Minnesota genealogy webinar April 25th

Paula Stuart-Warren  Classes, Minnesota, Webinars  Leave a comment

On Wednesday, April 25th, I will be presenting a webinar on Minnesota genealogy. It’s part of Family Tree University. I have been researching, writing, and teaching about Minnesota genealogical research for more years than I am willing to admit. When I began my Minnesota research, the late Minnesota Historical Society librarian, Wiley Pope, gave me stacks of his personal genealogy periodicals to read. Then I used to sit at the state archives and read through the voluminous finding aids to learn more about the government, business, personal, military, organizational, and other collections. Then I would request box after box of these records to actually see what was in them. Fast forward to today and we have many finding aids, records, and indexes online. Having Minnesota ancestry is wonderful. I think it’s the best! I love telling others about it whether through classes, private consultations, articles, or webinars. 

Join me on your computer for the webinar next Wednesday. Visit the Family Tree University website to see a bit more about this Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course and to sign up. The early bird price is only $39.00. Listening live also comes with the opportunity to ask questions.

The webinar is at 8:00 pm. EDT, 7:00 CDT, 6:00 MDT, and 5:00 PDT.

FGS seeks website administrator

Paula Stuart-Warren  Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS  Leave a comment
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) seeks an experienced Website Administrator to maintain its current web presence and assist with the transition to a new web platform during the coming months. This is a paid position.
Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of the Web Administrator are to:
  • Create, maintain and support all components of the current FGS website hosted at Tiger Technologies and using the FGS domain http://www.fgs.org. This includes the 2012 FGS Conference website component at http://www.fgs.org/2012conference.
  • Maintain backup copies of data for the purpose of data recovery and re-creating the FGS web presence if necessary due to data loss or disaster.
  • Write and maintain HTML, PHP and MySQL code necessary to maintain a stable web presence for FGS.
  • Track all website changes using accepted change control and tracking methodologies.
  • Update and create website documentation as needed and to ensure successful transition to future web administrators.
  • Create and generate reports as needed and as requested by various FGS committee chairs.
  • Maintain the Records Preservation and Access Blog (http://www.fgs.org/rpac) and assist RPAC members with blog posts and technical issues.
  • Assist with transition from current PHP/MySQL platform to the Easy Net Sites platform (http://www.easynetsites.com) during 2012.
Qualifications
  • Previous experience creating and managing websites. Experience with non-profit organizations preferred.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of HTML, PHP and MySQL. Ability to generate reports via MySQL as requested.
  • Ability to explain technology and website operations in a non-technical manner to various FGS board members via written periodic reports.
  • Ability to respond quickly to requested website changes.
  • Experience in website transition and upgrade to new platforms.
Reporting Relationship
The Web Administrator will report to the Vice President of Administration. The Web Administrator will submit a timesheet each month to the Treasurer for payment.
Fees
The Web Administrator will be paid at a rate of $45.00 per hour for up to ten (10) hours per month for all work performed. If additional work beyond ten (10) hours per month is required, the Vice President of Administration or the President must authorize the additional work and the Web Administrator shall be paid at the same rate of $45.00 per hour.
Format and Ownership of Code and Data
The current FGS website has been developed using Open Source development tools including HTML, PHP and MySQL. The proposed FGS website is written in proprietary code and uses a WYSIWYG format with optional HTML code input. The Web Administrator will make no claims of ownership of any code created for FGS. The Web Administrator will make all of the source code available as request by FGS.
Confidentiality
The Web Administrator will hold all information concerning FGS, its member societies, and other information as confidential.
Term of Contract
The term of contract will be until December 31, 2012 and can then be extended in one-year increments by mutual agreement.

Interested? Send a cover letter and resume to D. Joshua Taylor, FGS Vice-President-Administration: at [email protected]

Mount Sterling, Iowa on the 1940 but disbanding in 2012

Paula Stuart-Warren  census, Iowa  Leave a comment

I just viewed all 4 pages of the Mount Sterling, Van Buren County, Iowa 1940 census. Not a huge town then and today it only has 44 residents. It’s in Southeastern Iowa on the Missouri border.

I read an article in today’s St. Paul Pioneer Press about the town disbanding. The Associated Press article even says that it has never been a big town. Still, it has been home to generations of people. The article said “Looking back on their town’s history, people say the biggest event was in 2003, when then-Mayor Jo Hamlett suggested at a city budget meeting that they could raise plenty of money by adopting a local ordinance to fine people for lying. Although he was joking, Hamlett put the idea in a monthly column he wrote for an area newspaper, and from there it was picked up by other news outlets and soon became an international story.”

