NHPRC recommends 2.9 million in grants

Paula Stuart-Warren  National Archives  Leave a comment

This press release just came from the U.S. National Archives. It will be interesting to see how the projects pan out over time.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2009
COMMISSION RECOMMENDS $2.9 MILLION IN GRANTS
FOR DOCUMENTARY EDITING AND ARCHIVAL PROJECTS

Washington, D.C*. New Archivist of the United States David Ferriero ended his first full week on the job by chairing the meeting of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), celebrating its 75th anniversary. At its meeting, the Commission recommended to the Archivist 32 grants totaling $2.9 million for projects in 20 states and the District of Columbia. These recommendations include grants for digitizing historical records, electronic records preservation, and historical documentary editions.

Grants totaling $1.6 million were recommended for 11 publishing projects from the U.S. Colonial and Early National Period, and three additional publishing projects received Commission endorsement. A grant to the Wisconsin Historical Foundation will support the 39th annual Institute for Editing of Historical Documents, which provides training for new documentary editors. Seven new volumes of documentary editions received subvention support for print editions.

The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College received a grant to develop a virtual laboratory to support instruction in electronic records management, and the University of Denver will undertake a two-year project to develop and test open source records managements software called Liaison. Seven digitization projects were recommended, including the Historic African American Education Collections in Atlanta and New York’s Colonial Council Records, 1664-1781. Mount Holyoke College, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Hawaii State Archives received funding to establish electronic records programs, and Michigan State University will begin Spartan Archive to manage the university’s institutional memory through electronic records management archives. View the full list of recommended grants at http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2010/nr10-28.html.

Kathleen Williams, Executive Director of the NHPRC, presented the grant applications and policy issues to the full Commission. The Commission welcomed its newest member, Washington State Archivist Jerry Handfield, who represents the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators. Commission members also heard a presentation by John Nemmers, a Descriptive and Technical Services Archivist at the University of Florida Libraries, on the progress of “America’s Swamp,” a digitizing project on the history of the Florida Everglades, funded by the Commission.

Archivist David Ferriero is the Chairman of the Commission, which includes representatives from all three branches of the Federal government as well as the leading archival and historical professional associations. The NHPRC is the grantmaking arm of the National Archives. It is the sole federal funding agency whose only focus is the documentary heritage of the United States. Established in 1934, the NHPRC awards grants for preserving, publishing, and providing access to vital historical documents.

