People do still go to libraries

Paula Stuart-Warren  Family History Library, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy  Leave a comment

I am in Salt Lake City and am pleased to see that many people are here using the Family History Library. Our elementary school teachers would be proud of us. We are dedicated to our work, work quietly, and I am sure we will all get “A’s” or at least be proud of ourselves for finding Great Great Grandma’s maiden name.

I also have seen a lot of that genealogical goodwill going on. Helping others with the new scanners, assisting the person at the next reader with deciphering a word, taking turns at the copiers, and chatting in the snack room. The person at the next reader is not a stranger. That person is a genealogist. We family historians are the best sharers in the world. (Is “sharer” a proper word!)

This face to face help and camaraderie is much better than an electronic form of help. I won’t give those up, but seeing the smile on another researcher’s face is priceless. I have seen some of those “happy dances” this week.

The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy begins on Monday and the learning and sharing will continue.

PBS show to feature genealogy and genetics

Paula Stuart-Warren  PBS  Leave a comment

United Press International has a January 1st press release about an upcoming PBS show, Faces of America, that will be hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. It will be shown on Wednesdays from Feb. 10-March 3.

The show will feature the family histories of “poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, writer Malcolm Gladwell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, film director Mike Nichols, Her Royal Highness Queen Noor, actress Eva Longoria, actress Meryl Streep and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.”

It will be interesting to see if the show provides good instruction on a variety of sources and provides techniques as well as the results. It will also be wonderful if it shows the delving into original records and not just online resources.

View a short video on PBS’ website by clicking here.

January, January — what to do?

Paula Stuart-Warren  Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS, LibraryThing, National Genealogical Society, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy  8 Comments

Once the holidays are over what are you going to be doing? Use the genealogy books, memberships, and subscriptions you received for Christmas? How about these other ideas for the beginning of the New Year?

  • Hmmm, a last minute trip to Salt Lake City might be fun. The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy takes place just under 2 blocks from the Family History Library and there is still room in some of the courses. Learn, network with others who speak the genealogy language, and then visit the library to put the learning to work.
  • If you take Course I, American Records, you will receive many hours of one-on-one assistance in the Family History Library from a couple of the instructors. I coordinate that course and enjoy the teaching and also the consulting with students right in the library.
  • Think about scanning those old photographs. I save the old photos in case the format I save them on is not accessible in the future. Once the photos are online or transferred to a CD or DVD I share them with others as another form of at least current preservation
  • Add the titles of your genealogy and history books to LibraryThing.com.
  • Think about continuing education in genealogy. In addition to SLIG, many classes and courses take place both online and in the classroom.
  • Look at the program for the National Genealogical Society‘s conference that takes place in Salt Lake City April 28-May 1, 2010. Lots of info on the conference pages! The conference is hosted by the Utah Genealogical Association.
  • Later in January, check out the program for the August 18-21, 2010 Federation of Genealogical Societies conference that is co-hosted by the East Tennessee Historical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society. For now, read the FGS Conference News Blog.
  • Join your local or state genealogical society and add their meetings to your calendar. The FGS website has listings of many societies.
  • Check out the source citations in your genealogy program. Would you want others to see them as they are? If not, it’s time to work on them. That includes me!

Never stop looking: Old Fayette County, Kentucky records found

Paula Stuart-Warren  Kentucky, Research  Leave a comment

Amy Dunn, a professional genealogist from Owensboro, Kentucky, posted a link to a news article about this on a discussion list for members of the Association of Professional Genealogists. A number of Fayette County, Kentucky records have surfaced. It’s one of those things that reminds us to never give up, never say we have looked at everything, and to keep checking back in catalogs and other finding aids. Once again, it shows that it isn’t all online.

The Lexington Herald-Leader‘s website Kentucky.com tells about some “Land, census and marriage records from the late 1700s to the early 1900s have recently resurfaced that could provide a treasure trove of information for genealogists and others.” Lexington is the county seat of Fayette County.

The article also tells that the material found includes “property titles, essentially — from 1779 through 1780, when Kentucky was still part of Virginia.Another record book recovered by Fayette County clerks, the “Land Entry Book,” contains similar information from 1783 to 1784. Kentucky became a state in 1792.’

Read the article for more details. I wish I needed Fayette County for family research!

Merry Christmas to all of you

Paula Stuart-Warren  Christmas  Leave a comment

Last weekend we celebrated at my daughter’s in northern Minnesota. All four of the grandchildren, two of my three children and a son-in-law were together. We had a great weekend. I now have a heated cushion for my car, jewelry to wear and am supplied with wipes for hands and glassed for quite awhile. Yes, I asked for these. My daughter and son-in-law made a terrific dinner. The best gift of all was being together with all of these family members and getting lots of hugs.

Christmas Eve was to be at my oldest son’s but since early on Christmas Eve morning I have had the seasonal flu. Ironically, I had to cancel my 9 a.m. appointment that day for my flu shots! The clinic finally has the vaccines.

I had thought this Christmas would be a tough one since it would be the first one without either of my parents. Instead I slept through most of it. My sister, Linda, and I commented on how much we missed Dad’s Christmas morning phone call from him.

