MyHeritage updates the DNA Theory of Family Relativity™

Paula Stuart-Warren  DNA  ,  Leave a comment

I see a press release and tell myself I need to keep on with my work before checking out new genealogy things. That lasts about ten minutes. Today I spent some time looking at my new updates from MyHeritage’s Theory of Family Relativity™. From the press release “adding millions of new theories to help you uncover how you’re related to your DNA Matches.” Then it told of more numbers. Read more on the MyHeritage Blog. While there, be sure to check out the DNA test sale!

 

 

 


Upcoming webinar about developing genealogical Research Plans

Paula Stuart-Warren  Webinars  , ,  2 Comments

This Wednesday, August 28, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, I will be presenting “What’s Next? Developing Step by Step Research Plans.” It is an online event hosted by the The Villages Genealogical Society. I love doing this presentation because it involves the participants, sound advice, and methodology. It shows many reasons why we need the assistance of others to analyze a record, draft the Research Plan, and then ways to put it to work. One vital reminder will make an impression on everyone. https://www.vgsfl.org/eventListings.php?nm=117

 

 

Railroad workers in the family? Join me 17 August to learn about genealogical and historical resurces

Paula Stuart-Warren  Railroads, Webinars  ,  Leave a comment

Join me online this Saturday morning, 17 August 2024. Learn about general resources for locating the correct railroad, where records might be located, how to find “buried away” records, with some added touches for Irish railroad workers. A six-page handout with tips, resources, links, and more accompanies my presentation. https://irishgenealogical.org/

 

 

 

More 2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute Initial Details

Paula Stuart-Warren  GRIP  , , ,  2 Comments

It’s been a busy summer of work for me, and blogging has fallen behind. It’s been a week since the courses for the 2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute (GRIP) were announced. Here’s a quick timeline for some GRIP details including dates you can place on your own calendar. Thank you to the National Genealogical Society for including GRIP in its educational offerings. In the next few days, I will tell more about the “Beyond Digging Deeper” course I am coordinating in 2025.

2024 August 2: Announcement was made on Facebook Live about the 2025 Virtual GRIP courses.

2024 August 2: Announcement was made on Facebook Live about the 2025 In-Person GRIP courses.

2024 September: Around mid-month, the GRIP website will have more information about each course, sessions, and faculty. That’s the time to think about which course(s) you will take.

2025 Early Year: Registration opens for both weeks of GRIP.

2025 June 23-27: GRIP Virtual courses take place online. The syllabus for your course will be available about a week before.

2025 July 13-18: GRIP in-person courses take place at LaRoche University in Pittsburgh. The syllabus for your course will be available about a week before. 

 

 

2025 GRIP Genealogy Institute Courses To Be Announced Friday, Aug 2

Paula Stuart-Warren  GRIP, Institutes  ,  2 Comments

I’m excited. I only know about two of the courses. What are the others? Join live on Facebook at Noon EDT, 11:00 CDT, 10:00 MDT, and 9:00 PDT for the announcement. No registration open yet but at least you will know the course titles and the dates when each will be offered. One week virtual again. facebook.com/GRIPGenealogyInstitute

Genealogy institutes and the course syllabus. Educational thoughts and questions for you.

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  1 Comment

Have you attended a genealogy institute course this year or in recent years? Maybe it’s been a few years. What have you done with the syllabus? Whether it is in Dropbox, in a file on your computer, printed and on a shelf in your genealogy workspace, it’s time to pay more attention to it. Hundreds of pages of education.

  1. Have you consulted it since you participated in that course?
  2. Have you ordered some of the recommended books?
  3. Have you checked some of the recommended websites?
  4. Have you let the course coordinator, or the specific instructor(s) know that you have solved or are working on a long running genealogy problem due to what they taught or shared in the syllabus?

I am continually amazed at the breadth of information that institute faculty add to the syllabus for a course. The things they know about that I may have missed or don’t yet know about! I do refer to those from courses I have taken or been involved with as an instructor.

