Vermont middle schoolers learn history in a cemetery

Paula Stuart-Warren  Cemeteries  Leave a comment

In Sharon, Vermont, middle schoolers are doing schoolwork in a cemetery.  “An abandoned cemetery is turning into a classroom for middle-schoolers at the Sharon Academy in the Upper Valley. They’re mapping the grave sites, researching the people buried there, and creating a website for genealogists who might not be able to visit the plots in person.”

This makes history real. It gives these students a respect for their community, history, and for the cemetery. I wish all schools had classes like this.

Read the article here:
http://digital.vpr.net/post/old-cemetery-sharon-middle-schoolers-hunt-clues-local-history

Findmypast only $5 for October, Family History Month

Paula Stuart-Warren  findmypast.com  Leave a comment

This information was received in a press release from Findmypast.com:
 

Celebrate Family History Month with a special offer from Findmypast

2014 has already been a record breaking year at Findmypast, and we’re ready to celebrate! Family History Month 2014 is an opportunity for us to share our amazing collection of records, significant moments in history, and the characters we’ve discovered along the way.

The ground breaking projects we’ve launched in 2014 have added millions of names to our database. 100in100 gave us 100 record sets in 100 days, and a total of 38,400,460 new worldwide records. Our digitization effort with the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library to put the PERiodical Source Index, or PERSI, online for the first time is well under way with over 23,000 images already available. Our England and Wales National School Admission Registers and Log-books was a collaborative project working with 25 archives and schools, and included more than 2.5 million historical records. 

Join the celebration! For the month of October, we will be offering 30 days of our World subscription for just $5.00 using promotional code USFHM14. Simply enter the code at checkout to explore all of our
records and take your own research further during Family History Month.

“Findmypast has been a leading family history website for more than 10 years. It’s a searchable online archive of over 1.8 billion family history records, from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For our members around the world, Findmypast is a crucial resource for building family trees and doing detailed historical research. “

Northern Pacific Railway employee records on Ancestry.com

Paula Stuart-Warren  Ancestry.com, Railroads  Leave a comment

During the railroad records webinar I did this evening under the auspices of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, I mentioned some Northern Pacific Railway employee records that were on Ancestry.com. I had several questions about where to find these and I have posted the direct link below.

The originals are at the Minnesota Historical Society as are many other Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railway. The personnel files are not complete for either railroad but do include some subsidiary lines, too. As I shared during the webinar, these files include many people working from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest and who were born in many other states and countries,.

NP employee records at Ancestry: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2157

Yes, I am on YouTube courtesy of Mocavo

Paula Stuart-Warren  Mocavo  Leave a comment
I have done a couple regular Fireside Chats with Mocavo.com chief genealogist, Michael Leclerc. These are available at http://www.mocavo.com/fireside.
The dates for these two are November 14, 2013 and April 25, 2014. 
At the FGS Conference this past August, Michael interviewed me and several of my colleagues. The first batch of those can be viewed under the September 30th, 2014 date on the list of chats. It is also on YouTube.
 

Free railroad records webinar tonight, Oct 1.

Paula Stuart-Warren  Railroads, Webinars  Leave a comment
It’s tonight! A free webinar on railroad records to kick off the great month of October that is both American Archives Month and Family History Month. This free webinar is available to anyone. Join us on your computer, tablet, or other device. It is sponsored by the Minnesota Genealogical Society.  The topic is railroad records and how to find them. It’s been about 20 years that I have been researching and lecturing on this favorite topic.A detailed handout is available to registrants.
Wednesday, October 1
Railroad Records and Railroad History: Methods for Tracking  (Webinars)

7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

GoToWebinar
Instructor: Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA

If we didn’t have the railroads many of our ancestors might not have migrated across this country. Great grandpa would have been jobless. Aunt Susannah would not have visited the nieces and nephews. You might not have inherited a railroad watch. How else would your Grandfather from Ohio have met your Grandmother in Kansas? And we would not have the fun of searching for a payroll stub, railroad timetable, accident report, retirement record, personnel file, picture of Grandpa’s steam engine, or learning about the part the railroad played in the settlement of the old home town. This session shows how to determine which railroad you need to research and locate finding aids to determine what records might exist today and where they are located.
Cost: Free!

ChicagoAncestors.org gone for a while

Paula Stuart-Warren  Chicago, Newberry Library, Websites  Leave a comment

From the Genealogy Blog of the Newberry Library, the outdated code for the ChicagoAncestors.org website is the issue that has resulted in the suspension of the website. Ouch. I guess I will put off some of my Michael and Laura (Dow) O’Brien research for a while.

A new site will be up in a few months and they do promise that the content has been preserved.  Please hurry!

The library’s post is from Saturday, September 27: http://www.newberry.org/genealogy-blog

SLIG Early-bird savings registration ends October 31

Paula Stuart-Warren  Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, SLIG  Leave a comment

Early-bird savings registration ends on October 31, 2014!

