SLIG Early-bird savings registration ends October 31

Paula Stuart-Warren  Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, SLIG  Leave a comment

Early-bird savings registration ends on October 31, 2014!

The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) will be held January 12-16, 2015. All courses and events will be held at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center Hotel. Labs, if applicable, and research facilities will be available at the Family History Library. Registration: http://www.infouga.org/aem.php?lv=r&eid=12
Early-bird registration ends on October 31, 2014.

Hotel: http://www.infouga.org/aem.php?eid=12
Stay at the Institute hotel, the Hilton Salt Lake City Center, in order to obtain the full institute experience and have access to special events and networking with the instructors and other attendees. SLIG’s reduced rate is $129/night (reduced from $269/night). This rate is set for up to four people in a room. The rooms are spacious and a two-queen room can comfortably accommodate four people.

2015 Tracks with some open seats

Resources and Strategies for US Research, Part I (Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA, FMGS and three other instructors)
This course provides in-depth study of 19th-21st century U.S. resources and methodologies for utilizing them. Analyze content, origin, location, and develop tools and strategies to interpret records. Plus a FHL computer lab and one-on-once consultations at the FHL for this course only.

Beyond the Library: Research in Original Source Repositories (John Colletta, Ph.D., FUGA)
This course explores repositories of original historical sources: archives, courthouses and manuscript collections. The purpose of this course is to take the mystery and trepidation out of using original source repositories.

Finding Immigrant Origins (David Ouimette, CG)
This course covers the key historical sources and research methodologies for family historians tracing immigrant origins. We explore chain migration, ethnic migration paths, surname localization, DNA evidence, cluster genealogy, and other tools to help find your immigrant’s ancestral village.

Advanced Research Tools: Post-War Military Records (Craig R. Scott, CG, FUGA)
Wars by their nature create records; however records are created in the aftermath of war also. There is the pension application file(s) or a bounty land application file(s). But there is so much more in addition to these records. There is pension law, payment ledgers, payment vouchers, public and private claims, correspondence, state claims, soldiers homes, and burial records.

I look forward to seeing you at SLIG in January 2015!

Easy & free access to Mississippi Valley Historical Review

Paula Stuart-Warren  history, periodicals  Leave a comment

In my September 21st blog post, I mentioned The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. I had a couple inquiries about where to find this journal. The answer is simple and many old issues can be accessed via your home computer for free. Several of those are listed below. You can also check Worldcat.org to see if a library near your home carries all back issues. A large public, historical, or university library may also have the back issues. I am in favor of those in-person visits because you may find other gems that are not yet digitized. Issues that are out of copyright may have a cost to use online.

  • Archive.org
  • Books.Google.com
  • HathiTrust.org
  • JSTOR.org

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I found these three interesting articles for free on JSTOR:

  • “The First Railroad between the Mississippi and Lake Superior” (by Lester Burrell Shippee,
    The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Sep., 1918), pp. 121-142)
  • “The Iowa–Missouri Disputed Boundary” (by Claude S. Larzelere, Harlow Lindley and Bernard C. Steiner, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jun., 1916), pp. 77-87)
  • “Andrew Johnson and the Early Phases of the Homestead Bill” (by St. George L. Sioussat,
    The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Dec., 1918), pp. 253-287

    • Free Railroad Records Webinar

    Paula Stuart-Warren  Railroads, Webinars  1 Comment
    On Wednesday, October 1, I will be presenting a free webinar for the Minnesota Genealogical Society.  The topic is railroad records and how to find them. It’s been about 20 years that I have been researching and lecturing on this favorite topic.
    Wednesday, October 1
    Railroad Records and Railroad History: Methods for Tracking  (Webinars)

    7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

    GoToWebinar
    Instructor: Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA

    If we didn’t have the railroads many of our ancestors might not have migrated across this country. Great grandpa would have been jobless. Aunt Susannah would not have visited the nieces and nephews. You might not have inherited a railroad watch. How else would your Grandfather from Ohio have met your Grandmother in Kansas? And we would not have the fun of searching for a payroll stub, railroad timetable, accident report, retirement record, personnel file, picture of Grandpa’s steam engine, or learning about the part the railroad played in the settlement of the old home town. This session shows how to determine which railroad you need to research and locate finding aids to determine what records might exist today and where they are located.
    Cost: Free!

