U.S National Archives’ NEW and FASTER digitization center!

Paula Stuart-Warren  National Archives  , ,  1 Comment

Several minutes ago, I received a Press Release from the U.S. National Archives. It has launched a brand new digitization center at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) location in College Park, Maryland. If I mentioned this to most people, the reaction would not even come close to what most of my readers will feel!

“The new center’s equipment fleet includes high-speed scanners and overhead camera systems that can handle a variety of record types and formats. Thanks to this equipment, the National Archives will be able to digitize up to 10 times as many records per year. This will provide Americans with access to millions of additional records each year. With more than 13 billion paper records in its holdings, being able to speed up digitization is critical to the agency’s mission of providing access to federal records.”

I am excited because every time I check the NARA Catalog for some specific items, I keep coming up against a “NOT YET AVAILABLE ONLINE” or that a collection is only partially digitized on the NARA website. I can find some of the material digitized on NARA partner websites (Ancestry, FamilySearch, etc.) but there still millions of pages of textual records to be digitized. Then there are the photos, maps, etc. . .

Many additional details can be found in the full Press Release. https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2024


The WPA in the New Deal Era: free records for U.S. genealogy research

Paula Stuart-Warren  Webinars, WPA  ,  Leave a comment

It’s one of my favorite topics. FREE is a great word. Registration is FREE. Access to most of what I will be discussing is FREE. We have lots of space available in this online presentation. The Family History Research Center at the Clayton Library Campus is part of the Houston, Texas, public library system and you can join us no matter where you live. The presentation and 7-page handout will tell you all about indexes created for census, naturalization, and passenger arrival records; abstracts of county commissioner minutes; abstracts of church records; newspaper indexes; slave and pioneer settler interviews; indexes to birth, death, and marriage records; lists of records in courthouses, town halls, libraries, and manuscript repositories; family histories; diary transcripts; county histories and indexes; newspaper clippings; and cemetery information.

To join in on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 3 p.m. EDT, 2 p.m. CDT, 1 p.m. MDT, and Noon PDT, register here https://calendar.houstonlibrary.org/event/11393281



U.S. National Library Week April 7-13, 2024

Paula Stuart-Warren  Libraries  ,  1 Comment

The library of my childhood was a wondrous place. I would walk or bike to our branch of the Saint Paul Public Library system. Free books to occupy my time. I don’t recall my parents having library cards or taking me to a library. I craved books and both of my grandmothers contributed to that love. Did I discover the public library on my own? Later, I would take the bus downtown to the main library and roam the various levels and the reference area. I still look at the building as a special place and it’s still a wonderful library.

This is National Library week here in the U.S. Will you visit a library? Will you investigate the website of your city or county library? Will you do the same for a history, genealogical, archival, or university library?

Where would we be without all the librarians and related staff and volunteers that have assisted us over the years? Their brains are full of education, experience, knowledge, details, links, and I think many know more than a card or computer catalog!



Everyone needs to be involved in preserving history

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  ,  2 Comments

I recently read two Minnesota newspaper pieces that have a comparable theme. One written from a “genealogical” standpoint that evolved into what many people regard as a historian’s job. The other was written by a university professor encouraging involvement in history today.

Both encourage engagement in the history of people and places. That’s what I and many others do every day as family historians and some of us go far beyond our own families. We might venture next to a school, church, or business history. I’ve been involved in the history and genealogy of several Native American Tribes. I’ve worked for authors doing music and military histories. I’ve volunteered at a county historical society, a large religious archive, and with multiple genealogical organizations.

The first article is an opinion column in the March 28th Duluth News Tribune by Steve Matthews, an associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota Duluth. It was titled “Local View: The power to preserve history belongs to the people.”

(more…)

Genealogists and education: never a slow day! Check out Conference Keeper.

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

I have no clue how anyone researching their family history can ever be bored or not able to learn something new. Classes, courses, seminars, webinars, institutes, and even social media are full of what we need. Someone on a social media site may post that they just attended an excellent presentation on a particular topic. A genealogical organization may post on its website about an upcoming seminar. One way to learn about many events, whether virtual, hybrid, or only in-person, is through Conference Keeper. Tami Osmer Mize is the Keeper and does an amazing job. Be sure your organization submits details. I noticed that a couple of organizations for which I am presenting webinars this spring have not submitted details to Tami. It’s free to do that. I will need to do that. (You can also see my schedule by clicking on Speaking at the top of this blog.)

I am able to pick any specific day/date and see the offerings from the U.S. and beyond. It will be clear about whether the event is free, has a fee, and the details on time, place, and more. Check it out yourself at https://conferencekeeper.org/. While on the site, sign up for the free weekly update email.


Legacy Family Tree Webinars Free April Marathon!

Paula Stuart-Warren  Webinars  ,  Leave a comment

April in a few days. Wow. Legacy Family Tree Webinars has announced a special few days of webinars.

