Libraries: joy, love, value, history, culture, education, community, and necessary

Paula Stuart-Warren  Libraries  2 Comments

My parents didn’t take my sisters and me to the library when we were children. My paternal grandmother unknowingly made up for that with many gifts of books for me. Once I was old enough to ride my bike about a mile to the Highland Park branch of the Saint Paul Public Library system, I was hooked on what the library held.
I devoured books that were designed for my age group and later progressed to books for teens. This branch didn’t have a large reference section at the time but what the main library in downtown Saint Paul held was akin to providing me with candy. I could take the bus to that library from home or high school. I loved browsing in the stacks, discovered old newspapers on microfilm, and a newspaper clippings index. I took my children and grandchildren to libraries.

City and county public libraries are golden. Many have access to scholarly databases, newspapers, and even some of our usual genealogy subscription sites. My city library, county library, and a neighboring county library system each have some different online sites. Some I can access from home and others with a visit to the actual library. For my county library, that means a chance to browse through the Friends of the Library used book area.

This is National Library Week and it’s in the midst of federal support for our libraries, historical societies, archives, and museums being taken away. We need to make our voices heard so we don’t lose these wonderful institutions.

 

Free BCG-Sponsored Webinar April 15

Paula Stuart-Warren  Board for Certification of Genealogists, Webinars  , , ,  Leave a comment

Press Release from the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG).

“A Matrimonial Advertiser:” Tracing the Treacherous Trail of an Early 20th-Century Romance Scammer by Sharon Hoyt, CG. Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 8:00 p.m. (EDT)

Research on a man’s mysterious second marriage identified his wife as a romance scammer who preyed on Civil War veterans. This case study shows how evidence correlation and reasonably exhaustive research cut through the lies and misdirection in a woman’s records to establish her identity and reveal her sometimes deadly deception.

Sharon Hoyt, CG is a researcher, speaker, and author from California’s Silicon Valley. Her primary research areas include New England, New York, the Midwest, Canada, and England. She is happiest when on the trail of a family story, particularly when it involves the Civil War. Sharon’s research has been published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and Minnesota Genealogist. She is the winner of the National Genealogical Society’s 2017 Family History Writing Contest and the Minnesota Historical Society’s 2016 Michael Clark Family History Writing Award. She holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science.

When you register before April 15 with our partner Legacy Family Tree Webinars (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9366), you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Anyone with schedule conflicts may access the webinar at no charge for one week after the broadcast on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

“BCG promotes continuing education as essential for competent family history research,” said President David Ouimette, CG, CGL. “We appreciate this opportunity to provide webinars focused on standards that help genealogists and family historians build their knowledge and skills and hone their craft.”.

 

 

Join me in two free genealogy webinars April 9 & 11

Paula Stuart-Warren  Webinars  ,  Leave a comment

April 9, 2025. Wednesday evening free Webinar. 7:00 p.m. EDT, 6:00 pm CDT. Hosted by the Virginia Genealogical Society. My topic is “The WPA Era: Free Records Boon from the Government.” The presentation includes a section related to the New Deal and WPA activities in Virginia and details to find books, records, indexes, and online material from all over the U.S. The handout is available to VGS members as is a recording of this presentation and others in the VGS lineup.


April 11, 2025. Friday Afternoon Free Webinar. 2:00 EDT, 1:00 CDT. Legacy Family Tree Webinars. My topic is “Neglected Gold in Older Genealogical and Historical Periodicals.” To register using my affiliate link helps support my website and blog. http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9377.

A $49.95 annual membership in Legacy Family Tree Webinars provides handouts and access to almost 2,400 past webinars and 9,500 pages of accompanying syllabus material. My affiliate link for memberships is
 http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=1739

Fold3 Update on Digitization of War of 1812 Pension Files

Paula Stuart-Warren  Ancestry, Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS, fold3.com, Uncategorized  , , ,  3 Comments

The War of 1812 U.S. pension records have been on subscription site Fold3.com for many years. It’s an ongoing project that began under the auspices of the former Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and the U.S. National Archives. FGS embarked on a fund-raising project to ensure these were digitized and then remain FREE for researchers. We owe a big thanks to Fold 3 and its parent company, Ancestry.com for hosting these records on Fold3. My email today contained the following notice. These can be found at US, War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, 1812-1815 (https://www.fold3.com/publication/761/us-war-of-1812-pension-files-1812-1815. The “Read on” refers to https://blog.fold3.com/update-on-the-war-of-1812-pension-files.

 

 

 

Genealogical and historical research in the Great Lakes Region

Paula Stuart-Warren  Education, GRIP, GRIP Genealogy Institute, Institutes  , , ,  Leave a comment

If you live in the Great Lakes region in either Canada or the U.S., this course has some superb education for you. If some or all of your ancestral families resided in the region, this course will assist you in learning more about them. If family members worked in the region, this course will fill in details you didn’t know you were missing. Take a look at the lineup of sessions offered during June 23-27, 2025, in this course. https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/the-spirit-of-the-inland-seas-research-in-the-great-lakes-region/. Register while on that link!

