This past Friday’s news release from Findmypast excited me because I have much of my Scottish ancestry in Forfarshire including Brechin, Arbroath, Farnell, Craig by Montrose, Lunan, and Forfar. These are places connected to the ancestral families of my ancestor Helenor Edward who married James Stuart. Their son Alexander Charles Stuart was born in Arbroath in 1847. Helenor was born in Brechin in 1819. Other surnames are Allardice, Leighton, Jap, and Niddery. Of course, the spelling varies on all of these. Now to find time later this week to work in this set of records!

From the Findmypast update:

Scotland, Dundee & Forfarshire (Angus) Hearth Tax 1691

“Did you have Scottish ancestors from Dundee and the county of Forfarshire (Angus)? Search over 50,000 Hearth Tax records from 1691 to find out the number of hearths found within their home. Details like these will provide you with clues about the family’s wealth and status.”

Need more excitement? 7.1 million addition to the U.S. obituary collection and 18,000 article entries added to the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).

Have fun checking these and other items at https://www.findmypast.com/.

$59 instead of $99! Order now to take advantage of this 40% savings! Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day and finding out about your Irish heritage.
https://www.ancestry.com/
*Offer ends March 18, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Excludes taxes and shipping.

I’m trying to wrap my mind around what it must take to continually find, post, explain, double check, and then do updates as a website changes so that CyndisList keeps going for 23 years. Then Cyndi Ingle gets to spend hours delving deeper into many website to find things we can’t find via simple searches on our favorite search engine. 23 years! I have seen Cyndi at work and it still amazes me. I have some suggestions about how we can help her celebrate doing all this for us.

1. Submit a new link to something that will truly assist someone in their family history quest. BEFORE submitting, be sure to check to see if she has already linked to that website or something within it.
2. Find a broken link while using the list — submit a correction.
3. Teach others about CL!
4. Help keep CL going by making a contribution to help cover the expenses of the website, tech support, site hosting, tech support, and domain registration. She lets us use CL for free but all this comes out of her pocket unless we pitch in once in a while.
5. Now, how do you contribute or submit a link or update. That’s easy. Visit https://www.cyndislist.com/ and all the help is right there!

Brainerd Public Library to Hold Annual Genealogy Conference in March

I am returning to the Brainerd Lakes area to present a full day of genealogy and it’s a free day of learning! It’s not at the library this time, but at Arrowwood Lodge in Baxter which has a larger meeting room. Please join me there!

From the library’s press release:

The Brainerd Public Library is holding a day of free genealogy workshops to help family historians with their research methods and finding resources. On Saturday, March 16, at Arrowwood Lodge in Baxter, the library will host professional genealogist Paula Stuart-Warren for two sessions open to all area residents.

A two-hour session titled “Your Family History: Where to Begin?” starts at 10:00 a.m. Stuart-Warren said this session is for those who are curious about their family history and who may or may not have started doing genealogy research. “This workshop is designed to help you learn about researching your family history or update what you have already learned. An extensive handout prepares you for ‘crossing the pond’ to the old country if that is where your family originated. It includes an abundance of useful Internet addresses and details about places to do research. Researching the greater family including the siblings of your great grandparents, all those cousins, aunts and uncles, and even that scoundrel is important. It is never too late or too early to learn more about your family or about the wide variety of records. An added bonus will be a section on DNA testing.”

Beginning at 1:30 p.m., Stuart-Warren presents the workshop “Controlling Chaos: Organizing Your Genealogy Materials.” She said the session is aimed at beginning genealogy researchers as well as those who are more experienced: “Do you have stacks of papers, files, certificates, census copies, and other items around your home? Do you panic when you have to find something or have to use the dining room table for a meal? Can you find what you need in your computer files? You will learn tips for regularly keeping on top of the organizing task, with both paper and software, including tips from some professional genealogists.”

Paula Stuart-Warren, CG℠, FMGS, FUGA, is an internationally recognized genealogical educator, researcher and consultant focusing on unusual resources, manuscripts, methodology, and analyzing records. Her lecturing experience includes the Federation of Genealogical Societies and National Genealogical Society conferences and seminars in many states and Canada. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS), and is a former officer of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG). Her ancestors came to the U.S. from eight ancestral countries.

Those interested may attend one or both sessions. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. outside the Sands Ballroom on the north end of Arrowwood Lodge Brainerd Lakes.  Attendees may bring their own packed lunch or purchase a meal at the on-site Baxter’s Bar and Grill, where a short pre-order menu will be available. This free Legacy Program is funded in part or in whole with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008, which dedicated funding to preserve Minnesota’s arts and cultural heritage. Register by calling the library at 218-829-5574 or visit the library’s Facebook page for more details: www.facebook.com/brainerdpubliclibrary.

