Reserve hotel rooms now for the 2016 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference

Paula Stuart-Warren  Conferences/Institutes, Federation of Genealogical Societies, FGS, Illinois State Genealogical Society, Springfield  Leave a comment

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Today’s the day! It’s officially time to begin making your hotel reservations for the 2016 FGS conference. Anyone with an interest in family history is invited! The dates are 31 August – 1 September 2016 and the place is Springfield, Illinois. The host society is the Illinois State Genealogical Society.

Book your hotel today to learn genealogy in the Land of Lincoln and help us celebrate FGS’ 40th Anniversary! To learn more about the two large hotels (one across the street and one connected) visit www.fgsconference.org/

Watch the FGS website for more details. Springfield is welcoming FGS back with a massively renovated Prairie Capital Convention Center!

‪#‎FGS2016‬

Lutheran pastor discovers her Jewish roots

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  Leave a comment

The Reverend Heidi Neumark was raised Lutheran and became a Lutheran Pastor. He daughter found the interesting tidbit about the Jewish background and they did more research. The family history includes the  horror of a concentration camp. An article in the Duluth News Tribune yesterday tells the story of the journey and how it developed into a book. She will be talking about the journey in Duluth on Thursday of this week. As the article states,

“It’s a spiritual journey. It’s a personal journey. It’s a journey about what do we keep from each other inside of families. What I hope is that people come away with a sense of being willing to face what’s in their own families and build stronger and broader relationships as a consequence of that,”

The article tells more of the story.

 

Native American course online November 17th

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  Leave a comment

Update: Did you miss this webinar? You may still purchase it and view it on your own. That handout is available too.

You may still register for my Tuesday, November 17th “Native American Genealogy Crash Course” that will be online at Family Tree University.  Registrants get a link to my 6 page handout. The U.S. time is 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 CT, 5:00 MT, and 4:00 PT.

Learn more here from Family Tree University about signing up:  http://www.shopfamilytree.com/native-american-genealogy-on-demand-crash-course

Doc Slaker was a real stud

Paula Stuart-Warren  Google  Leave a comment

It’s really not what you are thinking! My Great Grand Uncle Louis F. Slaker owned a English Setter named Doc Slaker. This dog was a real stud. It’s a true statement. I never met the man or his children or grandchildren, though I do have photographs. How do I know about the dog? Periodically, I do Google searches for some of my less common family surnames in case anything new shows up. A recent search turned up this information from a 1903 American Kennel Club volume.
Slaker Kennel Club

(from: American Kennel Club Stud Book, Volume 19, New York: American Kennel Club, 1903, page 815. Viewed on Google Books 15 November 2015.)

It’s interesting that it says St. Louis, Minn. for him. No such city name in Minnesota. There is a St. Louis County. Per city directories, he was living in St. Paul around that time. by the 1905 state census, he was in St. James, Watonwan County, Minnesota. Doc Slater had children, er offspring, er puppies that were listed in subsequent Kennel Club directories.

Don’t forget to do some general searches for your uncommon surnames. Maybe you will find some nice surprises, too.

Now, where might I find a picture of the studly Doc Slaker?

 

Minnesota websites for genealogical & historical research: Part 7

Paula Stuart-Warren  Minnesota  1 Comment

It’s been a while since I did a post on Minnesota links. This is Part 7 of my ongoing series of posts about great online resources from historical societies, archives, libraries, and other places around Minnesota. Don’t forget to check the websites of these organizations for lists, catalogs, and finding aids that tell you about the other extensive research resources that need to be used in person.  You will be astounded at all that is available both online and in these places. To view parts 1-6, scroll down the right side to the Categories section and click on Minnesota.

 

Veterans Day: Always remember how freedom is preserved

Paula Stuart-Warren  Civil War, fold3.com, Military, Veterans, War of 1812, World War II  Leave a comment

Veterans Day. Armistice Day. Day of Remembrance. Whatever you call it, it’s a day to honor those who have served in the military to help protect freedoms around the world. I have many relatives who served the U.S. citizens. Among them, my Dad, Bill Stuart, served in WWII, Great Great Grandfather William Slaker was in the Civil War until he was injured, 1c1r Robert Hanley was a POW in WWII, several Hanley granduncles served in WWI. Maternal Granduncle William G. Cook returned from WWI with a badly injured leg. Uncles by marriage, Bill Ronnan, Eddie Hatfield and Jerry Mueller (MIA, Korea to this day) served too. My ex-husband was in the Navy during the Viet Nam era. A schoolmate from grade school, Tom Kingston, was killed n Viet Nam. It made the viewing of the memorial in Washington DC even more personal and sobering.

On Fold3.com I found an amazing Civil War Navy widow’s pension for my brother-in-law’s Great Great Grandmother Elizabeth T. (Marfing) DuBois.  Theodore Bailey DuBois suffered a head injury and the resulting story in the pension record is both sad and interesting. Some day I will tell you about the zillion details from that pension record.