The syllabus for this course is almost a full education in itself and is only available to course registrants. The camaraderie between the four instructors and students in this course rises to an amazing level. I am fortunate to be one of those instructors. Don’t wait too long to register. After the course ends, there will be recordings of the sessions available for two weeks. Then there will be plenty of summertime after that to take a boat ride on the Lakes, watch the ocean going ships, see wheat and coal loaded, wave at ship crews, have a beach lunch lakeside, or simply listen to the waves, and be a part of the Spirit of the Inland Seas.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says 'GRIP GENEALOGY INSTITUTE SPIRIT OF THE INLAND SEAS: RESEARCH IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION Virtual Course June 23-27, 23-27,2025 2025 This course will take students through genealogical and historical research in the Lakes region of the United States and Canada. Great COORDINATOR: Cari Taplin INSTRUCTORS: Cyndi Ingle, Judy Russell, and Paula Stuart-Warren Stuart- grip.ngsgenealogy.org Registration opens February 2025'

 

Digitizing Vital Railroad History

Paula Stuart-Warren  Railroads  ,  1 Comment

The Chicago and North Western Historical Society is truly becoming more known as a trailblazer in the preservation of a variety of records, maps, and equipment. Its new building is at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, McHenry County, Illinois. A 14 March 2025 press release tells of how the C&NWHS organization is preserving much of its collection. It has already worked with Ancestry.com to share “Chicago and North Western Railroad Employment Records, 1935-1970.” I discuss this collection in some of my presentations about genealogy and railroad records, especially because it includes some of my relatives who worked for the “Omaha” railroad (Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway, later a part of the C&NWR) in Wisconsin and Minnesota. For dates when I am doing a railroad presentation online, check my Upcoming Presentations under the Speaking tab above.

This part of the press release is a teaser to read more about the scanning equipment and what is being done already. https://whattheythink.com/news/123227-digitizing-railroads-rich-history/

 

 

More grants to preserve historical court records in Virginia

Paula Stuart-Warren  Archives, GRIP Genealogy Institute, Preservation  , , , ,  Leave a comment

I occasionally post about national and state organizations providing grants to local historical societies, courts, and other concerns in regard to preserving history. The grant might be used to purchase archival shelving, add a new roof, digitize newspapers, prepare finding aids, repair books, or some other vital tasks. Most of my posts result from information I receive in emailed newsletters, blogs, Facebook pages, or other social media. The March 2025 Newsletter from the Library of Virginia is another example of the great things we learn from staff at various historical societies, archives, and university libraries.

In fact, this June I am teaching a session on that value and type of missives and articles from such repositories as part of a virtual course. What an array of amazing information they share. My title is “Mining the Written Words of Repositories, Societies, and their Staff” and is part of my course Beyond Digging Deeper: Sources, Methods, and Practices. For more information on this GRIP Genealogy Institute course https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/courses/beyond-digging-deeper-sources-methods-and-practices/

Now back to the Library of Virginia newsletter and more than a hundred grants across the commonwealth to professionally conserve records dating back to the 1690s!

Click to access Media_Release_Library_of_Virginia_announces_2025_preservation_grants.pdf

 

Roseau County, Minnesota history stories

Paula Stuart-Warren  Minnesota  , ,  Leave a comment

I’ve blogged about the Minnesota Digital Library before and last week I learned about some additions to it through one of the library emails I receive. It involves the The Roseau County Historical Society and Museum in Northwestern Minnesota, along the border with Canada. “The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) is pleased to share newly digitized audio recordings from the Roseau County Historical Society (RCHS). The recordings come from the society’s radio program called “A Look Back in Time Stories,” broadcast on local radio station KJ102 FM, as well as several more oral histories, programs, and interviews. This is the latest set of audio files from RCHS that are now freely accessible in MDL. All of them explore the history of the Roseau area, including the Northwest Angle.”

“Highlights from these new additions include a program on prehistoric Roseau County by archaeologist Mike Bulak; an interview with David Johnson, one of the founders of the Polaris snowmobile company; and a panel discussion on Scandinavian art, music, instruments and traditions with three Minnesota professors.”

Listen to all of the audio recordings in MDL today.

Visit the historical society’s website https://roseauhistoric.wpengine.com/

 

 

2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute Syllabus Work

Paula Stuart-Warren  GRIP Genealogy Institute  , , ,  Leave a comment

Over the last month I have prepared 8,162 pages of syllabus content for the my 2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute new virtual course “Digging Deeper: Sources, Methods, and Practices.” My instructors in this course have prepared 9,854 pages. Then I updated and expanded 3,100 pages for Cari Taplin’s GRIP returning course “The Spirit of the Inland Seas: Research in the Great Lakes Region.” I might be stretching those numbers a bit.

Well, it seems like that many pages when we all work diligently to provide our students with exceptional material. 😉 The syllabus for most courses run about 150 to over 200 pages. 

Each of these courses does include an extensive syllabus that will be a fantastic reference source for years to come. Have you registered for these June virtual courses that include the lecture recordings for 14 days after the course ends!

https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org/ and if you have questions check the FAQs under the Other tab.

 

 

Genealogy news from RootsTech: Ancestry.com

Paula Stuart-Warren  DNA    Leave a comment

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting about a few of the offers and announcements from various genealogy organizations and companies coming out of this week’s RootsTech Conference being held this week in Salt Lake City. Many sessions are available for viewing online at no cost. https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/

Ancestry has a big sale on DNA kits. The basic test is only $39 through March 17, 2025. https://www.ancestry.com/dna/?