Politics and genes

Paula Stuart-Warren  Genetics, Politics  Leave a comment

It seems as if politics is everywhere these days. Now, comes a CNN report “Are Your Politics Rooted in Your Genes?” Basically, some political scientists are rethinking that your politcal party affiliation strongly reflects how you were raised. Though there isn’t a gene that produces a Democrat, Independent, or Republican, the genes you possess determine how you think. They may even control whether you vote or not. Of course, there is controversy over the issue. For the full story and lots of reader comments check here.

My thanks to fellow Minnesota genealogist, Sue Crowley for sending me the link.

County Idiosyncracies

Paula Stuart-Warren  County boundaries, geography  Leave a comment

One of the first things I learned many years ago as a fledgling genealogist was to watch for changing county boundaries and names. In fact, my copy of Dollarhide and Thorndale’s Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses 1790-1920 (Out of print but widely available in libraries) is showing wear from being consulted repeatedly.

Even today we have some geographical obstacles in genealogical research. Names of countries around the world have changed — your old childhood globe is definitely out of date. County seats for some counties have been located in various cities and towns over the years. Some counties have had two county seats/courthouses at the same time. Until 1963, Lawrence County, Arkansas had two county seats, Powhatan and Walnut Ridge. Lee County, Iowa has two county seats, Fort Madison and Keokuk.

The Minneapolis StarTribune recently carried a story about towns that even today are in two counties and are working on being attached to only one county. It’s not just confusing to genealogists, but adds work for the county and city officials.

Learning the history of the people and the government of U.S. counties is vital to our searches.

Upcoming Appearances

Paula Stuart-Warren  American Indian, Ancestry.com, Classes, Conferences, Cruise, FGS, Minnesota Genealogical Society, National Genealogical Society, Philadelphia, Seminars  Leave a comment

I am frequently on the road speaking at genealogy events. I will periodically post the dates and the links so you can find more details. My columns for Ancestry.com carry the invitation to introduce yourselves to me at these events. Please do that and let me know if you are a reader of my blog.

If your historical, genealogical or other type of group is interest in my lecture services, just e-mail me at [email protected].

2008
February 23 So. St. Paul MN, Minnesota Genealogical Society: How to Research American Indian Ancestors. Details

April 12, St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Genealogical Society, Annual Family History Fair Details

April 18-19, Cincinnati, OH: Ohio Genealogical Society Annual Conference Details

May 14-17, Kansas City, MO: National Genealogical Society Conference in the States Details

May 30-31, Chicago, IL: Newberry Library Seminar. Details available soon.

September 3-6, Phildadelphia, PA: Federation of Genealogical Societies Annual Conference Details. More details coming throughout February.

September 13, Tampa, FL: Florida Genealogical Society Seminar. Details to appear soon.

September 19-20, St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Genealogical Society Annual Seminar. Details to appear soon.

October 25-November 1: The Atlantic Ocean; Genealogy Seminar at Sea upon a glorious cruise ship. Details

November 8: San Mateo, CA: Genealogy Seminar. Details to appear soon

Late next fall join me on a CRUISE

Paula Stuart-Warren  Classes, Colleagues, Conferences, Cruise, Lectures, Seminars  Leave a comment

Well, me and a lot of other people. And a whole cadre of excellent genealogy lecturers. The Genealogy Seminar at Sea takes place from October 25 – November 1, 2008. The ship is the beautiful and new Liberty of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International. To see more about the ship and its amenities look here. This website has wonderful pictures, tells you about cruising, what to wear, ports of call, and once you see all this, I am willing to bet you will be eager to join us. Make your reservation and deposit now to ensure you have a spot.

During the three days at sea, you will have a wide choice of educational (and entertaining) lectures to choose from. The extensive list of the lectures complete with a description is here. The speakers include (in alpha order!) John Philip Colletta, Stephen J. Danko, Michael J. Leclerc, Paul Milner, George G. Morgan, Donna M. Moughty, Laura G. Prescott, and Paula Stuart-Warren. (I think I may have heard of that last speaker ) This is a fantastic group of speakers who do know each other and we might just tell a few tales about each other.

I used to think that I would be bored on a cruise — oh, has that been proven wrong! And a genealogy cruise is the way to go.It give you a special comraderie and is even a chance for the non-genealogist friend or relative to see that we genealogists can be fun. The people you bring along with you will not be bored at all.