So sad when towns go away. Many ended up as ghost towns in past years as mines ran dry, after disasters, and especially when railroads, state highways, and later interstate highways bypassed them.  

Take a look at the Mt. Sterling Town 1940 census in Vernon Township, Van Buren County, Iowa, Enumeration District 89-23. It’s only four pages long. I’m willing to bet that the 1940 enumerator, 20 year old Vinton Rankin [James Vinton Rankin], did not foresee the loss of this town. Nor did his parents Paul and Gail (Helen Gale/Gail Gordon) Rankin.

Figuring out what’s in a record and what to do next

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

It’s really not that tough a task. I recently wrote an article about this for findmypast.com titled Analyzing Records for Family History. 
 
It’s full of practical tips. The website also has other helpful articles.
Click here to read what I wrote on the findmypast.com website.

Watch the website for some great resources that will be on there soon!

Central and Eastern European Genealogy Conference April 27 and 28 in Minnesota

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

I received this information from the Minnesota Genealogical Society today:

Minnesota Genealogical Society 2012 Central and Eastern European Genealogy Conference
South St. Paul, MN. The Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS), with co-sponsorship from the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, the Germanic Genealogy Society, the Polish Genealogical Society of Minnesota, the Pommern Regional Group of Minnesota, and the Romanian Genealogy Society, will present its Central and Eastern European Genealogy Conference April 27 and 28 at Inver Hills Community College, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.
The conference will feature keynote presentations by nationally known genealogical speaker John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., as well as 15 breakout sessions from Upper Midwest genealogical speakers and educators.
Conference events begin Friday April 27 with an evening dessert social and lecture by Colletta, “Finding the REAL Stories of Your Immigrant Ancestors.” Saturday April 28 will be a full-day conference with two more lectures by Colletta and five tracks of breakout presentations focusing on German, Czech and Slovak, Polish, Romanian, and general genealogy topics, including maps and DNA research. 
The Northland Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists will facilitate an “Ask the Genealogists” Q&A session during lunch on Saturday.
More details can be found at www.mngs.org. Conference registration is open at http://www.mngs.org/blog/?page_id=97&action=register&event_id=16.
About the Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS)
The Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS) was organized in 1969 to help Minnesotans and people with Minnesota connections research and discover their family history. MGS collects and publishes genealogical, biographical, and historical material, offers educational classes and conferences to support interest in family history, and promotes family history and genealogy as a rewarding hobby and area of lifelong learning.

Media, hype, and the 1940 census

Paula Stuart-Warren  census  1 Comment

During the last couple of weeks network television, cable TV, AM, FM, and public radio stations, newspapers, websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other forms of media have talked about today’s opening of the 1940 census population schedule. The news has been covered at the local, state, and national level. I have seen some international reports too. They have interviewed the “man on the street,” family history researchers in libraries and historical societies, librarians, archivists, historians, and professional genealogists.

The media coverage worked. The U.S. National Archives reported a while ago that “Since 9 a.m., we’ve had 37 million hits to the 1940 Census site.” 

Might we have a slim hope that the media will see the audience is there and continue to help us by:

  • sharing the news about genealogy educational events BEFORE they take place so people can actually be informed and make plans to attend
  • promote the importance of databases (like the Social Security Death Master File aka SSDI) and help encourage legislators to keep the access open
  • promote the need for funding for our historical and archival instutions so that hours and staffing levels may be restored.
  • promote the need for funding to preserve records all across the U.S.
  • tell readers and listeners about the efforts to index, preserve, and share records that are undertaken by genealogical societies and their fantastic volunteers
  • tell readers and listeners where to find more help in using the 1940 census and other records

What have I missed?

1940 Census: non-resident form

Paula Stuart-Warren  census  1 Comment

One form that is part of the 1940 U.S. census the whole world seems to be trying to access today is the Non-Resident Schedule. This is for enumerating people where they were on the day the census taker visited, but who said that wasn’t their usual place of residence. An example of this form is found for Alturas, Modoc County, California on Ancestry.com: http://bit.ly/H50Ssm. The people are enumerated in in Alturas, Enumeration District 25-4, but state that they live in Delmorma School District in Modoc County, E.D. 25-7. This was found at the end of E.D. 25-7.