I hope you were able to have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas Eve and Day. Don’t forget that there are 12 days of Christmas! The Stuart family will be having a big celebration on January 2nd.

North Carolina newspapers online

Paula Stuart-Warren  Newspaper Indexes, Newspapers, North Carolina  Leave a comment

The state archives in North Carolina has has completed the posting of 23,483 digital images of newspapers online at its website. They are keyword searchable! These cover a time frame from 1751 into the 1890s.

The North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project website states: “In 2009, the North Carolina State Archives completed a project to digitize newspapers from its collection that were, up until that time, only available on microfilm. These materials include papers dating from 1751-1890s from cities like Edenton (1787-1801), Fayetteville (1798-1795), Hillsboro (1786), New Bern (1751-1804), Salisbury (1799-1898), and Wilmington (1765-1816) – a total of 23,483 digital images that are keyword searchable.”

The project page includes a list of the newspapers and years that have been made available online. The searches can be made by just a keyword, or limit it by year and/or newspaper title. An advanced search capability allows for additional parameters.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Childhood Christmas Traditions

Paula Stuart-Warren  Christmas, Cook, Hanley, Stuart  2 Comments

Christmas Eve
Until the early 1970s Christmas Eve was always celebrated with my Dad’s side of the family. Grandma Toots was last with us for Christmas 1965 and Grandpa Stuart didn’t pass away until 1974. We spent the early years at Grandma and Grandpa’s at 2019 Princeton in St. Paul.Then we began with one year at our house, one year at Aunt Dorothy’s and the next at Aunt Jean’s. They both lived in Roseville, Minnesota right by each other. There were 10 of us cousins. I think Grandma Toots gave me either a Bobbsey Twins or Nancy Drew book every Christmas.

Christmas Eve at our house included homemade au gratin potatoes many of the years. My cousin Mary often mentions how good those were. Once year my Aunt Dorothy made the most mouthwatering beef roast that had cooked overnight in the oven. I thought that was so neat. It was excruciating when the adults made us kids eat dinner before opening presents.

Christmas Day
Until the early 1960s Christmas Day was spent with my maternal Grandparents, Maurice Micheal and Gertrude Margaret (Cook) Hanley. Then after 1967 it was just Grandma — and she was with us through Christmas of 1997. She passed away in 1999. There were years in the 1950s where my great grandmother Nana and her sisters-in-law would join us. Until the early 1960s my Aunt Jeanie (Hanley) Ronnan was with us on Christmas Day. By the early 1960s she and her growing family stayed home in White Bear Lake. I missed having all those little cousins around. Watching them unwrap gift was more fun than watching my own sisters who were getting older. The picture on the left is from Christmas 1958. The three girls are me and my sisters and our first maternal cousin, Ricky.

Most often we had turkey on Christmas Day. My Mom made the best gravy!

18 couples from same class still married after 50 years.

Paula Stuart-Warren  Reunions  Leave a comment

Today’s Washington Post carries an article, “Still Going Steady” about a high school class of 1959 that includes 18 couples who are still married to each other. That’s a neat thing for future genealogists. It’s a heartwarming article for the holiday season.

In October, 200 members of the Washington-Lee High School 1959 class met for a reunion in Arlington, Virginia. That was nearly a third of the graduating class. The occasion, as those who passed basic arithmetic in elementary school can calculate, was their 50th anniversary of graduating.

Oh, one more tidbit for the family historians. “Bob and Jane Lanham head the reunion committee and have served as dedicated class archivists, keeping up with an extremely thorough alumni database.” I can’t help but wonder if they are also genealogists!

Interesting show about Google on CNBC

Paula Stuart-Warren  CA, Google, Mountain View  Leave a comment

I watched a fascinating hour long show on CNBC tonight about Google. The show was titled “Inside the Mind of Google.” Google wasn’t created until 1998. In some ways it seems like Google has been around forever.

The next times the show will run are on December 24th at 4 and 8 p.m. ET and December 25th at midnight ET. I wish it would run on a better date and time so that you had a decent opportunity to view it. As the CNBC website says, “See how Google came to dominate the search industry and turn it into a profit machine… and see where it’s taking its next step… and how the company plans to address arguably the biggest controversy in today’s digital age: privacy.”

Last year I drove past their huge campus in Mountain View, California. This show gave me a little peek into the buildings. I wish I worked at some place where I received a free cell phone, free meals, free transportation to and from work and where they would do my laundry for me. The reason for all this and more is to ensure that the employees keep working and thinking. All in all, it seemed to be a decent working atmosphere.

Federation of Genealogical Societies 2010 Conference Hotels

Paula Stuart-Warren  Conferences, Federation of Genealogical Societies  1 Comment

The 2010 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference is being held in Knoxville, Tennessee from 18-21 August, 2010. Who attends these conferences? People from all over the United States, Canada, and even from other countries. Among those who attend are genealogists just starting to research their families to those working on family history for decades. You will also find historians, librarians, genealogical society volunteers, professional genealogists, software developers, writers, archivists, and many others. We all have a common bond.

The FGS Conference News Blog is up and running and today’s post is about the two conference hotels in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s important to make your hotel reservations early as the hotels often fill quite quickly. The FGS program and other information will be online at the FGS website later in January.