The U.S. National Archives has several blogs and newsletters. Recently, the Catalog Newsletter invited researchers to “Come along for a fast track overview of the Cartographic Branch’s railroad records.“
Learn more about the collections: https://archives-20973928.hs-sites.com/all-aboard7-20-2023
Another example has surfaced to show why we need to check again for family information we may have looked for 6 months or five years ago. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to learn that an 1880s high school record book for a family member’s high school had been discovered? If you have family who attended high school at that time in Rochester, Minnesota, you may be in luck. You would also learn that Charles H. Mayo was a classmate of that person. Yes, that Mayo, as in what is now the world-famous Mayo Clinic based in Rochester. Charles was even a good student!
A long article by Jordan Shearer in the online Rochester Post Bulletin of 19 July 2023 tells about the discovery of the record book. It doesn’t say where it will be housed. Hopefully, it will be in a place with proper storage and temperature control.
For the full article: https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/john-marshall-high-school-finds-1880s-grade-book-featuring-charles-h-mayo-during-renovation-process
It was July 12, 1973, FIFTY years ago this week. A fiftieth anniversary is usually called a Golden Anniversary. There is nothing golden about what happened at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri, part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
A fire broke out in the National Personnel Records Center at 9700 Page Avenue in St. Louis. It destroyed approximately 16–18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs).
Burned records, records saturated with the water as the firefighters tried to save it all. A major disaster for veterans, families of veterans, NARA, and for historical researchers, including genealogists.
“The veterans’ records most affected were of U.S. Army, Army Air Force, and Air Force personnel. The fire destroyed more than three-quarters of these documents. These records are critical to support veterans seeking benefits, like health care, home loans, and military funerals.”
A small segment of records were saved, others have been somewhat restored by specialists, and many other records are used in the journey to document those who had served.
Read this informative, sobering, and somewhat hopeful article on the NARA website https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/2023-nprc-fire-anniversary. It includes another photo of the horrific damage.
Geoff Rasmussen, the guru of Legacy Family Tree Webinars writes “What began as an experiment has revolutionized genealogy education. Join us as we celebrate 2,000 webinars. We’ll look backwards and peek ahead, plus we’ll give you 10 actionable tips you can use today, taught by 10 different speakers.”
Join in the celebration at no charge on Friday, July 14, 2023, at 1:00 CDT, 2:00 EDT, by registering. It’s a quick process. http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=1737
I am among the presenters privileged to be a part of the history and you can view my past presentations and the accompanying syllabus material if you have a membership in Legacy Family Tree Webinars. You’ll also have access for a full year to the majority of the 2,000 webinars! Join or renew now http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=1739. The links are my affiliate links that help support a bit of this blog.
“The project seeks to find and mark the resting place of the last U.S. Civil War veteran buried in every county in the United States, honoring each with a ceremony” is the key phrase. I read an article from 12 July 2023 in the online Globe out of Worthington, Minnesota. A ceremony for Private Reuben Hurd in Nobles County, Minnesota marked the end of the search in that county. Previously only two Union veterans had been identified as connected to the county in a Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War database. Research identified a total of 139! 107 of those are buried in the Worthington Cemetery where the ceremony took place.
Read the full article in the Globe. One sentence talked about having to scrub a headstone. That gave me pause, but I bet the SUVCW provided its members and researchers with the proper way to clean a headstone. To learn more about that https://www.gravestonestudies.org/preservation.
My speaking calendar has been updated as of today. Click on the “Speaking” tab above this post to see my upcoming presentations. I’ve been working on a bunch of handouts/syllabus material for the August ones. I am always amazed at the updating that needs to be done even for a topic I have done just a few months earlier. To learn more about taking part in any of these presentations, click on the live link in each date’s entry. The website of the organization will show you details on free and fee-based topics.
If you have read my blog posts before, you know I am a strong advocate for continuing education in genealogy. Heck, in many professions, continuing education is a must. Doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, realtors, social workers, pharmacists, paramedics, plumbers, and many other occupations either recommend or require it. The number of genealogists (some who consider themselves beyond a beginner) who ask basic questions on some websites and in various Facebook genealogy groups continues to astound me when knowledge is so easily available. Classes, webinars, seminars, institutes, books, websites, and more are everywhere. Check used bookstores. For just the U.S., Google genealogy or genealogical society and the name of the county or state where you live. Then do the same for places where your ancestral families resided. Peruse their websites to learn about education opportunities.
MANY offer FREE or low-cost education, some of which can be attained while sitting at home wearing your slippers or robe. Maybe you have an hour or two while your child is taking a nap or is at school. Maybe you need something in the evening or on a day off from work. It’s everywhere. My home society, the Minnesota Genealogical Society, offers many educational webinars on a variety of topics for free the first time they are presented.
I have seen or received basic questions or statements like these:
My affiliate link to join is http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=1739 The few cents I get if you join via this link goes to help keep this blog going.
In honor of Canada Day, MyHeritage is offering free access to all their Canadian records from June 29 to July 2, 2023! Their vast range of Canadian records includes 176 featuring 103,662,055 records, including immigration documents, military records, census data, and more.
This limited-time free access provides an unparalleled opportunity for those with Canadian heritage to explore their roots and learn more about their ancestors.
For several years (some areas even longer), the U.S. National Archives (NARA) has been moving all or parts of Record Groups (RG) from its various locations to storage in Missouri and Kansas. These RG materials are now in high density storage, some of which is underground caves. Yes, you read that correctly.
This means we need to study the NARA website to be sure where the records we wish to research are located today. We may have researched part of a specific RG at a regional location of NARA such as Chicago or in Washington, DC, but now those records may have been moved to the jurisdiction of the NARA Kansas City location. If you had not viewed those records in person but had requested a copy of a record or file, it may have already been in the Kansas City NARA jurisdiction for many years.
Many U.S. District Court records are among those still in the process of moving. Here’s detail on a portion of those now being moved from Chicago to Kansas City:
For more information, here are some links to learn more about records you wish to consult. Not sure about the location of the records you wished to consult in person? Each NARA location has an email posted and that’s a good place to ask your question.
Over the past two weeks, I presented a total of 17 lectures and led several discussion groups as part of two genealogical institutes. Then I rested a bit for a couple days. Watching baseball is one passion that relaxes me. One institute was the Texas Institute of Genealogical Research and the other was the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. TIGR and GRIP are well-known for their level of education. Haven’t attended an in-person or virtual five-day course? Oh, you are missing some excellent education by a variety of excellent instructors. Just reading the brief biographies of the instructors will show their education, experience, and knowledge that they are ready to share with you.
It’s painful when I read a question from someone on social media that begs for some genealogical education. Books, webinars, seminars, institutes, and helpful social media sites are just some of the available education. This doesn’t only apply to those in the U.S. who are researching family roots. We all need to keep learning, but must not overlook the basics.
In a future blog post (once I get caught up with some client reports), I will post a list of educational outlets.