More genealogy education from the Genealogy Guys

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You may know them as the Genealogy Guys George G. Morgan and Drew Smith, and now they are adding more education for all of us. Please note the October Family History Month discount. From their press release: “Aha! Seminars, Inc., the producers of The Genealogy Guys Podcast, the Genealogy Connection podcast, and The Genealogy Guys Blog is pleased to announce the launch of Genealogy Guys Learn (genealogyguyslearn.com), a subscription-based educational website designed to provide genealogy courses and videos for researchers of all skill levels.

At its launch, the site offers 5 text-based courses on such topics as basic research, intermediate research, the Social Security Death Index, wills and probate records, and military records. It also presents 12 recorded presentations by The Guys, including All About the U.S. Federal Census, Principles of Effective Evidence Analysis, Finding Archived Newspapers, Organizing Your Research Process, and more. New content will be added every month making this an on-going value. Links to excellent books, products, and services offer our subscribers the chance to expand their personal libraries. The annual fee is $99 but, during Family History Month (October), The Genealogy Guys Podcast listeners get a 10% discount coupon code.

The Genealogy Guys are international experts, authors, presenters, and the producers since 2005 of the world’s longest running genealogy podcasts. Learn from the best!”

Early California Maps 1827-1846 digitized!

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“October 6, 2019 – SACRAMENTO, CA – The California State Archives has digitized its entire Diseños Collection, hand-drawn sketches of maps used during the land grant process before and after statehood.  . . This collection contains images of 493 hand-drawn sketch maps that were originally created from 1827-1846. The hand-drawn sketch maps, or diseños, were used by the Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. governments to demonstrate land grant boundaries for individuals.”

The info above is from the Sierra Sun Times of 6 October 2019. To view the maps visit the California State Archives. I plan to spend some time looking at the maps that cover area I have visited and where relatives live today.

FamilySearch Wiki: 90,000 articles!

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It’s been the talk of social media, but in case you have missed this news, here it is! This summer, the FamilySearch Research Wiki published its 90,000th wiki article. The wiki is now12 years old. From the FamilySearch blog:

“The wiki teaches researchers how to use genealogical records and where those records are kept, This summer, the FamilySearch Research Wiki published its 90,000th wiki article—a major milestone since its humble beginnings nearly 12 years ago. whether online or in repositories. This resource helps people /’research their own families by connecting them to the best information and databases available.”

The wiki is one that I use frequently when my work turns to a different county or state and I need to be certain of dates and databases. If you don’t already make use of this wiki, it’s time to check it out. In fact, it’s now up to 900,747 articles.

My October & November genealogy presentations

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Over the next two months, I will be live and in-person in Florida (1 day), Minnesota (3), and Wisconsin (2). I close out the year with a webinar.


October 4-5, Plymouth, Minnesota [Minneapolis area] Minnesota Genealogical Society Annual North Star Conference and MGS 50th Anniversary Banquet. Extensive list of speakers. I am doing two presentations plus part of a professional genealogists panel.



October 10, 2019 Hudson, Wisconsin Hudson Public Library 10:30 a.m. Free lecture and handout: “Finding Maiden Names”

October 23, 2019, The Villages, Florida https://vgsfl.org/

Morning: “Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Research”
Afternoon: “Major Midwestern Archives and Their Records”


October 26, 2019 Minneapolis, Minnesota Hennepin County Library, Central Library, Annual Family History Fair. FREE event! I am the keynote speaker “The Rapidly Changing World of Genealogical Research.” Yearly? How about hourly on some days! New websites, indexes, digitized records, and finding aids abound. DNA, criminology, scanning, privacy concerns, social media, and more are “new.” What about records access, limitations, and handling modern families and names? Many things haven’t changed and education is a big key.

November 2, 2019 Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Historical Society all-day seminar “Records, Records, and More Records!” Join me as I do four presentations at the beautiful WHS. To Register see the WHS website. Come a few days early to research at WHS which is a renowned North American history library. Most books are on open shelves plus self-serve microfilm!