By the end of the week, you will have new friends, be relaxed, have eaten well, toured some beautiful places, maybe climbed a rock wall, swam, had a massage, played miniature golf, plunked a few coins in a slot machine, lounged in the whirlpool, visited the ship’s library, watched a movie, and of course, enhanced your genealogical education in a fun setting. Bring along a friend, spouse, significant other, or your fellow genealogical society members for a memorable week. The more the merrier and you might find another genealogist who shares an ancestral link or who knows about that town where Great Grandma Annie was born and raised.

To be a part of the genealogical portion of this cruise, you need to reserve your spot with Cindy at Fly Away Travel (800) 837-0295. For more cruise details visit http://www.genealogycruises.com/

U.S. National Archives to Restore Research Hours

Paula Stuart-Warren  Libraries, National Archives  Leave a comment

I love to post something positive that will benefit genealogists. I opened my e-mail today and found just such a thing. Effective April 14, 2008, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration locations in Washington, DC and College Park, MD will again have extended research hours.

In 2006 the evening and Saturday hours were cut back so that evening and Saturday hours occured just once a month. The new set of hours make it possible for visiting researchers to get in some long days of work on consecutive days. As before, ordering original manuscripts must be done only during Monday-Friday daytime hours with the last request time being 2:30 on Monday and Tuesday, and 3:30 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. No original records can be ordered on Saturday. Microfilms and many finding aids are available during all open hours. The new hours will be:

  • Monday and Tuesday 9:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Thursday, and Frday: 9:00 a.m – 9:00 p.m
  • Saturday: 9:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m

Le’ts make sure we let the Archives know how much we appreciate this by using these extended hours. You can read the entire Press Release here.

California Voters Registrations Online

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  Leave a comment

Take one evening and a new online resource and pretty soon the evening is gone. This past Wednesday, Ancestry.com posted indexing and images of the printed lists of registered voters from 1900-1944, with a scattered number into the 1960s. I lived in California in 1967 but did not register to vote in the short time I was there. I began to write this blog post, but got quite waylaid using the Voters lists, so am finishing my posting two days later!

I found my cousins, granduncles and grandaunts, and some paternal relatives of my children. In light of the current overload of political campaigning, I was fascinated to see the declared political party designations which provided a few surprises. The lists give the voter’s name, age, address, occupation, and the politicial affiliation. Searching is done by name and a county can be specified. One name I searched is quite uncommon so I searched only by the surname.

I found the lists helpful in looking for some Los Angeles area relatives. City directories are quite sparse after the 1930s and by the 1950s and 60s the regular directories were not published for L.A. I was searching for more info on relatives in the later time period. I did find a few clues to use in searching for possible living relatives.

For more details on the origin of these lists that were published every two years, visit Ancestry.com. The description includes a list of what years are available for a given county. Be sure to be flexible in your searches. And for some years in a given county you may have to check several lists to find the surname and then the correct relative.

Researching American Indian Ancestors

Paula Stuart-Warren  American Indian, Classes, Lectures, Libraries, Minnesota Genealogical Society  Leave a comment

On Saturday, February 23d, 2008, I will be teaching a 2-hour class on American Indian Research. The class is being offered at the new location of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, 1185 Concord St. N, South St. Paul, MN.

The class fee is $12.00 for MGS members and $15.00 for non-members. The fee includes an extensive handout.

Check the MGS website for both online and mail reservation instructions. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged to assist with space planning and handout duplication. Visit the MGS website for more details.

January 27, 1967

Paula Stuart-Warren  Astronauts  Leave a comment

Forty-one years ago tonight, I watched in horror as three astronauts perished in a fire aboard the spacecraft, Apollo I. Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White III, and Roger B. Chaffee died in the launchpad tragedy due to faulty wiring that ignited during tests.

That date has always stuck in my mind as I was about to leave the house to go to a college dance that I have always remembered fondly. Genealogists (including me) should write about the major events that have occurred during their lifetimes. I am reminded of this when one of my granddaughters seeks my sage advice when writing something for school. Gee, does this mean she respects my knowledge or that she is simply acknowledging my age by thinking I should know about historical events?