    New journal focuses on Midwestern history

    Paula Stuart-Warren  history, Midwest  Leave a comment

    About 27 years ago I discovered bound back issues of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review while browsing the stacks at the Macalester College library in St. Paul. I spent many hours reading through them. Then I reached a point where this publication became The Journal of American History and the focus changed to nationwide rather than the regional publication I had loved. There is nothing wrong with JAH but I still wanted something more closely aligned with the middle of the country that wasn’t directed only to one state. The original title existed from 1914-1964.

    Fast forward fifty years to 2014 and a new publication of regional interest has emerged, Middle West
    Review. The brand new journal’s inaugural edition is 180 pages long and has “eight peer-reviewed articles, 18 book reviews . . .” It focuses on the Midwest.

    I haven’t yet seen the actual issue, but it’s on my “to do” list. The cost is $40 for this biannual journal. I learned about this journal in an article on the Minnesota Public Radio website.

    For more information:
    http://uimiddle.wordpress.com/
    http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Middle-West-Review,676024.aspx

    Findmypast launches new Irish and British collections: 14,000 records

    Paula Stuart-Warren  findmypast.com, Irish Research  Leave a comment

    Findmypast launches over 14,000 new records as the first installment of their new Findmypast Fridays.

    This press release was received from Findmypast.com today.

    We are proud to announce the launch of our first ever Findmypast Friday! Every Friday from now on, we will be bringing you thousands of new records to explore over the weekend on our dedicated Findmypast Friday page. We promise to bring you new, and often exclusive, record sets every single week.

    This week’s Findmypast Friday, we’re excited to release a new collection of Irish parish and cemetery records as well as British marriage and baptism records. If you have family from the Irish counties of Donegal, Fermanagh, Tyrone or Wicklow or from Eastbourne, East Sussex in the UK, these records will be of particular interest.

    Compiled by genealogist, author and professor of history, Dr. David R. Elliott, the new Irish records collection includes a variety of parish registers from County Fermanagh as well as cemetery records for Donegal, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Wicklow.

    The Fermanagh parish registers feature transcripts of baptisms, burials and marriages in the county and span the years 1796-1875. You’ll uncover great detail on your Fermanagh ancestors in these records including parents’ names, where they lived and sometimes even occupations.

    The collection of cemetery records dates as far back as 1669 and features detailed transcripts as well as exquisite full colour images of gravestones around Ireland so you can see exactly where your relatives are buried. You’ll find over 12,000 cemetery records from Donegal, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Wicklow. The new UK records are parish baptisms and marriages from Bodle Street Green, in the town of Eastbourne, East Sussex in England. The parish records cover the years 1841-1996 and contain over 2,000 registers.

    Click here for full details and links to the records on this subscription database.

    Minnesota Genealogical Society webinar proposals

    Paula Stuart-Warren  Minnesota Genealogical Society, Web  Leave a comment

    The Minnesota Genealogical Society is now hosting webinars and accepting proposals for the 2015 educational year. According to the press release:

    “The Minnesota Genealogical Society invites proposals for our 2015 genealogy webinars. The webinars are via our GoToWebinars.com account on the 1st Wednesday of February, March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November, and December. The MGS Education Committee especially encourages proposals for presentations with content relating to Minnesota and Upper Midwest resources and important Upper Midwest ethnic groups, including, but not limited to, Swedish, German, Norwegian, French Canadian, and Yankees. . . .”

    For full details and the submission form:http://mngs.org/upload/files/Webinar_2015_RFP.pdf

    Proposals must be sent no later than 9 October 2014.

    Genealogist and Great Grandmother all in one

    Paula Stuart-Warren  Family, grandchildren  1 Comment

    Last week I posted about the birth of my first great grandchild. I spent yesterday afternoon with the latest addition to our family, itty bitty Lucas. He is under 6 lbs and is so light to hold. My granddaughter commented recently that being a young great grandmother is neat since I get to spend many years with him.

    That made me think about my children and their great grandparents.

    My oldest son had 4 great grandparents living when he was born. One, my Grandpa Mike died when my son was 4 1/2 months old and never got to meet his first great grandchild as we were living in California and Grandpa was back in Minnesota. However, my son did spend time with three other great grandparents. He was 6 when two of them died.