Century Farms: Montana now recognizes

Paula Stuart-Warren  Century Farms  1 Comment

The Montana Historical Society has just created the Centennial Farm and Ranch Program, joining similar programs in other states. The new program, at the direction of the Legislature, is “to identify and honor the families that have kept a farm or ranch for 100 years or more.” As in other states, the designation requires that a farm or ranch must have stayed in the same family and been passed down through “spouses, children, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces or adopted children in a continuous sequence of ownership.” The Billings Gazette states: “The form is detailed and includes questions about the history of the farm or ranch and the people who lived on it.” That last sentence is what family historians want to hear. Click here to read the article. 
What is a Century Farm? In general, it is a farm in which ownership has stayed in the same family for a designated length of time such as 100 or 200 years or for operation since the formation of a state or county, province, or other milestone. Such programs exist across the U.S. and Canada. Even New Zealand honors Century Farms. Another requirement might be that the farm must be a minimum size or have a minimum farm, animal, crop, or other product output. 
What might Century Farm records hold for you? In many cases the programs add new farms and families each year. The applications range from a few line statement to special multi-page forms which require documentation. In most cases, these are programs not created by genealogists, but the records and clues provided are valuable in our research as the cart below shows. Not all applications have survived once the award was granted. In Minnesota, the older forms are housed at the Minnesota Historical Society. 
What might you find in such old forms? Family photos, original and then current farm acreage, legal description of land, photos of buildings, detailed genealogy, list of owners from past to present, name of original owner(s) and spouse, relationships of each to present owner, land abstract, how purchased, tax records, date land purchased, date and birthplace of original owner, deeds (including copies of originals held by family), past and current farm crops and products, place original owner first lived, original cost of farm, and even the names of the children of the original owner. .
Who or what operates the program? It might be run by a state or county fair, state agricultural society, the Grange, a private group, a farming industry magazine, state level agriculture department, farm extension agency, or other organization. The earliest program I have found is New York in 1937 with many of the honored farms dating back to the 17th century. Oregon’s began in 1958 just prior to the state’s centennial in 1959. North Carolina’s awards began in 1970. Many of the programs in the U.S. began at the time of the 1976 Bicentennial of the country. Some farming-related magazines publish yearly updates of farms added. As of 1986 there were 783 Century Farms in Tennessee. Iowa had over 8,000 century farms in 1985; today there are more than 15,000 in Iowa. 
Locating the records. Not all programs make the applications available for research. Older applications might be found in a variety of places: state and local archives, historical societies, large public library, or a university library special collections department. With so many repository catalogs online it is relatively easy to check for a location of older applications. A program may have an online listing of the honored farms or an index might be found via USGenWeb.com. If there is no website for a state’s program, check agricultural magazines, rural newspapers, and the state’s genealogical and historical periodicals. 
Some websites to check out
Alberta Century Farm and Ranch Award
www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/general/progserv.nsf/all/pgmsrv51
Marathon County, Wisconsin
http://marathon.uwex.edu/ag/awards/index.html
Minnesota Century Farms
www.fbmn.org
Missouri Century Farms
http://extension.missouri.edu/centuryfarm/
Tennessee Century Farms
http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres/ 
Selected Century Farm Publications
Baer, M. Teresa, et al., eds. Centennial farms of Indiana. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society Press, 2003. [Includes genealogical indexes by Ruth Dorrel.] 
Century Farms of Wisconsin. Shawnee Mission, KS: Inter-Collegiate Press, 1984. 
Gorman, Libby, et al. North Carolina Century Farms: 100 Years of Continuous Agricultural Heritage. [Raleigh, NC]: North Carolina Department of Agriculture, 1989. 
Harriger, Jean K., ed. The Century Farms of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. Brookville, PA: Jefferson County Historical Society, 1988.
Kant, Joanita. A History of South Dakota Century Farms. Sioux Falls, SD: Century Farms Book Committee. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Co., 1985. 
Ladell, John and Monica. Inheritance: Ontario’s Century Farms Past & Present. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1979.
Leonard, Deach Ford. Century Farms of Vermont. Montpelier: Vermont Hist. Soc., 1986. 
Men of the Soil: Century Farms. n.p.: Nova Scotia Rural Beatification Committee, 1970. 
Morain, Thomas J. and David Miles. Century Farms of Iowa: The History of Farming in Iowa. Dallas: Taylor Pub. Co., 1986.
Wanless, Dorothy L. Century Farms of Minnesota: One Hundred Years of Changing Life Styles on the Farm. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Co., 1985. 
Washington’s Centennial Farms: Yesterday and Today. Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Agriculture, [1989]. 
Wermuth, Mary L. Michigan’s Centennial Family Farm Heritage, 1986: A Michigan Sesquicentennial History. Hillsdale, MI: Ferguson Communications, 1986.
West, Carroll Van. Tennessee Agriculture: A Century Farms Perspective. [Nashville, TN]: Tennessee Department of Agriculture, 1986.

Advent Calendar for Geneabloggers: The Christmas Tree

Paula Stuart-Warren  Advent Calendar, Christmas  Leave a comment

Christmastime has always been important in our family. As my children were growing we started some traditions. I had traditions as I grew up. Over the next few weeks I will share some of these as part of the days leading up to Christmas. I know that both the immediate and extended family will remember some of these things. I wonder what they will be saying about my Christmas trees over the years?

For Geneabloggers, the December 1st topic is the Christmas Tree. This is a perfect topic for my family.

