MyHeritage Updates for August
The MyHeritage Blog for September 13, 2020 includes the list of newly added material for the month of August. Here’s the link.
Iowa Genealogical Society Fall Conference goes virtual (& will be live)
October 2 & 3, 2020. Let’s all pretend we are in Des Moines, Iowa attending the fall conference of the Iowa Genealogical Society. However, it’s 2020 and we will really have to pretend, but thankfully we can get together live via Zoom. I am the keynote presenter doing three presentations each day. Therese Liewer and Sheri Snodgrass will present one lecture each. The conference theme is:
Discover New Resources – Expand Your Hunt
All the presentations will be live and you will get to chat with the presenters in between sessions and add questions and comments in the chat area. It’s quite possible there will be some laughter, too. It will all run smoothly on Zoom as IGS has contracted to have Cyndi Ingle of Cyndi’s List as the Virtual Meeting Host. She has done this for other societies and the reviews were excellent. There will be lots of assistance for those not familiar with the technology!
My six presentations are:
The Farmer in the Dell . . . and in Many U.S. Records
Railroad Records and Railroad History: Methods for Tracking
Finding Maiden Names: Let Me Count the Ways
Research Nugget in the Midwest: The Allen County Public Library
The U.S. National Archives: The Nation’s Attic
Midwestern and Plains States State Level Census Records
To learn more , see the cost, and to register, visit the IGS website or its Facebook page.
My upcoming genealogy presentations calendar has been updated
Between now and the middle of January 2021 I will be doing presentations in Iowa, Minnesota (2), Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Utah.
I have updated my presentations calendar for all these events with links to the organizations that have contracted with me. That’s where you will learn how to register. You won’t have to wear a face mask or bring hand sanitizer, though. All of these will be done online. This means you don’t have to physically be in these states!
I hope to see you at many of these. I have been enjoying other online education this year, too. All of my presentations include a handout or the handouts are included in a syllabus. The organizations either email these to you or give you a link to the information.
Some events are free and others have a cost. We do need to support our genealogical and historical organizations even through this tough year. The platforms on which they offer online webinars and seminars are not free when they let more than a few people participate. The presenters are also not free.
We put a lot of hours into compiling presentations and handouts. Even if a presentation is not being done for the first time, there is still a lot of time involved in reviewing and updating them. All URLs must be checked, content is often tweaked, and I generally make some alterations to apply more directly to the main area of the probable audience. It’s the job of a presenter to be prepared. I have a couple presentations still in development and have been for several years. I research, find documents, do more research, and then comes the PowerPoint compilation. The handout also takes a lot of time. Now I better go update some handout for upcoming presentations.
It’s time: another session of Researching U.S. Government Records 101 (Save $30)
My popular course Researching U.S. Government Records 101 is being offered right now with a special discount available only through September 15th, 2020. Use the code PAULA30 at checkout.
I compiled this four-session course to introduce students to the vast number of records held by the United States government. Federal records are found with the U. S. National Archives (NARA) (in many locations), Library of Congress, Federal Depository Libraries, Family History Library/FamilySearch, state historical societies, university libraries, state archives, and via many of today’s genealogy subscription websites. Others remain with the designated federal agency. Many are one-of-a-kind documents. The details found in the records are astounding and help to compile a better picture of our ancestors and their families. From birth, marriage, and death details all the way to how great grandpa’s leg was injured or what happened to the family business can be found. The federal census and military pension records you may know about are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It focuses on NARA and you may be surprised at all that you can find online and learn more about what can be done on future visits to NARA locations.
Once you have completed the course and a few assignments, you may return to the recorded lessons at any time to refresh what you learned! The course is accompanied by a six-page handout filled with details and an extensive list of books and websites. All registrants will be invited to a private Facebook page for learning more, asking questions, and sharing discoveries is shared at the end. Some past students and their comments remain on the page so you get additional insights.
Use code PAULA30 for the $30 discount. Valid through 15 September 2020 with Liza Alzo’s company Research Write Connect Academy.
https://www.researchwriteconnect.com/researching-u-s-government-records-101-4
Genealogy Unsung Heroes Awards. Wow.
