to blog about. On social media and through this blog, I’ve been asked about those for Minneapolis. Yes, they are available and at NO COST! No, I don’t know about online availability for other cities and haven’t researched for more.

The downtown Minneapolis Center Library is part of the Hennepin County Library system. The Special Collections section has many fabulous research collections, indexes, and other material. The Minneapolis Building Permit Index Cards are just one part of what you’ll find there. They are digitized online and are part of a website area related to “researching the history of homes, buildings and neighborhoods.” The cards cover 1884-1974. Access this collection via https://www.hclib.org/en/programs/genealogy-local-history/researching-homes.

 The card below is one example of a home built in 1933 and faced the wrecking ball in January 9f 1973. The address was 6008 45th Ave. So. Based on its location, I probably drove by it many times as I lived not that far away on the Saint Paul side of the Mississippi River. and often visited the nearby popular Minnehaha Park as a child and then with my own children and grandchildren. The grouping of cards that includes the card below covers a section of 45th Ave. South with house numbers beginning with 6000. This card is from https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/collection/PermitCards/id/99833/rec/8

 

 

Next up for me: West Valley Genealogical Seminar in Arizona

Paula Stuart-Warren  Lectures, Seminars  , , , ,  Leave a comment

On Saturday, February 15, 2025, I will be in Sun City West, Arizona with the West Valley Genealogical Society. It’s an all day in-person Seminar. The seminar location is Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church in Sun City West. It’s great to be returning to the WVGS! I will be presenting four topics, including handouts and time for Q&A. Only a few days left to register (ends February 10) and your registration fee includes the program, continental breakfast, box lunch, beverages and raffle prizes. https://azwvgs.org/store/seminar/

• Developing Successful Research Habits
• Finding Maiden Names: Let Me Count The Ways
• Stuck? Have You Tried . . .? Have You Overlooked . . . ?
• The Farmer in the Dell . . . and in Many U.S. Records

 

 

Free BCG-sponsored webinar February 18

Paula Stuart-Warren  Board for Certification of Genealogists, Uncategorized, Webinars  , , ,  Leave a comment

FREE BCG-SPONSORED WEBINAR
“Applying Research Standards to the Census”
by Diane MacLean Boumenot, CG
Tuesday, February 18, 2025, 8:00 p.m. (EST)

After years of using census records, genealogists may take for granted that they’re using them fully and correctly. But as they learn about genealogy standards and best practices, do they go back and re-think their census practices? What does it even mean to evaluate a census record? Let’s learn a bit more about the U.S. census and the specific ways that standards can help us maximize its usefulness.

Diane MacLean Boumenot, CG, specializes in southern New England family history research. She has published articles in several journals and in 2018 she co-authored, with Maureen Taylor, the National Genealogical Society’s Research in the States volume on Rhode Island. Diane currently serves as editor of the journal Rhode Island Roots. In 2023, she was the recipient of The National Genealogical Society’s Lou D. Szucs Distinguished Service Award for her contributions to the Advanced Skills in Genealogy course and received the Robert M. Sherman Award for Exemplifying High Qualities of Scholarship and Genealogy from the Rhode Island Genealogical Society. She holds a B.A. in American History and English from Wesleyan University. Diane serves as Mentor, ProGen 68 and is the Past President of the New England Chapter, Association of Professional Genealogists.

BCG’s next free monthly webinar in conjunction with Legacy Family Tree Webinars is “Applying Research Standards to the Census” by Diane MacLean Boumenot, CG. This webinar airs Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. EST.

When you register before February 18 with our partner Legacy Family Tree Webinars (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9364) you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Anyone with schedule conflicts may access the webinar at no charge for one week after the broadcast on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website

Only 2 days till GRIP Genealogy Institute 2025 registration

Paula Stuart-Warren  GRIP, GRIP Genealogy Institute  , , ,  Leave a comment

It’s almost here. 2 more days! Online registration for GRIP Genealogy Institute 2025 is on Tuesday February 4 at 1:00 pm EST for the June online courses, 3:00 pm EST for the July in-person courses. Please join my NEW online course 22-27 June and also enjoy fantastic instructors & an extensive syllabus that is only for course registrants. Beyond Digging Deeper features more discussion, hands-on work, and ultra-experienced instructors. Course Registrants will be able to watch videos of this course for 14 days after the end of the course so you can make sure you didn’t miss any points. View the course session details at https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/beyond-digging-deeper-sources-methods-and-practices/

Be totally set for registration opening by being pre-prepared (yes, I typed that!). Scroll down this page for FAQs to get you ready so you don’t miss out. https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/faq/

 

 

1 week till 2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute registration opens on February 4th.

Paula Stuart-Warren  GRIP, GRIP Genealogy Institute  , ,  Leave a comment

What are you doing in June and July? Maybe some genealogical research and hopefully that will be accompanied by continuing genealogical education? There’s always more to learn and I have some wonderful suggestions for that education. This institute has been around for quite a while and the number of returning students is a testament to the camaraderie and level of education. There is something for everyone.


