FamilySearch U.S. Immigration Project

Paula Stuart-Warren  FamilySearch, Immigration  Leave a comment

Have you checked out the latest indexing projects at FamilySearch? One of the neat ones is the U.S. Immigration project. Volunteer indexers are indexing U.S. passenger arrival lists and naturalization records.

“In June, the project reached a significant milestone of 50 million passenger ship and naturalization records indexed! Add that to the 25 million Ellis Island records indexed years ago—before FamilySearch indexing started—and you’ve got 75 MILLION free immigration and naturalization records ready (or nearly ready) to search to your heart’s content.”

Read the full FamilySearch blog post about it here.

Have you helped with FamilySearch indexing projects?

NARA Regional Fellowship research project winners

Paula Stuart-Warren  American Indian, National Archives, Native American  Leave a comment

he National Archives announced the recipients and research topics for the 2013 Regional Fellowship Program. The winners will research at specific National Archives locations. The topics include several that intrigue me due to the connection to American Indian research which is one of my specialties.

  • The Northern Cheyenne Homesteaders of Southeast Montana’s Tongue River and Otter Creek Valleys
  • Dislocated Removals, Institutions, and Community Lives in America History. This is about the Hiawatha Indian Asylum in Canton, South Dakota. I have worked in the records of this and of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC where Canton residents were sent when that institution closed.
  • Moving Towards the Mainstream: Native America, 1890-1940

The researchers will complete a research project for publication. They will also write a report about the research experience that the archives will publish.

Read the full press release on the NARA website.

Hennepin County, Minnesota new consolidated Records Center

Paula Stuart-Warren  Hennepin County, Minnesota  3 Comments

I love progress! The Hennepin County (Minnesota) government is finally announcing the consolidation of court cases. A plus is that records once stored offsite will be more readily available once the project is finished.

“The new Records Center allows citizens to look up records from various cases in one place, ranging from civil and conciliation to criminal, housing and probate/mental health. The center is located in the B Vault in the lower level of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. 6th St., in Minneapolis.”
“Hennepin County is still in the process of digitizing the equivalent of 180 semitrailer truck loads of record accumulated over 130 years.”
Read the full StarTribune article here. 
Learn more about hours, access and pricing (gulp!) here. 
Don’t forget to check FamilySearch.org (FamilySearch catalog) and the Minnesota Historical Society catalog for some Hennepin County records.

FamilySearch adds 50.1+ million record images

Paula Stuart-Warren  FamilySearch  Leave a comment

From a press release just received from FamilySearch:

View the full announcement online at FamilySearch News and Press.

“July 3, 2013

FamilySearch Adds More Than 50.1 Million Images from Belgium, BillionGraves, Brazil, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States

FamilySearch has recently added more than 50.1 million images from Belgium, BillionGraves, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 10,242,324 images from the Belgium Civil Registration collections between 1582-1912, the 6,993,483 index records and images from the Spain Municipal Records collections between 1251-1966, and the 29,532,624 index records from the new United States, Public Records Index collection . See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.”

Free Access to Irish Records on findmypast.com June 27-30

Paula Stuart-Warren  Databases, findmypast.com  Leave a comment

Have you investigated the offerings of findmypast.com? Here’s a chance to research part of that website for FREE. This is from a press release provided courtesy of findmypast.com.

“On June 30, 1922, the Public Records Office of Ireland, located at the historic Four Courts in Dublin,

The fire has had lasting effects – still felt today – as Irish family history requires a unique approach to research than other heritages. To commemorate this anniversary and encourage exploration of Irish genealogy, findmypast.com will offer its full collection of Irish Birth, Marriage and Death indexes free of charge from June 27 to June 30. Anyone searching for their Irish ancestors can access the full Irish record collection by registering for free at findmypast.com.

Despite a great loss of records in the historic fire, there are still many opportunities to discover Irish heritage, with countless fascinating stories to be found from the records that survived.”
caught fire during the Irish Civil War. Tragically a considerable amount of Irish records were destroyed.

The Harvey Girls and the railroads

Paula Stuart-Warren  National Archives, Railroads  3 Comments

In my lecture about finding railroad records that might relate to an ancestor, I discuss some of the railroad-connected jobs in which the workers were not directly employed by the railroads. I love to do this lecture and open the eyes of researchers eagerly looking for records, sharing tactics to take in “tracking” them down, and tell about the myriad of finding aids that are available. My handout for this lecture includes many websites.

One of the occupations I discuss is the Harvey Girls. You may have seen the 1940s movie with Judy Garland or read the book from that era. These women worked in the hotels and restaurants of Fred Harvey that served various stops along the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. Did you know about Lesley Poling-Kemps 1994 book, The Harvey Girls: Women Who Opened the West?