The Genealogy Guys Podcast, co-hosted by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith, producers of the oldest continually produced genealogy podcast, and Vivid-Pix, makers of RESTORE photo and document restoration software, are pleased to recognize the winners in the Unsung Heroes Awards at the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference being held online.
The Unsung Heroes Awards acknowledge and celebrate those members of the genealogy community who digitize, index, or transcribe documents of value to genealogical researchers. The Unsung Heroes Award is designed to recognize the efforts of its recipients in multiple categories.
The winners selected for Unsung Heroes Awards for August 2020 are in the Individual and Genealogical Society categories:
Individual – Rosemary McFarland of Mount Eden, Kentucky. Rosemary created the Kentucky Genealogical Society’s digitization project and has chaired the committee for the past three years.
Society – Eller Family Association The Eller Family Association in Midlothian, Virginia, is the society winner. The EFA was created in 1987 to help “promote a sense of kinship” and to “encourage and aid genealogical and historical research on Eller and allied families in the United States and Europe.”
The Unsung Heroes Grant enables a genealogical society, historical society, or museum to make images available to the genealogy community. The award includes a high-quality scanner, software to save and back up images, and two copies of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software. The package is valued at $500.
The winner selected for the Unsung Heroes Grant for August 2021 is the Morgan County History Partnership (MCHP) of Indiana.
The extensive details of the wonderful work done by each of the winners is on http://blog.genealogyguys.com/ and also on Rick Voight’s Vivid-Pix Unsung Heroes Blog at https://vivid-pix.com/blog. You do need to read all that these winners have done for all of us. These blogs also give details on the next round of award nominations in January 2021.
The last Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference kicks off this week. Online!
According to my calendar, I should be arriving in downtown Kansas City, Missouri right now. I will have driven 7.5 hours from Saint Paul, Minnesota. I would be at the front desk checking into the hotel for the last ever Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference as it will merge into NGS later this year. The hugs from genealogy friends will have begun along with lots of laughing. Instead I will sit in front of my computer, maybe shed a tear or two for this organization that was very much a part of my life for more than 20 years, and only hug virtually. I will then be watching FGS2020 virtually. I’ve already skimmed through 2/3 of the huge electronic syllabus and it’s great. If you haven’t registered for this week’s live presentations on Wednesday and those that follow online starting September 15th, do it now! Be a part of history. Three different levels of online participation so choose what your budget can handle. Every registrant receives the syllabus. I have four sessions that are a part of this FGS 2020 Conference. The first photo is from the FGS 2001 Conference in Davenport, Iowa, the week of 9/11. We are singing God Bless America. The second photo is from the FGS Conference in Philadelphia in 2008.
The On-Demand content contains over 80 sessions, PLUS you will receive more than 30 sponsored sessions and a collection of 15 society management sessions for FREE. Tell your genealogical and historical societies about these sessions. If you miss the Live! Session, on September 2d, you will have the opportunity to view it together with the On-Demand content, which will be available starting September 15 and will be available for your viewing until March 15, 2021.
Check it out now! https://fgs.org/annual-conference/
Two Holocaust record collections to be free forever!
Another recent press release really touched me as it makes more Holocaust-related records widely available. I grew up in a neighborhood that had close Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant neighbors. My first babysitting jobs were for Jewish neighbors and my second job outside of babysitting was for a Jewish boss. We had lots of connections in other ways, too. This selected segment is from Ancestry and the full press release may be read here.
Today, we are proud to announce another significant addition to our philanthropic initiative to preserve important records related to the Holocaust. In partnership with Arolsen Archives, Ancestry has completed our digitized, searchable collection of more than 19 million Holocaust and Nazi persecution-related records.
We also are humbled and honored to announce our new partnership with USC Shoah Foundation to publish an index to nearly 50,000 Jewish Holocaust survivor testimonies that contain information on more than 600,000 additional relatives and other individuals found in survivor questionnaires.