November 16, 2019, Mendota Heights, Minnesota

Class at the Minnesota Genealogy Center: Tho’ They Were Poor, They May Have Been Rich in Records. 10:00-11:30 includes time for questions and discussion. To register: https://mngs.org/

November 19, 2019, Webinar “Native American Research: Things You May Not Know” A FREE Board for Certification of Genealogists presentation on Legacy Family Tree webinars. 8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. CST

Hubbard County, Minnesota records preservation

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Records preservation and access is of vital importance to family historians. On Saturday, 21 September, The Park Rapids Express carried an article about an important transfer of township level records to the proper storage facilities at the Minnesota State Archives. It also told of efforts to discover more township records from the county. The Hubbard County Recorder Nicole Lueth is behind this effort and is working with the county board.

“Lueth said these records are particularly valuable to the state archives “because they can put a certain individual in a certain place geographically and a certain timeframe. . .Genealogists like to create layers of information to substantiate their family’s history.”

The state archives staff will collect the records, do needed repairs, and make them available for research.

The records to be transferred are township birth and death registers; township chattel mortgage record books and indexes (1913), and the county’s Motor Vehicle Index 1 (1919-1921).

The full article can be accessed here.

 

 

 

A neat award for me: Laura G. Prescott Award for Exemplary Service to Professional Genealogy

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  ,  19 Comments

Back in the early 1980s I heard a genealogy speaker talk about the soon to be released 1910 census. What? That census was already available to researchers. I vowed that I would continue learning, try to stay up-to-date, and hopefully do my talks with current information. As a professional genealogist who does research for clients, coaches those who are just starting heir family history, or who need an extra set of eyes to figure out what to do next, and love to share what I learn, I am not perfect. (I also write long sentences.) Sometimes life interferes and once in a while, a legal client case must take preference. Family emergencies, illness, deaths, and a lot of joyous occasions take precedence at times.

I love my chosen occupation and while it hasn’t provided a mansion, lake home, or annual vacations, it’s mine. It’s also the occupation of many others. We are great at delving into records, seeing clues you may have missed, and telling you about all the records and places to research that contain fantastic information.

I joined the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) in 1989 and about to renew my membership for another year. I served on the Executive Committee for two years and have been a part of several committees over the years. On 19 September 2019, I received a special honor from this organization.

The Laura G. Prescott Award for Exemplary Service to Professional Genealogy was presented at the Association of Professional Management Conference in Salt Lake City to me. Yes, me! It’s an honor for which I just had to be present to receive. I saw many colleagues that I hadn’t seen in several years, saw lots of students I had taught at seminars and institutes, and that made the day even better.

The award is named for a long-time friend who lost a battle to cancer in 2018. Laura was a professional in all aspects of life and served as an APG President. This award is given to recognize “service to the field of professional genealogy, in recognition of exemplary professionalism and continuing encouragement to other professional genealogists. It acknowledges those with a career devoted to uplifting fellow genealogists and improving their career circumstances and opportunities, and dedicated service to the field of professional genealogy.”

As APG Vice-President David McDonald read a short bit about me, I felt special, then I walked up to receive the beautiful etched award from President Billie Fogarty. The tears began. Then the doggone audience stood and clapped. Yes, more tears. I love my colleagues. I have learned much from them, too. We need each other.

Now back to some client research I am doing at the Family History Library while I am in Salt Lake City. An added benefit of this trip.

Legacy Family Tree webinars celebrates #1000!

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Today, Legacy Family Tree webinars celebrates its webinar # 1,000! It’s also the 10 year anniversary of this webinar series. Celebrate the “1,000th webinar together as we recall the history, relive the bloopers, remember the emotions, and view never-before-revealed insights of the behind-the-scenes of the webinar series that revolutionized genealogy education.”