Why am I posting about this today? I had a meeting earlier today with four women whose institute contributions are extensive. We are working on something that is not yet public information but will be soon. I was astonished at the thinking, ideas, and how much we all nodded or said “thought that too” in agreement to almost every statement made. We had ideas to help the course, ideas to help each other’s sessions, and ways to make it all work together. I ended the meeting with a feeling of exhilaration.

It doesn’t stop there. Use the syllabus for each course you have been a part of or in which you were an instructor. Education continues at all times.

 

 

Genealogy, baseball, and the Hall of Fame

Paula Stuart-Warren  Baseball    2 Comments

In case you don’t know, I am a big fan of the Minnesota Twins. Thanks, Dad, for taking me to Twins games when the Twins arrived in Minnesota. In 1987, I attended three World Series games here at the old Metrodome. I am a big fan of my birth and home city, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Baseball games on playgrounds and high school fields everywhere in the city. I grew up a few blocks from the Ford Little League Fields and watched some games there. I’ve watched my kids and grandkids play baseball and softball. My great grandson is a pretty good baseball player.

I’ve been to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York and saw the displays for Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett and others who I was fortunate to have watched in the game. Thank you to my friend and colleague Karen Mauer Jones for that and our genealogy trip. I now go to 6-8 Twins games a year with my friend and genealogy colleague Alice Eichholz. Thank you for moving to Minnesota and being a baseball fan, Alice. We enjoy the game and also have some genealogy discussions. I get to talk baseball with other friends on Facebook. I am going to a game soon with one of my grandsons and another one with most of my family. Special times. Then a game in August honoring Joe Mauer for what took place today.

Speaking of special times and today, today was one of those in a big way. I listened to one more St. Paul connection, Joe Mauer, be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Thanks to MLB for broadcasting that online today. I was fortunate to see him play for the Twins many times and to be inducted into the HOF today. FOUR St. Paul boys playing baseball over time at fields in close proximity to each other grew into men who excelled at the game and are now Hall of Famers. Joe Mauer, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris, and Dave Winfield. Baseball and Saint Paul. That’s quite a history for one city. some links for more on the Twins and the Hall of Fame:

https://baseballhall.org/nine/minnesota-twins

https://www.mlb.com/twins/history/baseball-hall-of-famers

 

 

Genealogy research trips and planning trips

Paula Stuart-Warren  Research, Research trips    Leave a comment

Still planning some U.S. summer and fall travel for family history research? A few things to think about:

  • Will the old family town have a festival occurring during your trip. That means many people around who might have some connection to or about your family, a family home, or business. It also means that area hotels might be more expensive even if rooms are available. A courthouse or historical society might have limited hours during the event time span.
  • That county or state historical society where your research is focused may have limited hours. For example, the Minnesota Historical Society (including the state archives) only has research hours three days a week. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10-4 only. https://www.mnhs.org/library/about/hours
  • Are appointments required or suggested? Many research places strongly suggest making appointments. 
  • Check the website of that courthouse or historical society under all tabs/buttons. You might find a surprise or two including some indexes, other finding aids, and research tips.
  • Hopefully a guided tour or another helpful guide will help you make the most of your time during the research.
  • Planning for three hours or even a day at one place? Might not be enough. You might discover some records that lead to more delving into things you had not planned for previously. That’s good fortune, thought. Maybe two staff people called in sick and that delays some of your work.
  • Taking along a niece, grandson, or your own child? Are there age restrictions at the research site? How will you occupy them if you find fantastic records and clues that keep you busy for extra hours?
  • Check about bringing in your computer, tablet, scanner, camera, or other equipment. How are copies made? What is the cost?
  • Doing as much research online before you go is probably something you already have planned. Add your list of research needs for each place you will visit.
  • Be flexible. That research list may need to change depending on what you find along the way, if a place is closed, or if the weather is not cooperating.
  • Walking the streets of the place where great grandma grew up is special. Entering the old courthouse where grandpa paid his taxes might give you a few good bumps.
  • Enjoy the trips. These are well worth it.
  • Didn’t make the trip or made it but needed more time. Hire a professional genealogist in that area to help with the work. Also well worth it?