“We’re excited to announce The 5th Annual 24-Hour Genealogy Webinar Marathon hosted by FamilyTreeWebinars.com and MyHeritage. The marathon will begin on Thursday, April 11 at 5pm eastern U.S. time (Friday, April 12 at 7am Sydney time) and end on Friday, April 12 at 5pm eastern U.S. time (Saturday, April 13 at 7am Sydney time).”

“Live attendance for each session is limited to the first 3,000 attendees. If you can’t join us in real time, we’ve got you covered: all recordings will be available afterwards absolutely free for a week. Beyond that, you can watch them anytime with a webinar membership to FamilyTreeWebinars.”

Using this link to register helps to support this blog. http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9117

MyHeritage adds secure DNA results collaboration

Paula Stuart-Warren  DNA, MyHeritage  ,  Leave a comment

As more of our genealogy and other websites develop two-factor authentication. A reminder that our subscriptions on any site doesn’t allow us to let others beyond out household to “use” our access. The new added layer of authentication has changed that access and it does cause some issues with letting others view DNA results and matches.

MyHeritage has heard from us and now “added the ability to securely share DNA results with another collaborator on MyHeritage. This allows a MyHeritage user to invite someone else, usually a DNA expert, to view their DNA results and become a member of the family site on MyHeritage, which also gives the collaborator access to the user’s family tree.”

The background, how to share, and a bit more are on the MyHeritage blog.



Hey genealogy enthusiasts! Join us in June for Digging Deeper: Records, Tools, and Skills

Paula Stuart-Warren  Education  , , ,  Leave a comment

Why join us before the seats are filled? This long-standing course speaks for itself and the evaluations from past students in this “beyond the basics course tell the story.” GRIP Genealogy Institute is the place to register. https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/digging-deeper-records-tools-and-skills/

  1. Instructors who bring many years and areas of knowledge and experience.
  2. Hands-on participation with delving into document analysis, research planning, citing sources, solving long-term research issues.
  3. Learning more about records, more places to find them, and interpreting what they show.
  4. It’s not the basic obits, marriages, or censuses, but more of the stories behind them, taking a second or third look at the nuances, and adding more record types to your research plan.
  5. We may help solve one of your own research struggles. Registrants will receive details on that.
  6. It’s a fun week, too. Time for interaction with the instructors and other students.
  7. Join us this June from your own computer!


Don’t forget! https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/digging-deeper-records-tools-and-skills/



More genealogy education: Online study groups for Mastering Genealogical Documentation

Paula Stuart-Warren  Education  ,  Leave a comment

Have you heard about these study groups? Ideal way to improve your documentation of research results while wearing your slippers. These offer great discussions to help you.

Registration is now open for the Mastering Genealogical Documentation Study Group with Cyndi Ingle! Wednesdays at Noon Pacific or Saturdays at 10am Pacific. This will be a beginner/low-intermediate level class to study the book Mastering Genealogical Documentation by Thomas W. Jones. We will cover the principles outlined in the book as well as discuss the workbook questions. More details: https://genealogypants.com/studygroups/


2024 MGD Noon PST, Apr-Jun (Wednesdays)
April 10 – Jun 5, 2024 (8 weeks) – skipping the week of Apr 24th
Registration, US$95, https://square.link/u/tWZQoWPI


2024 MGD 10am PST, Apr-Jun (Saturdays)
April 13 – Jun 8, 2024 (8 weeks) – skipping the week of Apr 27th
Registration, US$95, https://square.link/u/RMaCXRBL


(You may know Cyndi as the creator, keeper, and updater of all those genealogy and history links on https://www.cyndislist.com.)




Minnesota’s Public Lands Guide: An Oldie Still Educates

Paula Stuart-Warren  Minnesota, Uncategorized    Leave a comment

Decades ago, I purchased a copy of A Guide to the Records of Minnesota’s Public Lands (Gregory Kinney and Lydia Lucas, Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts, 1985.) It’s been online for a while, but I still use my paper copy. It dawned on me that others may not realize they may consult it online.

It was my introduction to many aspects of early (very early) land in what became Minnesota, and for many years after 1858, with some acknowledgement of Native American lands. It’s not today’s acknowledgement that we live, work, and reside on lands of various tribes, but that also wasn’t the purpose of the guide. I’d bet that there would be an additional chapter on that today. That said, this is definitely a guide worth perusing. Many of the records described were then part of the state archives and since 1985, other agencies and departments listed have transferred significant numbes of records to the state archives.

These records hold gems with names, dates, some relationships, hardships, ownership, loss of land, correspondence, taxes, surveys, maps, scrip, swamp lands, land offices, bounty lands, reservations, railroad lands, homestead lands, land disputes, and on and on. I’d forgotten about some of the sections I had researched in many years ago.

The Table of Contents:

Intrigued? Even a quick skimming of the guide will interest most researchers. See all 124 searchable pages at https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/pdf/MN_public_lands_records.pdf from the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office. I might have to do some more reading in it for a specific project I have right now.