Growing up we always had to have perfect trees. Mainly this was my Mother, but my Father was no slouch in that department. We looked and looked for the tree. Many years it was at a tree lot at Snelling and St. Clair avenues in St. Paul — at the edge of the Macalester College campus. If the tree wasn’t perfect in all ways, we had to get extra boughs to fill in the blank spots. My family members will laugh if they recall Mom sitting on the couch directing the way the tree was put into the stand, where the extra boughs were put in a hole drilled by my Dad. Then the ornaments. We did have some beautifull glass ones. We were allowed to hang most of them, but Mom had to supervise so they were in the right place. Then the lights and tinsel. They had to be placed perfectly and each strand of tinsel had to be smoothed flat with your fingers. The picture above is from 1957. Pay attention to the Santa in the upper left hand corner — you will hear about it later.

The result? A wonderful looking tree that could be seen through the three huge windows of the yellow rambler at the corners of Bowdoin and Magoffin streets in St. Paul as you see in the picture above. As they got older, Mom and Dad did get an artificial tree but it was never “undecorated.” It was simply wrapped up and carried down to the basement intact. I should be honest — we did have an earlier fake tree. Really fake. Aluminum. It was the tree relegated to the basement. Ugly as all get out. Why did we have that? I have no idea. The picture of the aluminum tree is from 1962.

Privacy laws? Even for 100+ year old burials

Paula Stuart-Warren  Cemeteries, Privacy  1 Comment

Sometimes privacy laws make absolutely no sense. An article was posted on the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal‘s website today that tells the story.

Two researchers have undertaken the task of identifying the graves of men who fought in the Civil War. One in particular happens to have died at the Milwaukee Hospital for the Insane and therein lies the stumbling block. As Tom Ludka says “the last known burial was in 1914 — 95 years ago.” He is the veterans’ service director for Waukesha County. His cohort is Margaret Berres a middle school teacher and curator of the Oak Creek Historical Society.

The story is fascinating (click here to read it) and involves a family connection to what became the Pabst Brewing Company.

As the researchers tried to document the burial of the one soldier they were told they couldn’t check the hospital’s old records because of “federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rules.” The burials at the hospital’s cemetery occurred between 1880 and 1914 and likely include other Civil War vets in unmarked graves. Even though the particular soldier died over 100 years ago, they can’t check to verify this. They were also told that it was state law that prohibited them from viewing the records and that someone checked the records and all that was found was a directive to send the soldier’s body to another cemetery. Ludka and Berres believe this was not accomplished.

Different states have varied laws about such access but 100 year after a death just doesn’t strike me as a privacy issue. If this man’s information remains hidden, his burial will remain unmarked and not honored. A sad life, sad ending and continuing sadness surrounding Albert Melms who served his country, if only for a short time as a musician.

In my opinion, the records of such institutions help people understand family issues, possible mental health considerations in current family members, are an important part of social and community history, and often the people involved have not been remembered. Albert and others like him deserve to be remembered, their graves marked, and stories told.

“British Newspapers, 1800-1900 ” available for home access

Paula Stuart-Warren  Newspaper Indexes, Newspapers  Leave a comment

I love being able to sit in my home in the U.S. and read newspapers from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I have been doing this for the last couple of hours and as usually happens when I read old newspapers, I start reading everything and forget the exact thing I was searching. But I usually find things that I wish had my ancestors listed in them. The item at the right is from the Aberdeen Journal [Scotland].

A relatively new website makes these newspapers such as this one available for research right in your own home. Quoting directly from the company making this possible: “Before “British Newspapers, 1800-1900” was created, a genealogist would have to visit various libraries and scroll through hundreds of screens of newspapers on microfilm to look for this information. Now, researchers can keyword search millions of pages of text with one key stroke from the comfort of their homes, drastically reducing the time and energy needed to research family genealogy. With this new resource the task of researching family genealogy, once arduous and seemingly impossible, is now relatively easy and very exciting.”

“Gale, part of Cengage Learning, along with The British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), have made nineteenth-century British newspapers available on the internet. The database, known as “British Newspapers, 1800-1900” and available at http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/, gives users access to over two million newspaper pages from 49 different national and regional newspapers from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Chosen by leading experts and academics, the newspapers represent a cross-section of nineteenth-century society and contain illustrated materials on a variety of topics, including business, sports, politics and entertainment.”