 

 

Registration is open for the 2024 North Star Conference of the Minnesota Genealogical Society

Paula Stuart-Warren  Conferences, Minnesota Genealogical Society  , , ,  Leave a comment

Unlocking the Past, Shaping the Future. Two fantastic, featured speakers plus 12 additional speakers await you in October. A pre-conference DNA day, a Friday evening banquet, vendors, and a syllabus to boot. The Minnesota Genealogical Society conferences have education, discussions, and more for every level and of family historian.


I will be presenting two sessions and there are many others on the program.

  • Researching Midwestern and Plains States Native Americans
  • An Anytime Library FREE From Your Home 

Full details https://mngs.org/North-Star-2024 Get October 24, 25, and 26 on your calendar today.

FREE BCG-SPONSORED GENEALOGY WEBINAR. July 15, 2024

Paula Stuart-Warren  Education, Webinars  , ,  1 Comment

Not your ancestry? Oh, it’s still worth an hour of your time. You never know what you might learn about oral history, what someone with Asia-Pacific ancestry might ask you about in six months, or simply expanding your history knowledge. When I was doing publicity for and co-chairing large genealogy conferences, I often suggested that researchers attend at least one session that wasn’t connected to their ancestral research needs. I did that myself and was happy for the expanded information.

“Oral Genealogy in Asia-Pacific: The Essence of Personal Identity and Tribal Connections”
by David Ouimette, CG, CGL, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 8:00 p.m. (EDT). From a BCG (Board for Certification of Genealogists” press release:

“Oral genealogies celebrate ancestral connections in indigenous cultures across Asia-Pacific. As one paramount chief in Samoa declared, “The most important thing for children to understand is their family connections. The knowledge of history is their treasure—not gold and silver, but genealogy.” Learn about the significance and richness of oral genealogies and current efforts to preserve them in Asia and the Pacific.

David Ouimette, CG, CGL, manages Content Strategy for Asia and the Pacific at FamilySearch, prioritizing records of genealogical value for digital preservation and online publication. His team prioritizes camera placement and targets records for preservation in national, regional, and local archives. David has researched in several hundred archives in over seventy countries spanning all continents. Previously, David was product manager at Ancestry.com, responsible for family trees, United States records, DNA testing, and the search experience. David regularly lectures at national genealogical conferences and institutes. He serves as a Trustee for the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has served as Vice President of the Utah Genealogical Association and on the board of the National Genealogical Society. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics from Brigham Young University, has contributed articles to many magazines and journals, and authored Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide. David and his wife, Deanna, live in Highland, Utah, are the parents of eight children, and have seven grandchildren.

BCG’s next free monthly webinar in conjunction with Legacy Family Tree Webinars is “Oral Genealogy in Asia-Pacific: The Essence of Personal Identity and Tribal Connections” by David Ouimette, CG, CGL. This webinar airs Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. EDT. 

When you register before July 16 with our partner Legacy Family Tree Webinars (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9013) 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.

“Education is one of the most significant ways of achieving BCG’s mission for promoting public confidence in genealogy through uniform standards of competence,” said President Faye Jenkins Stallings, CG. “We appreciate this opportunity to provide these webinars that focus on the standards that help family historians of all levels practice good genealogy.”

Following the free period for this webinar, BCG receives a small commission if you view this or any BCG webinar by clicking our affiliate link: http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=2619.

To see the full list of BCG-sponsored webinars for 2024, visit the BCG blog SpringBoard at https://bcgcertification.org/bcg-2024-free-webinars.  For additional resources for genealogical education, please visit the BCG Learning Center (https://bcgcertification.org/learning).

Lisa S. Gorrell, CG
BCG News Release Coordinator

The words Certified Genealogist and its acronym, CG, are a registered certification mark, and the designations Certified Genealogical Lecturer and its acronym, CGL, are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluation.