My genealogy presentations calendar updated

I have updated my listing of genealogy presentations for 2025. Most are virtual, but a few are in-person. https://genealogybypaula.com/speaking/ The first in-person one is in Sun City, Arizona on Saturday, 15 February. They wanted me back. It’s a great group of researchers.

Many of the Webinars are for genealogical societies or libraries where I have previously done presentations. If you are interested in attending any of these, click on the name of the organization to visit their website. and see the full details, costs, and more. Many of the webinars are free initially. It might be a while before some of the mid-year presentations are posted to those websites.  The notation “Details TBA”  means that I have a contract for the date, but the topic and other details are not yet formalized. If a library, genealogical or historical society, or other organization is seeking a speaker, reach out to me PaulaStuartWarren at gmail.com for details that I will send by return email.

In the meantime, check under the Speaking tab above for Topics and then the link for  Descriptions for most of those titles. To visit the updated 2025 presentations list as it stands today, click on that same Speaking tab or use the link in the first paragraph above.

 

Holiday Sale Legacy Family Tree Webinars thru December 6

Still thinking about a membership in Legacy Family Tree Webinars? Here are at atsome reasons to do it now for NEW memberships only! I’ve heard there are some special things happening in 2025.

Get 50% off a full year’s webinar membership (new memberships only).

Membership provides 24/7 access to 2,300+ full-length genealogy classes.

PLUS all 9,000+ pages of instructors’ handouts.

PLUS all the new ones in 2025 at any time you want to view them, 

Just $24.98 (new memberships only)

Learn about Google, places and ethnicities, methodology and skills, organizing your genealogy, writing, tips for using genealogy websites, publishing, and more.

Offer begins on Dec 1 2024, and expires on Friday, Dec 6 2024, at 11:59pm MT.

I appreciate those who join using my affiliate link for this sale that provides some help in supporting costs associated with this blog. http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9346

 

 

My long-time forays into Native American research as Native American Heritage Month ends

November was Native American Heritage Month in the United States. My involvement in Native American genealogical research, historical research, enrollment issues, court cases, and making family connections for others is an important part of my work.


It began with a call from a lawyer. Nothing bad, but a twist in my professional genealogist career was on the way. He verified my name and said he noted I was a Board-certified genealogist (Board for Certification of Genealogists). The Native American law firm needed a researcher with credentials and experience in research to work on cases for a Native American Tribe. The law firm and Tribal officials approved of using my services. I was honored. I do not have Native American blood. I would have been further honored to be able to say that I did.
The work was extensive, the case was solved with in-depth genealogical and historical research. A couple trusted subcontractors assisted in the work. I testified in a court proceeding. The case was won.

The records collected and the large number of names, dates, places, and relationships helped in additional cases for the same Tribe and law firm. We suggested to combine the work and start a database for future reference for me or the Tribe in its own work. No sense revisiting the same records over and over. A Tribal Archive began and one of my subcontractors (my oldest son) was hired away to handle that and other work for the Tribe. A dozen years later, many extended trips to the U.S. National Archives (NARA), historical societies, courthouses, libraries, and some online work, the project ended for my sons and me.

Then I did work for other law firms and Tribes around the U.S. based on recommendations from the original law firm and its attorneys. More detailed reports and court testimony and opportunities to encourage more complete citations. Enrollment department consultations when requested, a multi-year contract as chair of an enrollment committee, and work with Tribes seeking federal recognition. I was still doing some work for individual clients with U.S. and Canadian research and others with specifically Native American research needs.
Until recently my oldest son still worked part time with me. His background complemented my work. We both read many older Bureau of Indian Affairs documents at NARA and some online. Many were shocking and not in a good way. The prejudice was way too evident. There were some good things, but those were few and far between. The way the government treated Native Americans, including young children, still makes me shudder.


On an upbeat side, several occasions still make me smile at my research results.
• Presenting a Tribal member with a newspaper photo of her great grandmother. The first time she saw a photo of her.
• Presenting a different Tribal member with the documentation proving that her half-brother truly was her half-brother. This was found by reading page by page, file by file at NARA.
• Showing a Tribal Chairman a photo of his grandfather and his chickens. It was found at NARA.
• Locating the proof that a man was truly the grandchild of full blood Native Americans.
• Providing a Tribe with an original document of one of its base rolls used for enrollment purposes. It was not in an expected type of file at NARA but was extremely useful with its added notations not present in other versions.


2025 means continued general genealogy client work with U.S. and Canada connections. I am still planning to be involved with Native American research in the U.S. and some in Canada and the joy that positive results bring to others and to me. I hope to fit in some more time on my own ancestry. A couple of my great great grandparents still taunt me!

 

 

Post Civil War: Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

The Civil War had ended. The surviving Union military personnel had returned home. Some healthy, many injured or otherwise disabled. It was a time for mourning the loss of many fellow military members. Coming home was difficult as the soldier or sailor had changed and so had their family, neighbors, and employers. What was missing and what was needed to still support each other? Various organizations were formed including the GAR.

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was formed for several reasons. I have always believed that camaraderie was one of the main reasons it began. Then there were the reasons to help support families of those who perished or were injured maimed in the war. Burials were provided with all the pageantry due to those who give their lives for the country. It grew into a major political force for many years.


The GAR was organized at the state level and individual posts gradually formed in places around the state. Larger cities generally had multiple posts. Many posts were named in honor of important battles, to commemorate fellow comrades or officers.

