The Illinois Department of Public Health’s Division of Vital Records is moving to new offices. The office will be closed from May 27 -31 and will reopen on June 1, 2010. Because of this move, rush service and some other customer requests for birth and death records might be delayed.
Click here to read the article in the online edition of the Springfield, Illinois State Journal Register.
Here’s a link to a photo of the grave witching demonstration I was at recently when I presented a two day seminar in Norfolk, Nebraska. A very interesting demo!
Thanks to Susan Peterson for sending me the link to her blog and the picture.
Did you attend the NGS Conference in Salt Lake City earlier this month or wish you had after hearing about the great lectures, special events, luncheons, and Exhibit Hall? There’s another chance to attend a large genealogy event that will revitalize your research, teach you new techniques, tell about the growing software applications, surround you with folks willing to talk family history, have three days of an Exhibit Hall filled with a plethora of goodies, and give you tickets for fantastic door prize drawings (anyone need a free week in Salt Lake City?)? This year’s FGS Conference is in beautiful and bustling Knoxville, Tennessee in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Maybe you would like to learn from some of the top speakers in the field of genealogy, sit with them at a luncheon, hear from the software developers first-hand, spend an evening at the Museum of Appalachia, visit with experts who can help you on your way to solving genealogical dilemmas, learn about ways to help your genealogical society grow, and most of all revel in four days of excitement.
Don’t forget to register for the 2010 FGS Conference by June 1st. If you register on or before that date, you will save a whopping $50.00 off the full registration price for the conference. It’s easy to register online or to print out the registration form and mail it in.
It’s easy to register for the luncheons and special events at the same time — but if you need to add others after you register, that is easy to do. When you register online you receive a PIN that will allow you to go back in and add another luncheon or two or register for one of the special evening events.
Leaving the excitement and education of the NGS Conference and the friendliness and helpfulness of fellow genealogists was tough — except that I knew the feeling would be repeated in August in Knoxville.
Check out these links for more info:
Three weeks ago I left to do a two day seminar in Norfolk, Nebraska where I was treated royally by the folks from the Nebraska State Genealogical Society and the Madison County Genealogical Society. It was a packed house and an attentive group. The two days ended with a trip to a cemetery for a grave witching demonstration.
Then I was off to Salt Lake City for the National Genealogical Society Conference and some meetings. It was a wonderful four days. At the opening session on Wednesday I presented a tribute to Marsha Hoffman Rising, an amazing woman, friend, and genealogist extraordinaire. That was a difficult experience and I hope I did her justice. The tribute plus some additional words will be in the National Genealogical Society’s NewsMagazine later this year. After the conference ended I spent a week researching at the Family History Library for clients. Lest you think it was all work the time I was gone, I did have a lot of time with good friends in the genealogical community. A conference is like a family reunion and even better are the new family members you meet.
One of the conference week highlights was the “Celebration of Family History” held at the Conference Center of the LDS Church. A special performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was so neat, followed by a wonderful presentation by a high ranking official of that church and then the evening became even better (if possible) with a talk by noted author David McCullough. I did not want the evening to end.
On the Friday of the conference week, Ancestry.com held a group viewing of the final episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, complete with refreshments. What a neat experience to be with a big room full of fellow genealogists watching this show.
I now have time off from conferences and seminars until mid-August for the Federation of Genealogical Societies four day conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. So I have lots of time for blogging, spending time with my grandchildren, preparing lectures for FGS, and maybe even dusting and vacuuming. A big maybe on the latter.
The April 17th issue of the Pittsburg, Kansas Morning Sun has an article that is one of my favorite types. It tells about an old record book being turned over to an institution for preservation. In this case, it’s a 1923 jail register for Crawford County, Kansas that has been sent to the Special Collections Department of the Axe Library at Pittsburgh State University.
Alas, my own Kansas connections were not in that part of Kansas. The preservation of this volume is a reminder to continually check online catalogs and finding aids for repositories of historical materials. A book of records, a set of old letters, or some loose papers found in the back of a filing cabinet may get turned over to a library, historical society, or archive. A collection that was previously not catalogued or not fully described may now be.
Some Virginia researchers may already be aware of this, but for others this information may explain some difficulties as you research vital records of Native Americans and African Americans in that state.
Walter Ashby Plecker was the first head of the Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics and served from 1912-1946. He did some beneficial things such as “great strides in educating midwives, inventing a home incubator, and prescribing home remedies for infants. His efforts are credited with an almost 50 percent decline in birthing deaths for black mothers.”