The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) will be held January 12-16, 2015. All courses and events will be held at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center Hotel. Labs, if applicable, and research facilities will be available at the Family History Library. Registration: http://www.infouga.org/aem.php?lv=r&eid=12
Early-bird registration ends on October 31, 2014.

Hotel: http://www.infouga.org/aem.php?eid=12
Stay at the Institute hotel, the Hilton Salt Lake City Center, in order to obtain the full institute experience and have access to special events and networking with the instructors and other attendees. SLIG’s reduced rate is $129/night (reduced from $269/night). This rate is set for up to four people in a room. The rooms are spacious and a two-queen room can comfortably accommodate four people.

2015 Tracks with some open seats

Resources and Strategies for US Research, Part I (Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA, FMGS and three other instructors)
This course provides in-depth study of 19th-21st century U.S. resources and methodologies for utilizing them. Analyze content, origin, location, and develop tools and strategies to interpret records. Plus a FHL computer lab and one-on-once consultations at the FHL for this course only.

Beyond the Library: Research in Original Source Repositories (John Colletta, Ph.D., FUGA)
This course explores repositories of original historical sources: archives, courthouses and manuscript collections. The purpose of this course is to take the mystery and trepidation out of using original source repositories.

Finding Immigrant Origins (David Ouimette, CG)
This course covers the key historical sources and research methodologies for family historians tracing immigrant origins. We explore chain migration, ethnic migration paths, surname localization, DNA evidence, cluster genealogy, and other tools to help find your immigrant’s ancestral village.

Advanced Research Tools: Post-War Military Records (Craig R. Scott, CG, FUGA)
Wars by their nature create records; however records are created in the aftermath of war also. There is the pension application file(s) or a bounty land application file(s). But there is so much more in addition to these records. There is pension law, payment ledgers, payment vouchers, public and private claims, correspondence, state claims, soldiers homes, and burial records.

I look forward to seeing you at SLIG in January 2015!

Easy & free access to Mississippi Valley Historical Review

Paula Stuart-Warren  history, periodicals  Leave a comment

In my September 21st blog post, I mentioned The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. I had a couple inquiries about where to find this journal. The answer is simple and many old issues can be accessed via your home computer for free. Several of those are listed below. You can also check Worldcat.org to see if a library near your home carries all back issues. A large public, historical, or university library may also have the back issues. I am in favor of those in-person visits because you may find other gems that are not yet digitized. Issues that are out of copyright may have a cost to use online.

  • Archive.org
  • Books.Google.com
  • HathiTrust.org
  • JSTOR.org

    •  

I found these three interesting articles for free on JSTOR:

  • “The First Railroad between the Mississippi and Lake Superior” (by Lester Burrell Shippee,
    The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Sep., 1918), pp. 121-142)
  • “The Iowa–Missouri Disputed Boundary” (by Claude S. Larzelere, Harlow Lindley and Bernard C. Steiner, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jun., 1916), pp. 77-87)
  • “Andrew Johnson and the Early Phases of the Homestead Bill” (by St. George L. Sioussat,
    The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Dec., 1918), pp. 253-287

    • Free Railroad Records Webinar

    Paula Stuart-Warren  Railroads, Webinars  1 Comment
    On Wednesday, October 1, I will be presenting a free webinar for the Minnesota Genealogical Society.  The topic is railroad records and how to find them. It’s been about 20 years that I have been researching and lecturing on this favorite topic.
    Wednesday, October 1
    Railroad Records and Railroad History: Methods for Tracking  (Webinars)

    7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

    GoToWebinar
    Instructor: Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA

    If we didn’t have the railroads many of our ancestors might not have migrated across this country. Great grandpa would have been jobless. Aunt Susannah would not have visited the nieces and nephews. You might not have inherited a railroad watch. How else would your Grandfather from Ohio have met your Grandmother in Kansas? And we would not have the fun of searching for a payroll stub, railroad timetable, accident report, retirement record, personnel file, picture of Grandpa’s steam engine, or learning about the part the railroad played in the settlement of the old home town. This session shows how to determine which railroad you need to research and locate finding aids to determine what records might exist today and where they are located.
    Cost: Free!

    New journal focuses on Midwestern history

    Paula Stuart-Warren  history, Midwest  Leave a comment

    About 27 years ago I discovered bound back issues of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review while browsing the stacks at the Macalester College library in St. Paul. I spent many hours reading through them. Then I reached a point where this publication became The Journal of American History and the focus changed to nationwide rather than the regional publication I had loved. There is nothing wrong with JAH but I still wanted something more closely aligned with the middle of the country that wasn’t directed only to one state. The original title existed from 1914-1964.

    Fast forward fifty years to 2014 and a new publication of regional interest has emerged, Middle West
    Review. The brand new journal’s inaugural edition is 180 pages long and has “eight peer-reviewed articles, 18 book reviews . . .” It focuses on the Midwest.

    I haven’t yet seen the actual issue, but it’s on my “to do” list. The cost is $40 for this biannual journal. I learned about this journal in an article on the Minnesota Public Radio website.

    For more information:
    http://uimiddle.wordpress.com/
    http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Middle-West-Review,676024.aspx