My news feed today showed a link to an article about a new exhibit and a documentary film at the U.S. National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri.  “A documentary capturing first-person accounts of the famous Harvey Girls will premiere Friday at the National Archives in Kansas City in conjunction with an ongoing exhibit there. The free film, “The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound,” will be followed by a panel discussion by the film’s producers and other scholars.” Oh, do I wish I could be there in-person. The exhibit runs till next January 4th. I see a road trip in my future.

ad more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/19/4301648/harvey-house-documentary-premieres.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/19/4301648/harvey-house-documentary-premieres.html#storylink=cpy

To read the full articles in the online edition of the Kansas City Star, click here.

Slovenian Consulate opens in my neighborhood of Roseville

Paula Stuart-Warren  Roseville, Slovenia  2 Comments

It’s not every day that a foreign country’s consulate opens near me! It’s practically in my backyard. The Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia is in the home of Miro Medved who was named Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia.

“Slovenia, a country about the size of New Jersey, gained its independence in 1991 from communist controlled Yugoslavia. . . Medved said it was time to establish a consulate in Minnesota, where he said around 30,000 people of Slovenian descent reside.”

I was aware that many Slovenians first settled in northern Minnesota on what is fondly called the Iron Range and were miners or in other occupations. The article related that many have moved to the Twin Cities metro area. It also told me that Minnesota’s own U.S. Senator, Amy Klobuchar, is of Slovenian descent.

Yul Yost, a Slovenian-American, who lives in Roseville, . . . said he wanted to forge a network of Slovenians together living in Minnesota, so he and others organized the group Twin Cities Slovenians ten years ago. The group’s goal is “to honor Slovenian heritage interest through the sharing of fellowship, culture, history, music, language, literature and genealogy activities.”

Ah, that magic word, genealogy!

Read the full article in the May 28th Roseville Review.

St. Paul’s Pilgrim Baptist Church celebrates 150 years

Paula Stuart-Warren  African American, Minnesota, St. Paul  Leave a comment

Sasha Aslanian, a reporter from Minnesota Public Radio, has a wonderful story today about Pilgrim Baptist Church. The church is celebrating 150 year of existence. It was founded by former slaves.

Sasha relates “. . . Robert Hickman, an escaped slave from Missouri who 150 years ago led slaves traveling north on the Underground Railroad, a physical and spiritual migration that Pilgrim Baptist celebrates this month.”

The name Hickman is definitely a recognizable one in St. Paul’s black community. Unfortunately, when they arrived in St. Paul, members of the group were forced to separate with some going to different places in Minnesota. This sad occurrence may have solved a research mystery for me.

 ” In 1866, Pilgrim Baptist Church moved to a permanent home in downtown St. Paul, making it the first predominantly black church in Minnesota. Church members celebrated with a baptism on the shore of the Mississippi.”  Today the church is located on Central Avenue in St. Paul.

Robert Hickman, a 39 year old preacher is listed on the 1870 census of St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota (page 15/1097, line 6). The census entry states he was born in Missouri. Here is a view of his household on that census from Ancestry.com.

 Please click here to read the great story on MPR’s website.

For more on Robert, read this website www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/hickman-robert-t-1831-1900

Bus it to the FGS Conference from Minnesota

Paula Stuart-Warren  Conferences/Institutes, Federation of Genealogical Societies, Minnesota Genealogical Society  Leave a comment

If you live in Minnesota or Wisconsin, why not consider riding to the Federation of Genealogical Societies August 21-24 Conference in Fort Wayne with a bus filled with eager genealogists? The conference theme is “Journey through Generations” and you have the opportunity to travel with others who understand that phrase!

Check the website of the Minnesota Genealogical Society for the full details. MGS has arranged for hotel rooms and the bus will deliver you to the convention center each day.

2013 FGS Conference Early-Bird discount ends July 1

Paula Stuart-Warren  Conferences/Institutes  Leave a comment

This press release is from the Federation of Genealogical Societies. I am on the FGS Board of Directors and am also National Conference Co-Chair for this event.

“Journey through Generations” – A Conference for the Nation’s Genealogists

June 10, 2013 – Austin, TX.  Discounted early-bird registration for the 2013 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference will continue only until July 1. Early registrants receive a $50 discount for the full four days, or a $20 discount for any single day. Details at http://www.fgsconference.org. 

The conference will be held 21-24 August 2013 in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. This year’s conference theme is “Journey through Generations,” and the local hosts are the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) and the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI). Platinum sponsors are FamilySearch.org, FindMyPast.com and Ancestry.com.

The conference offers opportunities for all who are interested in researching their family history, with over 160 educational sessions on records, strategies, and tools for genealogists at all levels. The exhibit hall features over 70 vendors offering a wide range of genealogical products and is open and free to the public. 

Luncheons, workshops and special events provide additional opportunities for networking and learning. Make sure the get your tickets to these conference “extras” early to guarantee your spot.

See you in Fort Wayne in August!

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