It’s beginning shortly so register right now!

Friday, September 20, 2019

  • 2:00 pm Eastern
  • 1:00pm Central
  • 12:00pm Mountain
  • 11:00am Pacific
  • 6:00pm GMT

 

 
The new limit for live attendees is 3,000, so invite everyone you know!
 
I’ve been privileged to present several webinars for this series and I know Geoff Rasmussen, Marian Pierre Louis, and the rest of the team do a wonderful job. As for the bloopers, I wonder who will be in those!
 
 
 

Live streaming of MyHeritageLIVE

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From MyHeritage: “The live stream will be available on the MyHeritage LIVE website and on the MyHeritage Facebook page, so please tune in from 9:00 a.m. Amsterdam time on September 7th. If you need help calculating the time difference to your local time zone, you can use https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/. 

Make sure to visit the conference website to see the full schedule.”

For my Central Time Zone here in Minnesota that’s 2:00 a.m. on the 7th. I might still be awake.

 

 

Calling Harvey Girls or descendants to St. Louis Sept. 13

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  ,  6 Comments

News feed reminders often bring railroad news to me. If you have heard any of my various lectures on railroad employees and finding records, you know it includes discussion of the Harvey Girls as an example of workers related to the railroad industry, but who didn’t work directly for a railroad.

A September 13, 2019 celebration at the St. Louis, Missouri Union Station includes a tribute to Fred Harvey and his railroad-related businesses.

“All aboard! Calling all Harvey Girls & Harvey workers or their descendants, and St. Louis railroad history fans. You’re invited to this free reception to celebrate the Fred Harvey heritage at St. Louis Union Station as part of the station’s 125th anniversary celebrations . . . If you are a Harvey Girl or a Harvey Girl descendant who will be attending, send a note to us at harveygirl@insightrocks.com so we can welcome you!”

Read more details here or here.

If I didn’t already have a couple extra busy weeks in September, I might have attended!

Family Tree Magazine is recycling old articles without proper identification

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  , ,  1 Comment

Frustrated and embarrassed when a genealogical publication reprints something I wrote 15 years ago and didn’t even check to see about updates. Yes, my name was on the article in the current issue of Family Tree Magazine. My guide to Montana research was compiled and published in 2005. A fellow researcher who subscribes to the magazine called this to my attention. She had noticed some things were outdated. Yankee Publishing has acquired Family Tree Magazine from F+W Media and I would imagine this is not up to Yankee Publishing standards. Things change so quickly and 15 years means much needed to be updated. Basics in genealogy stay the same, but other things are changing almost by the hour. It’s not fair to subscribers of Family Tree Magazine either, as they may assume I am not up-to-date. My reputation and future income is at stake. Other authors are also finding that older articles they wrote are being republished in Family Tree Magazine. Some have them named as author and others omit the author name. No matter what our original contracts with FTM said, it’s not fun to see something we initially wrote being recycled without a disclaimer. as to who and when it was written. I am proud of my reputation in my chosen field and am sorry that subscribers are being fooled.

Yes, I have older blog posts and other articles that can be found online, but they are identified by date so that someone knows to search for updated information. I have articles in many older genealogical publications and have published books. All those clearly define when it was published. Some articles on the Family Tree website are attributed to FTM staff, but were written by many of my colleagues.

I hope Yankee Publishing clears up this mess and can assure paying subscribers of FTM that they are getting current information and that previous authors are not being embarrassed. I assume that Yankee Magazine is above such a mess. will let readers know if I hear from both FTM and Yankee Publishing.

Added: interesting quote from Dick Eastman’s 22 July 2019 Online Genealogy Newsletter: “Yankee Publishing has a great vision for Family Tree,” said Andrew Koch, editor of the magazine. “As part of YPI, we’ll continue bringing the best genealogy advice and resources to our readers so they can discover their ancestors and connect to their roots.”