ONE WEEK from today, 4 February 2025, is when registration opens for the 2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute. For more details on courses and registration:


Course description and sessions: https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/#1#schedule
Registration FAQ: Scroll down the page for registration information and to be sure you are ready to log in on the 4th to get your first course choice. https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/faq/

I am coordinating the June 23-27 NEW course Beyond Deeper: Sources, Methods, and Practices. The other instructors and I meet weekly to be sure the syllabus and presentations will also be Beyond! Our many years of active and in-depth research experience and benefits of our own continuing education will be yours that week. Each session will be recorded and available through Friday, 11 July 2025, at 11:59 PM ET. How’s that for more Beyond!
https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/beyond-digging-deeper-sources-methods-and-practices.

On Wednesday of the virtual week, I will be teaching in the course The Spirit of the Inland Seas: Research in the Great Lakes Region that is coordinated by Cari Taplin who also teaches in the Beyond Digging Deeper course.

 

I’ll be watching for you on social media next week to learn who is joining us for GRIP 2025!

 

New York genealogy and legal connections? Still issues with vital records and the need to act now

Paula Stuart-Warren  Vital records  , ,  Leave a comment

If it’s not one thing, it’s several more. Yes, that’s a bit of a change from the usual phrase, but it applies in this case. Great that the New York Department of Health and the Governor’s current budget proposal strives to provide quicker action for requested vital records. However, it also means much higher costs to anyone needing a record and suggests longer terms of non-access. Read more and respond quickly. It will affect community, land, and probate research among other legal endeavors. I worry about my research for Native American Tribes and individuals, and law firms. Act now. More to learn at https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/blog/call-action-regarding-access-new-york-state-vital-records

Australia Day free records access January 25-28

Paula Stuart-Warren  MyHeritage  ,  Leave a comment

From MyHeritage: A special announcement for those with family ties Down Under: in honor of Australia Day, we’re offering free access to more than 300 Australian historical record collections, including vital records, electoral rolls, convict records, and much more! The records will be free starting Saturday through Tuesday, January 25–28, 2025.

The free records include 118.9 million historical records from every category. These records can help Australians piece together the stories of their ancestors, whether they were among the first settlers, immigrants seeking a new life, or individuals who contributed to the nation’s development in other ways.

 

 

 

Interview of GRIP coordinators are live and it’s 15 days till 2025 genealogy course registration!

Paula Stuart-Warren  GRIP, Institutes, Uncategorized  , , ,  Leave a comment

I was recently interviewed about my new online course for the GRIP Genealogy Institute June 22-27, 2025. Jeanette Sheliga was so much fun to talk with and her questions were perfectly directed. You can view it by visiting https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/beyond-digging-deeper-sources-methods-and-practices/. It features the image of part of my own office and reference bookshelves at home.

That website is also where you can learn a bit more about this new course I am coordinating, Beyond Digging Deeper: Sources, Methods, and Practices. It’s part of the June virtual week of GRIP and includes 4 full days and 1 half-day of great instructors, an extensive syllabus, and session recordings to review for 2 weeks after the course. I am also an instructor in another course that week, https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/the-spirit-of-the-inland-seas-research-in-the-great-lakes-region/ led by Cari Taplin.

Registration opens February 4 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time for the June week courses (Noon CST, 11 a.m. MST, 10:00 a.m. PST, and 10:00 a.m. in British Columbia where some of my distant cousins reside.) Registration opens at 3:00 p.m. for the in-person week courses in Pittsburgh July 13-18. Be sure to check the FAQ section of the NGS GRIP website to learn how to set up your account before registration opens.

 



 

Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota transcribed building permits online.

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  , , ,  2 Comments

The Ramsey County Historical Society has announced that St. Paul Building Permit Collection is now online. My warning is that it is not the original records, but information copied during the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) era. I have not yet used the online access.

“This is a collection of index cards and permit files record permitted work performed on St. Paul houses and building from 1883-1975. These cards record the history of your house or building, including the dates and costs of original construction, additions, alterations, moves, and wrecks (demolition). The information was originally recorded by hand, then written onto cards by WPA workers in the 1930s, which were added to by City of St. Paul staff until 1975, when the system was computerized. Visit https://rchs.com/collections/ to learn more and create an account. Cost: $5 – 24 hours; $25 – 1 week; $100 – 1 month; $400 – Annual Pass.”

 

 

FREE Railroad Records half-day online seminar 18 January

Paula Stuart-Warren  Railroads, Webinars  , ,  Leave a comment

I’ve been busy updating a couple of my U.S. railroad presentations for this coming Saturday, 18 January 2025. It’s amazing how fast things related to genealogical and historical research are updated or appear for the first time on an almost daily basis. Lots of new and expanded things to share this coming Saturday morning on railroad records and history from all over the U.S. It’s a FREE half-day seminar on behalf of the Peoria Public Library of Illinois. You don’t even need a Peoria library card to join us. The event includes an expansive set of handouts with reminders of what is presented and tons of books and websites for more information. Whether your interest is in railroad records or history, this is the event for you. Register at https://peoria.librarycalendar.com/event/riding-rails-railroad-records-and-family-history-16167



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