Unfortunately, he also believed that American Indians and African Americans had no separate ethnic identity and set about to reclassify Indians as colored. He actually changed the designation on some vital records from Indian to black. He also decided that anyone with even a little bit of black ancestry would not be allowed to pass as white and brought about changes on their vital records based on information that he said his office had gathered.You can read more about Walter Plecker at the Library of Virginia’s Virginia Memory project. That page lists some article for further reading. Also check out this link for a disturbing 1942 letter from Plecker to local vital records registrars.
Thanks to Brenda Hudson of Florida for telling me about this during last week’s NGS Conference. It does affect some researchers trying to do a good job of researching and documenting their forebears.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies just issued this exciting press release. Please share the news with your friends in genealogical, historical, and military society circles. You can also make a contribution to the fund by visiting the FGS booth in the Exhibit Hall during this week’s National Genealogical Society Conference in Salt Lake City. The Exhibit Hall opens Wednesday, April 28th at 9:30 a.m. and is open during daytime hours Wednesday-Saturday this week.
April 27, 2010: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Federation of Genealogical Societies Launches National Fundraiser, Preserve the Pensions!, to Digitize the War of 1812 Pension Files
SALT LAKE CITY — With the approaching bicentennial of the War of 1812, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, a non-profit genealogical organization headquartered in Austin, Texas, is pleased to announce a national fundraising initiative to raise $3.7 million to digitize of the War of 1812 pension files.
The digitization process will enable online access by historians and family researchers to the memories and biographies of those who fought to protect our nation’s independence. This announcement is being made at the start of the National Genealogical Society’s 2010 conference, an event that will draw more than two thousand genealogists to Salt Lake City, Utah.
The War of 1812, often referred to as America’s second war for independence, significantly shaped this country’s identity both internationally and domestically.Many remember the War of 1812 as the war that give us the “Star-Spangled Banner” and the burning of the White House. Some of the great leaders of our country, including three presidents, took part in this conflict. Nearly 300,000 men served, including members of at least eighteen Native American tribes.
he pension records for the War of 1812 consist of more than 7.2 million documents in 180,000 files. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) receives more than three thousand requests per year for War of 1812 pensions, placing them among the most requested sets of records. Digitizing these valuable records will preserve the originals by removing them from continued heavy use. It will also make the images of the records much more widely available. NARA reports these important historical records already have been conserved and readied for digitization, so scanning could start as soon as funds are received. With the cost for digitizing and saving a single page from a pension file being fifty cents, supporters will see progress from the earliest days of the fundraising initiative.
Genealogists, historians, and scholars of military history have long appreciated the value of pension files. A typical pension file may contain documents that describe a veteran’s service as well as why he, his widow, or his dependents qualify for a pension. In the cases of widows’ and dependents’ filings, there are typically a number of documents proving the claimant is related to the veteran. The testimony of a veteran’s comrades can provide unique and valuable data on what military life entailed, the rigors of everyday camp life, and details of particular skirmishes and battles. One may discover numerous details of an ancestor’s life in these pension files, some of which may be many dozens of pages long.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies is committed to projects that link the genealogical community and advance the cause of preserving records and making them more accessible. The Federation will be working with the genealogical and historical societies nation-wide, particularly in states where War of 1812 activities took place, as well as the many War of 1812 societies and bicentennial commissions, to raise awareness about this vital preservation and access project and to raise the funds necessary to complete the project.
Those interested in contributing to the Preserve the Pensions! Project or wanting additional information should contact the Federation of Genealogical Societies via their website at www.fgs.org/1812, or contact Curt Witcher at 260-421-1226 or [email protected].
Lou Szucs from Ancestry.com sent a reminder about this Friday’s show! Lou said:
“With just two episodes left, the Who Do You Think You Are? season is nearly over. Don’t forget to remind friends and family to tune in as two more fascinating family stories are revealed. Genealogical societies, libraries and archives are continuing to enjoy increased traffic as the series grabs the attention of many individuals who are now intrigued and determined to solve their own family mysteries.
This Week’s Episode – Susan Sarandon
This week’s episode will feature leading actress Susan Sarandon, who sets out to learn more about her grandmother Anita, who led a life shrouded with mystery and who disappeared out of Susan’s mother’s life when her mother was just a child. In the episode, Susan visits the New York City Public Library and the New City Library in Rockland, New York.
Check out the teaser featuring Susan Sarandon, and tune into NBC for the full episode on Friday at 8/7c.
Special collections departments or libraries on college and university campuses often hold much for the study of local history and genealogy. Yes, they likely include the university’s archives but the other manuscripts, oral histories, newspapers, and books can be a gold mine for research. Local history collections in city and county public libraries are also the home of many resources for family history research. Check out these blogs that are produced by staff at such collections.