Nov. 16 class at the MN Genealogy Center on tracing poorer ancestors

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When: Saturday, November 16 10:00 am to 11:30 am

Where: at the Minnesota Genealogy Center, 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Suite 100, Mendota Heights, MN; Class hosted by the Minnesota Genealogical Society

What: Though They Were Poor, They May Have Been Rich in Records
Records related to poor ancestors or with temporary problems exist all over the Midwest. Record details include place of origin, birth date, religion, residence, infirmity, death dates, burial, and family members. Learn about the institutions, records, where they may be found, and how to deal with the emotions that they may produce.

The Presenter: That would be me! Paula Stuart-Warren conducts genealogical and historical research, lecturing, and coaching in U. S. research. Her specialties include: unusual records, analysis, research planning, problem solving, manuscript and archival repositories, railroads, and Native American research. She has experience as an instructor for SLIG and GRIP, and is a former board member of APG, MGS, FGS.

Cost: $25 MGS members, $30 nonmembers. Please preregister to ensure you will get a handout. To learn more and register, click here to see the lineup of events and scroll down to November 16th. Or go directly to the registration page.

Indigenous Peoples Day is an appropriate title for this federal “holiday”

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  , ,  2 Comments

Today’s blog post is pretty much a soapbox post.

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day in Minnesota. As a Minnesota resident, I am proud to say that. In 2016, then Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton issued a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples Day. Many localities and some states have replaced the Columbus Day “holiday” with Indigenous Peoples Day. It’s time for more to do this.

In my school years, I learned all about Columbus and his discovery. What I didn’t learn was what happened to the Native Americans in the land he supposedly discovered. Columbus, and those who accompanied him, committed many atrocities against the people already living on the land. As Europeans sought to escape religious persecution, military battles, poverty, and to discover all the land of gold supposedly promised, they often persecuted those already living in what was to become the United States.

One of the best places to accomplish research on Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. is in the records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A plethora of older records of the BIA have been transferred to the U.S. National Archives (NARA). What does the National Archives call this day? It still uses the federal government term of Columbus Day. It’s regarded as a federal holiday and the Archives locations are closed for the day. Even those who wish to honor their ancestors on Indigenous Peoples Day can’t visit in person read the records about their ancestors. The BIA records that are digitized, indexed, or microfilmed represent a very small percentage of the older records making an in-person visit necessary. The BIA records are in various NARA locations. Visit the NARA website and do some searching using various terminology. The BIA records are mostly written by white men (and some women) and often tell sad stories of how the Native Americans were treated. Getting rid of Columbus Day would be one small bit of reparation.

National Public Radio covered the true importance of today. Ironically, the District of Columbia where NARA is based, has declared today Indigenous Peoples Day! I love one statement in the NPR article: ” For many Italian Americans, Columbus Day isn’t just about the man but about what the day represents: a people searching for safety and acceptance in their new home.” No one is saying Italian American should be neglected. All people should find safety and acceptance. Commit crimes against people and that is a whole other issue. Doesn’t all this make you think about our world today and the discussions of immigrants who wish to live in this land?

An excellent website for furthering your education about the needed change in the older holiday designation for today is the Zinn Education Project. I learned about this in one of my news feeds for today.

U.S. National Archives 7th Annual Genealogy Fair Online

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Just in you have missed this announcement from the U.S National Archives:

WHAT:  The National Archives will host our seventh annual live, virtual Genealogy Fair via webcast on our YouTube channel.  Participate in our biggest genealogy event of the year, with “how-to” family research guidance for all skill levels! For the session descriptions, videos, and handouts, and participation instructions, visit the Virtual Genealogy Fair online.  

WHEN:  Wednesday, October 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT

  • 10 a.m. Welcome by Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero
  • 10:05 a.m. Exploring History Hub for Genealogists and Researchers
  • 11 a.m. Preserving Personal Collections
  • 12 p.m. Immigrant Records: More Than Just Ship Passenger Arrival Lists
  • 1 p.m. Using National Archives Records to Research World War I Naval and Marine Corps Records for Genealogical Research
  • 2 p.m. Discovering and Researching Bureau of Indian Affairs School Records
  • 3 p.m. The Homestead Act: Land Records of Your Ancestors
  • 4 p.m. Closing by Executive for Research Services Ann Cummings                                     

WHO:  Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero, Executive for Research Services Ann Cummings, and government records experts, including those from National Archives’ facilities nationwide.

WHERE:  Anywhere!  Participate during the Fair while it is live streamed on the US National Archives’ YouTube channel. 

HOW:  Visit the Virtual Genealogy Fair web page or follow live on YouTube. Participants can watch individual sessions, download materials, ask questions, and interact with presenters and other family historians. No need to register – just click and view!  Session videos and handouts will remain available after the event. 

Captioning:  Live captioning will be available online with StreamText. If you require an alternative or additional accommodations for the event, please email [email protected] or call 202-357-5260 by October 15.

Background:  The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the Federal government. These include records of interest to genealogists, such as pension files, ship passenger lists, census, and Freedmen’s Bureau materials. See “Resources for Genealogists” online.

Follow the National Archives on Twitter @USNatArchives and join the Genealogy Fair conversation using #genfair2019.

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!