The GAR originated in Decatur, Illinois in 1866. The last GAR member died on 2 August 1956 in Duluth, Minnesota. He was Albert Woolson who was born in New York but later moved to Minnesota as a child and served in the war from Minnesota. Thus, the GAR came to its last day.

In a future blog post, I will cover more about Woolson, the records created by the posts and where to find those that still exist. Hint: there are many. Two Minnesota links for more information and a link to extensive information and records are below.

 
https://www.mnopedia.org/group/grand-army-republic-minnesota

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Minnesota,Grand_Army_of_the_Republic_Membership_Records-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records

• Check Cyndi’s List for multiple pages of links to general GAR and specific states. https://www.cyndislist.com/societies/fraternal/gar/?page=1

 

FamilySearch 130 years strong for all family historians

I remember my first visits to the acclaimed FamilySearch Library (formerly called Family History Library) in Salt Lake City. Those were followed by many extended research visits. All three of my adult children have been part of some trips there. Now I need to get back there for some specific things, but in the meantime, I am a fan of all that FamilySearch is placing online for research. I regularly use the FamilySearch Research Wiki. I have attended RootsTech. I even co-wrote a book about the fabulous library, the records, and the city of Salt Lake. Your Guide to the Family History Library: How to Access the World’s Largest Genealogy Resource is now outdated due to all the fantastic changes to the library and the city since it was published in 2001. When compiling the book, we had great cooperation from the library. Here we are in November 2024 and FamilySearch is celebrating 130 years. Any family historian is welcome at the library and on the growing finding aids and digitized material online today. I wonder what the proper gift is for the 130th anniversary?

 

 

 

Recent Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Large Grants 

I am always thrilled when historical organizations post lists of awards and grants to organizations. A few of the grants in Minnesota are listed after this press release excerpt. Shelving for collections, ADA access, preservation of historical buildings, histories, and other items are on the recipients list. Many more can be viewed at https://www.mnhs.org/media/news/legacy-amendment-large-grants-fy25

City of Appleton, Appleton, $75,450
To develop a new website and related materials that enables better public access to the history of the Minnesota River Valley.

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Cloquet, $49,000
To hire a tribal historian to research the history of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Nagaajiwanaang) in preparation for a future exhibit.

Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, $75,500
To provide better organization of the community’s archival collections, allowing for greater public access to historic resources.

Ramsey County Historical Society, St. Paul, $165,471
To digitize approximately 2.5 million Ramsey County Assessor Field Cards from 1915-2007, allowing for greater public access to this historic resource.

Rock County Historical Society, Luverne, $111,722
To improve collections care and management through proper shelving storage.

 

 

 

 

MyHeritage November Early Black Friday Sale

Starting today, 19 November, MyHeritage DNA is available at a great price at https://www.myheritage.com/dna/. As MyHeritage says “With detailed ethnicity results covering 2,114 regions, users can explore where their ancestors came from and connect with relatives around the world through advanced DNA matching. And with the most comprehensive set of genetic genealogy tools available, there’s even more to discover.”





 

 

2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute Updates

Time to get those calendars out to mark some dates for great education in 2025. This is for those interested in genealogy/familyhistory/history/community history/DNA/AI. I think that covers most of the course contents. It’s time to add the National Genealogical Society’s GRIP Genealogy Institute to those calendars.

22-27 June 2025, Virtual Courses
• 13-18 July 2025, In-person Courses (Pittsburgh, PA)
• End of November 2024, the GRIP Genealogy Institute website plans to have full course details.
• 4 February GRIP 2025 REGISTRATION OPENS

Many questions can be answered by delving into the various tabs at the top of the GRIP Genealogy Website https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/. The titles of courses for 2025 can be viewed at https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/#schedule. Many NEW courses!

I am coordinating a new course “Beyond Digging Deeper: Sources, Methods, and Practices.”

 

We have listened to requests from previous students in the longtime GRIP course “Digging Deeper: Records, Tools, and Skills” and have added another course related to it. This new course “Beyond Digging Deeper: Sources, Methods, and Practices” delves into additional essential record types and provides sessions showing the research process and effective use of tools. This course features hands-on creation of research questions, research plans, and research reports. Application of learned methods will be put into practice throughout the week.
Prior participation in the longtime course, “Digging Deeper: Records, Tools, and Skills,” is not essential. The courses work in tandem and complement each other and are designed to be taken in no particular order.

In a future post, I will share more about this course, the wonderful lineup of instructors, and Cari Taplin’s “The Spirit of the Inland Seas: Research in the Great Lakes Region” in which I am an instructor.

 

 

 

Immigrants Reviving a Town in Today’s Minnesota

“WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Immigration from around the world has transformed Worthington, bringing new businesses to emptying downtown storefronts as well as new worship and recreational spaces to this town of 14,000 residents in the southwestern Minnesota farmland.” In my beautiful home state of Minnesota where I still reside.

An article by GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO and JESSIE WARDARSKI is making the rounds of online news. Immigrants helping to revive a town. Immigrants starting new businesses, working in established businesses, attending church, shopping, children in school. Worthington is in Nobles County, in Southwestern Minnesota along Interstate 90 and is thriving because of a mix of recent immigrants with descendants of much earlier immigrants and probably some descendants of Native Americans. 

Read the article for free on The Associated Press (AP) website https://apnews.com/article/immigration-policy-integration-minnesota-history-churches-business-soccer-5385d18481c901ee1faeec19c16ebf6d