Just received this press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   MyHeritage Extends DNA Quest Initiative to Help More Adoptees Reunite with Their Birth Families
MyHeritage pledges 5,000 additional free DNA kits for global distribution to eligible participants, following the success of the first phase of its pro bono initiative

March 01, 2019 01:18 PM Eastern Standard Time
TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MyHeritage, the leading global service for family history and DNA testing, announced today that it is extending DNA Quest, its pro bono initiative to reunite adoptees with their birth families through at-home DNA testing. The first phase of DNA Quest was launched in March 2018 and offered 15,000 free DNA kits to adoptees and those seeking to reunite with family members who were placed for adoption. This resulted in many successful reunions. Due to the large number of applicants, a waiting list of several thousand people was established after registration closed in May 2018. The next phase of DNA Quest announced today re-opens applications on the project website (www.dnaquest.org) and will offer an additional 5,000 free DNA kits to eligible applicants from all countries. Preference is given to applicants who are unable to afford genetic testing.

MyHeritage helps people find their relatives using its DNA Matching technology. The MyHeritage DNA database is one of the fastest-growing in the industry and currently numbers 2.5 million people, including people who tested on MyHeritage and others who uploaded the results of their DNA test for free from other providers. Numerous participants have already reconnected with long-lost family and others have obtained vital clues to assist them in their search. New discoveries continue to emerge, offering participants newfound hope of reuniting with their long-lost loved ones. The search for biological family, especially for birth parents, is time sensitive, as each year older relatives pass away.

Mitch Yurkovich, a Michigan resident and father of four, was adopted as a baby and recently reunited with his biological parents and siblings through DNA Quest. Mitch described the moment that he pieced together the story of his past: “I began to shake, and couldn’t stop smiling! My heart started to race and I was utterly blown away! This was news better than anything in my wildest dreams… I had found my biological family!”

MyHeritage is committed to ensuring that participants receive support on their journey to find their birth families. Last year, the company formed a top-notch advisory board for DNA Quest comprised of world class adoption experts and genetic genealogists, to provide guidance to MyHeritage and the participants. The current project will continue in this manner in 2019 with the same advisory board.

Eligible DNA Quest participants will receive a free MyHeritage DNA kit, which consists of a simple cheek swab. DNA samples are processed in the company’s CLIA-certified, CAP accredited lab in the U.S. and results are available 3–4 weeks after the sample is received. All data is kept private and secure and personal information is never shared with any third parties.

Applications for DNA Quest are now open on the initiative’s website: www.DNAQuest.org. Applications will close on April 30, 2019.

Some notable DNA Quest success stories:

1. DNA Quest reunion featured on Good Morning America

2. New Zealand siblings living just miles apart meet for the first time

3. Emotional reunion of siblings who found one another through DNA Quest

4. DNA Quest reunites half-siblings in their 50s

I need a bunch of years to read through all the microfilmed and manuscript records of the legendary Hudson’s Bay Company. I can view some at places I regularly research and need to go to Winnipeg to access the bulk of the records. Now we have some great news.

” The province of Manitoba will celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2020 and plans to mark the anniversary are well underway. “

“HBCA is digitizing over 1000 reels of microfilm copies of pre-1870 trading post records, making them available to the world online. ”

Read the informative article from CTV Winnipeg here: https://bit.ly/2NCgNb0

Learn more about the HBCA here: https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/

At the annual Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy this January, I was among the instructors in the Native American Research course headed by Rick Fogarty. It was a course that took us all considerable time to pull together for the syllabus,  presentation slides,  and the actual presentation notes. Was the outcome worth the work? It was so worth the time and the interaction with the students was amazing!

I left my sessions in the course feeling euphoric. This group of students knew that there was education available, knew attendance was important, and their contributions in discussions was beyond valuable. Discussions with the other instructors was also beneficial.

So much wrong information about Native American research is found online and in suggestions on social media. The variety of records, approaches, tribes, and repositories is extensive. Consider in-depth learning on this and other subjects if you really want to do extensive research to find your answers.  The learning never stops and it occurs to a special level when done in-person with intensive presentations.

Two separate weeks of quality genealogy education this summer in Pittsburgh on a beautiful college campus! Expert coordinators and instructors, networking with fellow students, knowledge galore, extensive syllabus, direct assistance, and it’s a no-brainer! Join the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh for world-class education this summer in either June or July. A good number of students attend both sessions.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. I highly recommend July’s “Digging Deeper: Records, Tools, & Skills” https://www.gripitt.org/courses/digging_deeper/ … I love planning, teaching, and interacting in this well-received course. We’ve done some upgrading for 2019 and you will love the instruction, interaction, and the extensive syllabus with lots of tips, websites, explanations, and information on things you may not have thought about or encountered. This is a great course if you need to progress further on your research, aren’t quite ready for an extra advanced course, or know you need some extra foundation of learning. We do have some fun, too.

The GRIP website has great tips on the registration process and being ready so you get into your chosen course. I  hope to see you this summer in Pittsburgh!

p.s. GRIP students are addicted to education and advancing their research. Parking is free, basic dorm rooms are available (includes meals), and living genealogy from Sunday-Friday at noon can’t be beat!