Online at SWVA.com, Margaret Linford, President of the Smyth County [VA] Genealogical Society, talks about Veterans Day, various military records and the War of 1812 Preserve the Pension Project. Readers know that I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies which is heading this project. You can read more about the Project at www.fgs.org.

To read Margaret’s excellent writing on “String of Pearls: Preserving the records of our veterans’ service,” visit http://goo.gl/pSNv4H

What better day to contribute to the preservation project at www.fgs.org!

 

 

Special genealogy gift certificates and discount for those purchased soon!

Paula Stuart-Warren  Uncategorized  2 Comments

It’s that time of year for many readers and for me, too. Christmas lists have been started and I know you are trying to think of an ideal gift for a genealogy friend or to tell your family and friends what to purchase for you.

How about a gift certificate so that someone can benefit from the services of a Board-certified professional genealogist? I have been certified through the Board for Certification of Genealogists for more than 25 years now and I am ready to put my knowledge and experience to work for you to create a unique gift. The gift certificate recipient can choose from any of these U.S. research related options:

  • 2 hours for a private class on getting started in family history. This can be in-person or via a Google Hangout
  • 2 hours of research on your family history at the Minnesota Historical Society
  • 2 hours of side-by-side personalized assistance from me at the Minnesota Historical Society or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City
  • 2 hours of consultation by email, in-person, or via a Google Hangout to help solve research issues or get you going on a more specific research plan

All of the Family History Library categories must be used during the first week of January 2016 when I will be at the FHL in Salt Lake City.

The cost for a two-hour certificate is $100.00. Of course, you can add hours for an additional fee.

Thanksgiving Special!  Any certificates purchased no later than the U.S. Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26, 2015 at midnight Central Time will get a special bonus savings of $20.00 for any 2 hour certificate purchase. Thus, the cost is only $80.00 for a 2 hour segment.

The Thanksgiving discount offer is available for only the first ten people who reserve and pay for a certificate. Contact me PaulaStuartWarren @ gmail.com for a certificate and payment options.

Tough questions I wish I had asked before they were gone

Paula Stuart-Warren  Family, Oral history  4 Comments

My bookshelves hold several books on oral history. One of my favorites is My Backyard History Book. It was published in 1975 and is out of print but it often shows up on used book websites.  It is written for children and for some reason it always spoke to me. (Please no joking about my second childhood!) I used questions from that book several times when I interviewed relatives but I wish I could ask them more direct questions today. These go beyond the usual questions! My two sisters and I had some serious discussions about our family while we ate lunch today. That was the impetus for this blog post.

Grandma Gert:  I know how you met Grandpa Mike (dance at the St. Paul Hotel) but how long until you were engaged and then how long were you engaged before your wedding?

Grandma Toots: How did you and Grandpa Stuart meet? Why did you always arrive at our home in separate cars?

Grandpa Stuart: Did you and your Father ever become friendly again after he had abandoned the family and you had to work to support the family? Was your Mother as ah, um, well, as prickly as some have told me?

Mom: Were you abused by an uncle or someone else? There was always something that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Dad:  Why did you hide the fact that you had a first wife?

Mom: Were you ever happy?

Mom & Dad: Why didn’t you ever tell us about our baby brother who died?

Mom & Dad: Why are there so few pictures of me with grandparents and great grandparents? I would love to have a picture of me with the great grandparents that were still alive when I was born. I have those for my own children.

Mom & Aunt Jeanie: How did the two of you survive when you both lost baby boys in the same year and when it was also the year when Jeanie lost her husband in the Korean War?

All of you relatives who are no longer with us: Why the heck didn’t you share much health information so all the family could have this for reference!

There are other family dynamics questions I wish I had asked before my parents and grandparents were gone. I loved them all, but doggone it, I wish I understood some things more.

 

Native American Genealogy Crash Course

Paula Stuart-Warren  Native American, Webinars  2 Comments

November 17th is the date! I will be presenting the Native American Genealogy Crash Course for Family Tree University via a webinar that evening.

Join me for the presentation and time for Q&A. I will be discussing  the best methods to trace your family’s Native American roots, tips and research tricks for learning more about your Native American ancestry, and you will learn about resources, repositories, and the methodology used to locate the records and determine the correct tribe, band, nation, community, or clan for your ancestral connections.

  • Key historical background relevant to your genealogy research
  • Useful and overlooked records kept about many different Native American tribes
  • What you can expect the available resources to tell you about your ancestors
  • Historical contexts that will make your searches return accurate results
  • Research examples that demonstrate what works (and help you avoid research pitfalls)

It’s one of my favorite subjects. “See” you on the 17th. (7:00 ET, 6:00 CT, 5:00 MT, 4:00 PT, 3:00 Alaska)

For pricing on this and other FTU courses, check the FTU website.