“To make this collection available to users, Gale turned The British Library’s collection of nineteenth-century newspapers into a high-resolution digital format with searchable images. The database presents online access to a key set of primary sources for the study of nineteenth-century history. For the 49 newspapers selected, every front page, editorial, birth and death notice, advertisement and classified ad that appeared within their pages is easily accessible from what is a virtual chronicle of history for this period. Users of the database can search every word on every page.”

Among the features I used on the website:

  • Short history of the individual newspaper
  • Short history of British newspapers in general which has sources cited!
  • Searched all newspapers for an uncommon surname
  • Searched a specific newspaper for a surname within a range of years
  • Searched for names in a specific newspaper
  • Searched for a surname and a city in the U.S.
  • Searched for a surname and a city in Scotland
  • Checked my search history
  • Printed an article (also could have downloaded, saved, or emailed it)
  • Browsed the alphabetical list of publications
  • Checked the map showing what cities’ newspapers are included

While I didn’t find anything on direct ancestors I found some articles that relate to possible collateral lines. I also gained a feeling of the social history of the years I searched. The articles loaded quickly.

Among the types of articles I saw:

  • Lists of births, deaths and marriages from these countries
  • Some U.S. b, d, and m in these newspapers
  • Accident notices
  • Bankruptcies
  • People sentenced to jail and to gaol
  • Business partnerships dissolved
  • Politics
  • Religion

Over two million pages are included and are all fully text searchable with keywords in context visible in the results list. Access cost:

  • A 24-hour pass for £6.99 that provides you access to 100 articles over that period. [ca. $11.52 US]
  • A 7-day pass for £9.99 that provides you access to 200 articles over that period. [ca. $16.46 US]

A larger library, especially a university library, near you might have this database. Before visiting the library check to see who may log on to do searches.

Check out the website at http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/

WorldVitalRecords.com: Free Access to Early American Records through Nov. 30

Paula Stuart-Warren  Free, WorldVitalRecords.com  Leave a comment

WorldVitalRecords.com sent this press release.

“In honor of Thanksgiving, through November 30, 2009, we have over 200 early American databases available to the public for FREE. This free access include vital records, court and land records, and military records.”

It includes early Colonial Databases from 1607 – 1800 such as Mayflower family lineages, DAR lineages, and many other items for a total of 200 databases. Click here to see the databases. Simply click on each of the topics, Birth, Death and Marriage Records, Land/Court Records, and Military to see the material in each topic. You do not need to enter your credit card number or any personal details to access the info.

U. S. Thanksgiving history from the National Archives

Paula Stuart-Warren  National Archives, Thanksgiving  Leave a comment

November 25, 2009

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES CELEBRATES THANKSGIVING

“Thanksgiving, like Ambassadors, Cabinet officers and others Smeared with political ointment, Depends for its existence on Presidential appointment.” -Ogden Nash

Washington, DC . . . On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789, as an official holiday of “sincere and humble thanks.” The nation then celebrated its first Thanksgiving under its new Constitution. On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln made the traditional Thanksgiving celebration a nationwide holiday to be commemorated each year on the fourth Thursday of November. In the midst of a bloody Civil War, President Lincoln issued a Presidential Proclamation in which he enumerated the blessings of the American people and called upon his countrymen to “set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.”

In 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November to lengthen the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy, which was still recovering from the Depression. This move, which set off a national debate, was reversed in 1941 when Congress passed and President Roosevelt approved a joint house resolution establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

The three-page engrossed Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln is part of Record Group 11, General Records of the United States Government; Presidential Proclamations, 1791-2000, in the custody of the National Archives. The October Proclamation (Presidential Proclamation 2373) signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on October 31, 1939, is also part of Record Group 11 and the Presidential Proclamation series. The House Joint Resolution (H.J. Res. 41) is part of Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives held by the Center for Legislative
Archives.