    My daughter also got to know those two grandparents as she was 4 when they died.

    Then there was my Grandma Gert who lived until she was almost 99. My oldest son was 31 when his GGG
    died, my daughter was 29, and my youngest son was 22. Grandma Gert was also fortunate to become Great Great Grandma Gert to my first two grandchildren. My own children spent a lot of time with Great Great Grandma Gert. 

    Lucas and Mommy

    This brings me to my own great grandparents. When I was born, I had 3 living great grandparents. One died when I was 3, another when I was 4, and the last one, Nana, when I was 10.

    Lucas and Great Great Grandma Paula

    Lucas and I will continue to become better acquainted. I promised to tell him stories about his Mom! I also promised to work on his family tree.

    Hula hoops, Barbie dolls, books, and my childhood at MHS

    Paula Stuart-Warren  Minnesoa Historical Society, Toys  Leave a comment

    A current and popular exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Society is Toys of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. This brought back memories of my own childhood. Tents made out of blankets hung from the clotheslines, blow-up swimming pools, trikes, roller skates, books, Colorforms, and more.

    I was lucky to have my paternal grandmother, Olga Theodora (Carlsen) Stuart, aka Grandma Toots, who introduced me to the world of Nancy Drew and I eagerly looked forward to the next book she would bring me. I thought about Grandma Toots a couple times this past summer when I stopped at a lake to read. She used to read in scenic spots, too. My other favorite place to read as a child was at night in bed under the blanket using a flashlight.

    I had an early hula hoop, Barbie doll, slinky, and other neat 1950s toys because a neighbor worked for a toy distributor. They always had neat toys at their house, too. I wonder what those toys would be worth today?

     The toys exhibit is open at MHS through January 5, 2015. More details are at www.mnhs.org

    Tewksbury, Massachusetts Almshouse records digitization

    Paula Stuart-Warren  Lectures, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Poor  Leave a comment

    One of my favorite lectures I present at history and genealogy events is titled Tho’ They Were Poor, They May Have Been Rich In Records. The wealth of information that is available often leads to more family history than you ever thought possible including details on religion, birth, death, burial, divorce, children, and more. The lecture and slides includes how to find such records and show many examples from across the country of what records contain. Even family members you don’t think of as poor may have spent time in such places.

    Imagine my excitement this morning when I opened an email from the New England Historic Genealogical Society and read The Weekly Genealogist. One section jumped out at me: “Tewksbury Almshouse Records Available Online.” Several paragraphs followed including this: “The Tewksbury [Massachusetts] Almshouse intake records, 1854-1884 (bulk 1860-1884), have been digitized and placed on both the Digital
    Commonwealth and UMass Lowell websites. This effort was a partnership between the Tewksbury Public Health Museum and UMass Lowell.”

    The project will have about 40,000 names indexed when it is completed. Visit http://library.uml.edu/clh/Collect.Html and scroll down to Tewksbury for several entries related to this almshouse including historical background. Don’t forget to check back for updates.

    If you have been a long-time reader of my blog or attended my presentations, you know that I often discuss the rich research resources held in Special Collections sections of college and university libraries.

    If you don’t subscribe to this free NEHGS newsletter, you may read it here: http://www.americanancestors.org/enews-2014/ and also access the links to the records.

    Two genealogy conferences in one place!

    Paula Stuart-Warren  Conferences/Institutes, Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS, RootsTech  Leave a comment

    The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) is having its conference a bit earlier in 2015. February to be exact and in Salt Lake City!

    FGS and RootsTech are teaming up for a one-time special genealogy event at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, February 11–14, 2015. FGS and RootsTech will share the huge expo hall, general sessions, activities, and more while each conference offers their own program of sessions. FGS sessions will focus on methodology, records, ethnic research, and migration for honing your research skills and society issues to motivate and inspire society volunteers. RootsTech will offer a program of technology-based solutions for the genealogy needs of both individuals and societies.

    I hope to see you there for this amazing event. Reserve your hotel room now. Don’t forget that multiple light rail lines in the Salt Lake City area means you can also stay at outlying hotels.

    Read the full details here https://www.fgsconference.org/ and register for the FGS conference online. Add RootsTech for only $39. 

    The greatest savings on the registration cost is available only through September 12th! Anyone with an interest in genealogy, history, and family history is welcome.