Both of these collections will be available for free, in perpetuity, for everyone at www.ancestry.com/alwaysremember.
FamilySearch and Ontario Ancestors New Book Scanning Project
I’m catching up on some press releases recently received. This one from FamilySearch details a new scanning project with the Ontario Genealogical Society excites me because of my own Ontario connections and those of many clients.
FamilySearch and Ontario Ancestors Announce Book Scanning Project
FamilySearch Canada Digital Book Initiative
Ontario Ancestors and FamilySearch International announced their new book scanning partnership. Under the agreement, FamilySearch will provide specialized book scanning services and support volunteers in exchange for access to Ontario Ancestors’ extensive library of historical and genealogical books. Digitized documents will be publicly available on both websites. Digitization is scheduled to begin by the end of 2020, depending on pandemic restrictions.
This agreement is a first for a genealogical society in Canada. Steve Fulton, UE, and president of Ontario Ancestors, said, “This agreement has no direct cost to us, but the benefits to the society are immeasurable.” Fulton added that the agreement is a direct result of many conversations Ontario Ancestors has had with a number of partners, and [it] is a key to delivering on the society’s goal of building up its digital presence by utilizing strong partnerships.
Dennis Meldrum, FamilySearch manager of book scanning partnerships, says Ontario Ancestors has one of the largest collections of family history and genealogy books in Canada. “It will be a privilege to work with Ontario Ancestors to digitize and share their impressive collection of books not under copyright,” said Meldrum.
This is the second time the two organizations have partnered on records preservation and access. The first digitization project was the Vernon Directories that began in 2019 (Search the Ontario Vernon Directories).
Register now for 2020 Minnesota Genealogical Society Virtual Conference
“2020 North Star Goes Virtual!
Join us October 8-10, 2020 for our first ever Virtual North Star Genealogy Conference. 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 on Oct. 9-10.
We’ll give out awards, select a winning photo in the Minnesota Genealogist cover photo contest, “see” vendors, and “Ask a Genealogist”. You can even “host your own home banquet” on Friday evening while listening to Judy Russell’s banquet talk.”
I will be presenting two of the many breakout sessions:
Bountiful and Unique Minnesota Research Resources
DNA Results Ready? Now Locate Those 20th & 21st Century Ancestors & Cousins
[Title is slightly modified from the original title]
Full schedule: https://mngs.org/cpage.php?pt=132
Registration and other details: https://mngs.org/cpage.php?pt=98
2020 marks the 100th year anniversary of the Negro Leagues baseball teams
I was planning to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri later this month before I was at the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference that was to begin on September 2d. That nasty coronavirus has caused that conference to go virtual instead.
I was reminded of the Negro Leagues anniversary today as I watched the Minnesota Twins in a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Both teams wore patches on their uniforms to remember the past. Many years ago while in California to speak at the California African American Genealogical Society’s anniversary seminar, I had a conversation with a man who had played in the Negro Leagues. What a joy!
All that said, it still strikes me as sad that a separate league was necessary. A baseball player is a baseball player. Racism sucks. Jackie Robinson’s 1947 entry with the Brooklyn Dodgers was big news and still is. I did a little bit of research and found that my home state, Minnesota, did not have a team in the Negro Leagues when it began in 1920. Minnesota did have some strong black baseball teams. Minnesota Public Radio’s website has information on the history of black baseball players in the state. Louis White wrote ” “They Played for the Love of the Game: Untold Stories of Black Baseball in Minnesota.” after finding out that his Dad was one of the players. He didn’t know about his Dad’s connection until Louis himself saw his Dad’s name in an exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Society in the 1980s. That book is on its way to me as is Swinging for the Fences: Black Baseball in Minnesota. Now I want to see how each mentions the black women baseball players in the state.
A few websites for more interesting information
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul_Colored_Gophers
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis_Keystones
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Negro_league_baseball_teams
- https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/mlb-to-honor-100th-anniversary-of-negro-leagues
- https://www.minnesotablackbaseball.com/
- https://sabr.org/journal/article/john-donaldson-and-black-baseball-in-minnesota/