Today I am at the Dakota County Genealogy & History Fair. My booth is next to one from the county government. I am enjoying conversations with an IT person from the county. That’s nice, but she also has several original county record volumes with her. That makes it even nicer. My mother-in-law’s family is Dakota County through and through, so that’s another plus.
A project the county is advocating is indexing the old vital records registers dating back to 1870 for births and deaths and 1857 for marriages. As their flyer states” We’re looking for volunteers who are interested in genealogy and historic records to help us create computerized indexes to these vital records.” These are hand-written registers so computerized indexes will greatly enhance the accessibility. It’s an on-site project at the Dakota County Administration Center in Hastings, Minnesota. If you have at least two hours to help during weekdays learn more here and fill out the online volunteer form.
© 2018, Paula Stuart-Warren. All rights reserved.
Paula, the most rewarding volunteer project I ever worked on was the Prior Birth Index for the Arkansas State Vital Statistics. I got a free copy of the Index on CD, praise from the Arkansas Genealogical Society, and an executive job offer from Vital Statistics staff!
But the best reward was my grandmother and both of her parents were there! How many can say they have certified birth certificates from 1878?
Brenda, how neat that your volunteer effort paid off for you, too. I appreciate the fruits of this project. I found several of my father-in-laws’s family in this series, most in Johnson County, but some in other NW Arkansaw counties, too.