Education has always been important to me and has continued throughout my personal family history research and in my job as a professional genealogist.

 I love to tell people that I went to the same building for high school as my grandmother attended in grade school. That usually brings a quizzical look from anyone who hears me utter that strange sentence. That’s what I though was true. My maternal grandmother (born in 1901) attended St. Luke’s grade school here in Saint Paul, Minnesota because it was just down the block at 880 Portland Avenue from where the family lived at 1011 Portland. The St. Luke’s school building was later purchased and became Our Lady of Peace (OLP) High School. That’s where I went to high school.  Research to back up my statement later showed that the same building where I walked the halls was the second building on the same land as had been the grade school. The original building was built in 1904. That building was replaced with the larger brick building in about 1931. That’s from old research that shows my notes were not well-cited. (Do cite as I teach, do not do as I did.)

GenealogybyPaula is back and running. We changed servers and are working on the stupid Pharma hacking that still pops up here and there. I appreciate readers who have informed me about issues.

Join us October 8-10, 2020, for the 13^th annual North Star Genealogy Conference. This virtual conference will be a real treat. Featured speakers Judy Russell and Rev. David McDonald will start things off with plenary sessions Thursday evening, Oct. 8 followed by more plenaries and 12 breakout sessions October 9 and 10. 
 
North Star is more than lectures. You can listen in to lively moderated discussions with Judy Russell and David McDonald. You can submit questions for our expert “Ask a Genealogist” panel, and you can vote for your favorite photo in the 2020 Minnesota Genealogist cover photo contest. And, you won’t want to miss the door prize drawings! Then, you can enjoy your first-ever Do-it-Yourself virtual banquet and help us honor our 2020 MGS service and achievement award winners.

Find more conference details on the 2020 North Star Conference page. 

It’s October and Family History Month. Many of us are still pretty much staying home. Why not learn more about genealogy research, records, and writing! Do we have a special for you? You bet!

Research Write Connect is offering 30% off the price of each course. This includes my course Researching U. S. Government Records 101. Four lessons, extensive handout, great insight and examples, and some relatively easy homework. You may do more than the suggested homework once you follow the steps because you won’t be able to stop yourself. All registrants are invited to a private Facebook group for sharing your finds, asking questions, and reveling in what other find.

The 30% discount is good through October 12, 2020. Use code OCTOBER30 for your savings at https://www.researchwriteconnect.com/researching-u-s-government-records-101-5

Read a bit more about this and another special offer on the RWC blog.

8 Billion!! Read on for the official FamilySearch press release.

Nonprofit FamilySearch published its 8 billionth free searchable name from its worldwide historic record collections online. The milestone is even more astounding when you think that each name is someone’s ancestor—8 billion family connections just waiting to be discovered. Explore the free databases at FamilySearch.org.

It’s an incredible feat when you realize that just 1 billion seconds ago, it was 1988, or 1 billion minutes ago the Roman Empire was thriving and Christianity was just beginning to spread.

“To digitally preserve and make so many names freely searchable online is impressive, but it’s the personal family connections that matter most,” said David Rencher, FamilySearch’s chief genealogical officer. “With each new record, there’s the possibility to find a missing link in the family tree. And that is soul-satisfying.” And FamilySearch adds over 1 million new records each day.

Read the full, interesting press release here.