Related images and these documents are available on the National Archives website at www.archives.gov, under “News and Events” or go directly to http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2010/nr10-25.html.

IMAGES
President Richard Nixon and turkey
Turkey presentation for Thanksgiving , 11/18/1969.Nixon Presidential Materials Staff (NLNS), National Archives at College Park

President Harry Truman and turkey
Photograph of President Truman receiving a Thanksgiving turkey from members of the Poultry and Egg National Board and other representatives of the turkey industry, outside the White House. , 11/16/1949 Harry S. Truman Library (NLHST)

DOCUMENTS
George Washington’s October 3, 1789, Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 10/03/1789. Old Military and Civil Records LICON, Textual Archives Services Division (NWCTB), National Archives

President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of October 3,
1863 (Presidential Proclamation 106). , 10/03/1863 Old Military and Civil Records LICON, Textual Archives Services Division (NWCTB), National Archives

The House Joint Resolution Making the Last Thursday in November a Legal Holiday, 12/26/41. 77th Congress, Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives held by the Center for Legislative Archives.

See also: “The Year We Had Two Thanksgivings” – a special online exhibit about President Roosevelt’s commemoration of this important day: http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/thanksg.html

Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses is back!

Paula Stuart-Warren  Christmas, Maps  Leave a comment

Over at GenealogyBlog.com, Leland Meitzler announced that Dollarhide and Thorndale’s Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses 1790-1820 is back in print!

As Leland states, “The county has always been used as the basic Federal census unit. Genealogical research in the censsus, therefore, begins with identifying the correct county jurisdictions. This work (one of the top-five best selling genealogy books) shows all U.S. county boundaries from 1790 to 1920. On each of the nearly 400 maps the old county lines are superimposed over the modern ones to highlight the boundary changes at ten-year intervals.”

And that’s not all! For more details and ordering info, click here. This is a guidebook that belongs on every genealogist’s book shelf. You might even print out the announcement and hint to your family that it would make a perfect Christmas gift. Don’t just look at the pictures (maps), be sure to read all the prefatory info and the material on each page. You will be amazed at all this guide offers.

Black Sheep Sunday: Alexander Charles Stuart

Paula Stuart-Warren  Allardice, Edwards, Family, Grant, Stuart  Leave a comment

I have not found anything as far as criminal activity regarding my Great Grandfather, Alexander Charles Stuart, but he still wasn’t a man that his family always looked up to. Alex Stuart was born 2 August 1847 in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland, the son of James Stuart and Helenor Edward. James Stuart was born about 1815 to Robert Stuart and Mary Grant. James’ date of birth and parents’ names have not been proven. They come from obituaries and other sources. The likely parish is Strathdon, Aberdeen, Scotland. The parish records of Strathdon have no entries for a number of years. Helenor Edward was born 30 October 1819 in Brechin, Angus, Scotland, the daughter of James Edward and Magdelene Allardice.

In 1852 James and Helenor and four children born in Scotland sailed to America. They settled in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Helenor’s brother James Edward/Edwards and family also settled in the same area.

Alex was also called Alec and A. C. In the very early 20th century he left his family in St. Paul, Minnesota, and took off for Salina, Kansas where his brother, Robert, lived. His wife, Emma Louise Slaker, was left behind to raise their seven living children. Two daughters had died previously while they were living in Ripon, Wisconsin and Elgin, Illinois. Alex was a wanderer and two of his grandchildren, Bill and Dorothy, related the stories of him always on the lookout for “something better.” He was constantly on the move. Often, it was not the best thing for his growing family. They moved frequently, even within the same city, likely to stay one step ahead of the rent collector. His main occupation was that of carving tombstones.

When he abandoned his family, his oldest son, Earl James, quit school to support the family. Alex’s granddaughter Dorothy, told that E. J., her Dad, lied about his age in order to get work to support the family. The grandchildren also remembered hearing that Emma was a pretty stern woman.

When Alex was going blind from glaucoma, he did come back to St. Paul permanently, for Emma to take care of him. And she did. Alex died 2 April 1942 and Emma died 11 November 1951. Both died in St. Paul.