Northern Pacific Railway employee records on Ancestry.com

Paula Stuart-Warren  Ancestry.com, Railroads  Leave a comment

During the railroad records webinar I did this evening under the auspices of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, I mentioned some Northern Pacific Railway employee records that were on Ancestry.com. I had several questions about where to find these and I have posted the direct link below.

The originals are at the Minnesota Historical Society as are many other Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railway. The personnel files are not complete for either railroad but do include some subsidiary lines, too. As I shared during the webinar, these files include many people working from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest and who were born in many other states and countries,.

NP employee records at Ancestry: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2157

Yes, I am on YouTube courtesy of Mocavo

Paula Stuart-Warren  Mocavo  Leave a comment
I have done a couple regular Fireside Chats with Mocavo.com chief genealogist, Michael Leclerc. These are available at http://www.mocavo.com/fireside.
The dates for these two are November 14, 2013 and April 25, 2014. 
At the FGS Conference this past August, Michael interviewed me and several of my colleagues. The first batch of those can be viewed under the September 30th, 2014 date on the list of chats. It is also on YouTube.
 

Free railroad records webinar tonight, Oct 1.

Paula Stuart-Warren  Railroads, Webinars  Leave a comment
It’s tonight! A free webinar on railroad records to kick off the great month of October that is both American Archives Month and Family History Month. This free webinar is available to anyone. Join us on your computer, tablet, or other device. It is sponsored by 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.A detailed handout is available to registrants.
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!

ChicagoAncestors.org gone for a while

Paula Stuart-Warren  Chicago, Newberry Library, Websites  Leave a comment

From the Genealogy Blog of the Newberry Library, the outdated code for the ChicagoAncestors.org website is the issue that has resulted in the suspension of the website. Ouch. I guess I will put off some of my Michael and Laura (Dow) O’Brien research for a while.

A new site will be up in a few months and they do promise that the content has been preserved.  Please hurry!

The library’s post is from Saturday, September 27: http://www.newberry.org/genealogy-blog

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

    •  

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.