The enumerator instructions on the National Archives website shows this for this non-resident schedule:

Thank you to Cyndi Ingle Howells of Cyndislist.com for pointing this form out to me.

Chicago city directories

Paula Stuart-Warren  City directories  Leave a comment

Chicago’s Newberry Library has a blog post that discusses the gaps and the ending of Chicago directories that I referenced in my own blog post yesterday about the 1940 census.

“Where are the rest of the city directories?” is a question heard frequently at the reference desk. Although the Newberry has a complete collection of Chicago City Directories, there are no directories in the microfilm drawer (or online) for 1918-1922 or from 1924-1928.

To read the full Newberry post click here.

Finding addresses for the 1940 census search

Paula Stuart-Warren  census, City directories, Research  1 Comment

I recently posted on Facebook that I am working on my family addresses in preparation for the 1940 census opening next week. A couple people sent me private messages asking how I was doing that. So, here are some tips.

  1. Did your family live in a city or town that published annual city directories? Don’t know? Check the collections at a large city or county public library for these. The county or state historical society may also have the 1940 era directories in book form or on microfilm. You will need to make an in-person visit to view these. Don’t forget that a 1940 directory might reflect a 1939 address. I have two ancestral families that moved a lot. I have gathered 1939, 40, and 41 city directory addresses for them.
  2. Some major libraries such as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Library of Congress in Washington, DC, Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, and others have city directories for other cities in their onsite collections.
  3. Check the websites of places like libraries, historical societies, and big genealogy libraries in your family’s various cities of residence to see if they have digitized 1940 era directories. 
  4. Ancestry.com, Fold3.com and other subscription website have some city directories.
  5. Other institutions and libraries have digitized directories including those for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Rochester, New York
  6. Check out the helpful United States Online Historical Directories links by Miriam Robbins.
  7. Some major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago no longer had city directories published after the 1920s due to the size of the population. I need both of these cities for 1940!
  8. Other city directories for the time period we need for the 1940 census research are copyrighted publications and it takes time to get permissions to digitize. It also costs money for this project.
  9. Family photo albums, old letters, memories, birth or death certificates are just a few things the might provide a 1940s era address.
  10. If your family lived in a more rural area or small town, it will likely be easier to just look page by page in the town or township.

Armed with the address, then visit Steve Morse’s website for the “Unified 1940 Census ED Finder (Obtaining the Enumeration District for a 1940 Location in One Step).” Using this will enable you to determine the Enumeration District in which your family lived.

For example it showed me that the St. Paul, Minnesota address where my paternal grandparents lived (Stuart, 2019 Princeton) is in E.D. 90-245. I don’t have to look through the entire city of St. Paul to find them. I have it narrowed down to a segment of pages. My maternal grandaunts lived at 358 Marshall Avenue in St. Paul and they are in ED 90-131, or 133. My 14 year old mother is probably at 486 So. Hamline Avenue which is an apartment in ED 90-80. For those of you who know St. Paul, these apartments are above the Nook and across the street from Cretin High School (today Cretin-Derham Hall).

And those actual census searches can be done starting Monday, April 2d at several sites, including http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/

Help index the 1940 Census so we can find people like these!

Paula Stuart-Warren  census  Leave a comment

A 1940 article about the census enumeration for that year is titled “Census Recheck Total is 2,421” and that means people not originally enumerated in Dade County, Florida. How many times was this repeated around the United States? In this case, the census supervisor was forwarding the information to the census bureau.

Click here to read the full article in the Miami Daily News of Sunday, 7 July 1940, Section D, page 1, column 4.

Newspapers across the country carried articles into July of 1940 urging people to come forward if they had been missed. Others reported that school children were being instructed to make sure their families had been counted. The St. Petersburg Times of 27 June 1940 (page 5, column 4) said “Friday’s Your Last Chance to Be Enumerated!”

The Prescott, Arizona Evening Courier of Monday, 29 July 1940, page 2, columns 3-4 even carried a coupon that you could fill out and send in. It stated that you had been missed! The newspaper would then send it to the state census supervisor. Now I wonder if anyone filled these in, were they actually added to the enumeration, and were these forms saved!

Were all the late additions added in the pages where the rest of their enumeration district was listed? Will we find them next week if we zero in on the enumeration district where we expect to find them? Are they on a later set of pages? This is why we need to index the census. Sign up today to help with the indexing. It’s easy to do while sitting in your own home, at your computer, and in your fuzzy slippers. For more on the volunteer indexing project please click here.

All of these articles were accessed through Google News Archives.