Genealogy website hints do work. Don’t ignore them!

Social media often has posts from genealogists that say “how do I turn off hints” or “why do we keep getting hints.” They are referring to emails and online hints on various genealogy websites. Me? Sometimes the hints bug me when they are off the mark. Yet, I do look at them. I wouldn’t want […]

Radio show tells about a book with recipes from tombstones. Must be made for genealogists!

I’ve seen the occasional post on Facebook showing a family recipe on someone’s tombstone. Now there’s a book with many recipes found on stones. More of these in cemeteries than I ever imagined. How did I hear about it? It was mentioned on a local radio show today by on-air personality Bradley Traynor, myTalk FM […]

2025 Indigenous Peoples Day. Reasons for this recognition

Today I honor those who first resided on the land that surrounds me today. It is Indigenous Peoples Day. For about ten years I spent several weeks a year researching at the National Archives locations in Washington, DC, College Park, MD, and Kansas City, MO. The work was for some Native American tribes and I […]

Genealogy presentation immersion via Zoom. My surprising statistics.

Didn’t realize how truly busy I have been recently. I just kept going. From the end of August through today, I have been heavily involved in preparing handouts and PowerPoint presentations for genealogy organizations all across the U.S. I appreciate the invitations to do presentations whether it’s a single webinar or a full-day seminar. Some […]

Increasing the size of the Norfolk Southern railroad collection at the Atlanta History Center

You may have heard my presentations about records relating to U.S. railroad history and railroad workers. A news story about additional railroad records popped up this week. Alas, I didn’t have a subscription to read the article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Checked for others and found more from Atlanta TV station WSB. 1000 more […]

MyHeritage: free access to German records October 2-6.

In honor of Unity Day in Germany, MyHeritage is offering free access to all of its German historical records from October 2–6, 2025. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for anyone with German family history to dig into their roots and make new discoveries. MyHeritage hosts 283 million records across 77 German collections, including vital, church, and […]

October is Family History Month and American Archives Month.

I’ll be doing a lot of promoting of both in my upcoming presentations for October. I look forward to seeing many of my readers virtually for these. Then the rest of the month is reserved for clients. First, consultations with clients to get them started on research or to figure out what to do next. […]

MHS Minnesota People Records Search expanded as of 25 September 2025

The Minnesota People Records Search on the Minnesota Historical Society’s website has long been home to indexes and record ordering information on a variety of subjects including births, deaths, state censuses, veterans’ burials, and Gold Star records. Now the searchable online indexes include some World War I era records of those who served. These World […]

Saint Paul, Minnesota newspapers online. FREE.

A newsletter from the Minnesota Historical Society tells of this fantastic news. I’ve been advocating for this over many years. I am excited. Fingers crossed for more, too! St. Paul Pioneer Press collectionThe Minnesota Historical Society is proud to present the St. Paul Pioneer Press 1861-1961 digital newspaper collection. View collection » This free, searchable archive […]