July 1, 2024. Original birth certificates accessible for most Minnesota adoptees.

Paula Stuart-Warren  Adoption, Minnesota, Vital records  ,  2 Comments

The media has been reporting about the change in Minnesota about adoptees being able to obtain their original birth certificate (OBC) starting in July of 2024. I wanted a few more details and some official words from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) before I started writing about it. The MDH website page about the change was updated on August 2, but I didn’t have the opportunity to investigate further until this past weekend.

A small portion of that page is below. Be sure to read the entire page for more details to understand more aspects regarding the access to OBCs and some possible restrictions. It’s agoing to be a time of mixed emotions for many people. https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/vitalrecords/adoption.html

Minnesota Public Radio has some background info and a few interviews about the change and the impact of it. https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2023/08/07/adoptee-reflects-on-minnesotas-new-adoption-policy-opening-decades-of-family-secrets

I am no longer involved in adoption searches. The emotional stress was too much for me and even more so for the parties involved. There are competent researchers involved in this work. For example, check the Board for Certification of Genealogists https://bcgcertification.org/ and the Association of Professional Genealogists https://www.apgen.org/cpages/home professional directories for assistance.

My feelings on this? It’s about time. Apparently, Minnesota is only the 15th state to provide such access.

Revolutionary War manuscripts being digitized at the University of Michigan Clements Library

Paula Stuart-Warren  Manuscripts, Military  ,  2 Comments

It’s not just genealogical and historical organizations that have newsletters, enews, and blogs to tell us about new records, digitized records, and events. I subscribe to several college and university special collections emailed news. This one arrived this morning and now I need to find more open time for reading in these. The photos accompanying the details are impactful. The first 11 volumes have been digitized. Some of the 18th-century handwriting is amazingly easy to read. https://clements.umich.edu/u-m-clements-library-announces-online-access-to-popular-revolutionary-war-manuscript-collection/

A direct link to these digitizations https://quod.lib.umich.edu/g/gage/


This Minneapolis library has a hidden gem for record lovers

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  2 Comments

That headline came in a Google alert. It was from Minnesota Public Radio. My first thought was that it was about time that a reporter delved into the special collections at the downtown Minneapolis Central Library, which is part of the Hennepin County Library system.

I have used these special collections for several decades. City directories, news clippings, bio files, WWII indexes, city directories, newspaper indexes, and more. It’s where I found an index card directing me to more information on a 1st cousin, once removed, who was a POW in WWII. It’s where I found a Minneapolis Journal index that told me when my Great Grandfather, Nils Christian Carlsen, ran in the elections for Ramsey County Commissioner and came in last. It proved the truth in a passed-down family story. It’s where I found several newspaper clippings for a client who wanted to know more about a relative who had been a Minneapolis firefighter.

I am a record lover. Paper, online, books, and even vinyl. I still have some of my parents’ record albums. Sinatra, Bennett, Williams, Conniff, Crosby, and more.

It’s a good thing I love the vinyl type of record, too, because the article was not about the paper records in the Special Collections. Instead, Natalia Toledo was talking about those round vinyl records. A cool collection and listening opportunity at the library.

“There’s an impressively extensive vinyl record collection located in downtown Minneapolis that not many know about. Available by reservation, the Vinyl Revival Listening Room is a free listening space open to the public located on the third floor (room N-301) of Minneapolis Central Library.” To read the full piece about this record collection https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/03/this-minneapolis-library-has-a-hidden-gem-for-record-lovers.

To read more about the historical records in Special Collections https://www.hclib.org/about/locations/special-collections#collections


1880s Rochester, Minnesota high school record book discovered

Paula Stuart-Warren  Minnesota  ,  1 Comment

Another example has surfaced to show why we need to check again for family information we may have looked for 6 months or five years ago. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to learn that an 1880s high school record book for a family member’s high school had been discovered? If you have family who attended high school at that time in Rochester, Minnesota, you may be in luck. You would also learn that Charles H. Mayo was a classmate of that person. Yes, that Mayo, as in what is now the world-famous Mayo Clinic based in Rochester. Charles was even a good student! 

A long article by Jordan Shearer in the online Rochester Post Bulletin of 19 July 2023 tells about the discovery of the record book. It doesn’t say where it will be housed. Hopefully, it will be in a place with proper storage and temperature control.

For the full article: https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/john-marshall-high-school-finds-1880s-grade-book-featuring-charles-h-mayo-during-renovation-process


1973-2023 50th anniversary of the fire that destroyed many military veterans records at NARA

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized    Leave a comment

It was July 12, 1973, FIFTY years ago this week. A fiftieth anniversary is usually called a Golden Anniversary. There is nothing golden about what happened at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri, part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).


A fire broke out in the National Personnel Records Center at 9700 Page Avenue in St. Louis. It destroyed approximately 16–18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs).

Burned records, records saturated with the water as the firefighters tried to save it all. A major disaster for veterans, families of veterans, NARA, and for historical researchers, including genealogists.

“The veterans’ records most affected were of U.S. Army, Army Air Force, and Air Force personnel. The fire destroyed more than three-quarters of these documents. These records are critical to support veterans seeking benefits, like health care, home loans, and military funerals.”

A small segment of records were saved, others have been somewhat restored by specialists, and many other records are used in the journey to document those who had served.

Read this informative, sobering, and somewhat hopeful article on the NARA website https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/2023-nprc-fire-anniversary. It includes another photo of the horrific damage.


2,000 Legacy Family Tree Webinars: A free online celebration July 14

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized, Webinars  ,  Leave a comment

Geoff Rasmussen, the guru of Legacy Family Tree Webinars writes “What began as an experiment has revolutionized genealogy education. Join us as we celebrate 2,000 webinars. We’ll look backwards and peek ahead, plus we’ll give you 10 actionable tips you can use today, taught by 10 different speakers.”

Join in the celebration at no charge on Friday, July 14, 2023, at 1:00 CDT, 2:00 EDT, by registering. It’s a quick process. http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=1737

I am among the presenters privileged to be a part of the history and you can view my past presentations and the accompanying syllabus material if you have a membership in Legacy Family Tree Webinars. You’ll also have access for a full year to the majority of the 2,000 webinars! Join or renew now http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=1739. The links are my affiliate links that help support a bit of this blog. 

Sons of Union Veterans identifying all Civil War soldiers buried in Minnesota and beyond to honor them

Paula Stuart-Warren  Cemeteries    2 Comments

“The project seeks to find and mark the resting place of the last U.S. Civil War veteran buried in every county in the United States, honoring each with a ceremony” is the key phrase. I read an article from 12 July 2023 in the online Globe out of Worthington, Minnesota. A ceremony for Private Reuben Hurd in Nobles County, Minnesota marked the end of the search in that county. Previously only two Union veterans had been identified as connected to the county in a Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War database. Research identified a total of 139! 107 of those are buried in the Worthington Cemetery where the ceremony took place. 

Read the full article in the Globe. One sentence talked about having to scrub a headstone. That gave me pause, but I bet the SUVCW provided its members and researchers with the proper way to clean a headstone. To learn more about that https://www.gravestonestudies.org/preservation.

 

 

Updated August-November genealogy presentations

Paula Stuart-Warren  Conferences/Institutes, Webinars  ,  1 Comment

My speaking calendar has been updated as of today. Click on the “Speaking” tab above this post to see my upcoming presentations. I’ve been working on a bunch of handouts/syllabus material for the August ones. I am always amazed at the updating that needs to be done even for a topic I have done just a few months earlier. To learn more about taking part in any of these presentations, click on the live link in each date’s entry. The website of the organization will show you details on free and fee-based topics.