Quick & Dirty Grammar Rules

Do you sometimes wonder if you have used the proper word and punctuation? At other times do you wish you could correct me? My favorite website for checking out proper useage is Grammar Girl's Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Check it out at: http://www.qdnow.com/. I have it bookmarked in my Favorites.

Street Name & Numbering Changes

I recently wrote a column for Ancestry's Weekly Journal about the difficulty in finding ancestral homes due to street name and numbering changes. It is also posted on Ancestry's 24-7 Family History Circle at: http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1769

When I wrote, I asked for additional comments and thought that you might like to read the reader contributions at the above URL.

Back from Fort Wayne plus future conference dates

I arrived back in Minnesota on Wednesday evening. I stayed after the FGS conference ended to research at the Allen County Public Library's "new" Genealogy Center. What a great place. At the conference, I ran into a lot of genealogy friends from all over -- including some fellow Minnesotans. I talked with 3 women who were from Illinois and Indiana -- had not seen them in years and years.

This is an update on the 2008 and 2009 national level conferences so that you can add the dates to your future planning calendar.

Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) http://www.fgs.org/
2008: September 3-6, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2009: September 2-5, Little Rock, Arkansas

National Genealogical Society (NGS) http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/
2008: May 14-17, Kansas City, Missouri
2009: May 13-16, Raleigh, North Carolina

Slow Blog Week

It is very possible that I won't be doing many blog posts this week. I am in Fort Wayne at the Federation of Genealogical Societies/Allen County Public Library genealogical conference. Between presenting lectures, volunteering at the booths of several organizations in the Exhibit Hall, and attending meetings, I may be on overload!

Lectures begin on Wednesday and the Exhibit Hall opens on Thursday after the keynote speaker. There are genealogists everywhere. The Grand Wayne Center has a huge blue banner hanging over one door that simply says "Welcome Genealogists" and the latter word is spelled correctly.

Many of us have already spent hours in the library doing some research. It is really a special research facility. I think I need to spend several weeks here!

Newspaper Indexes and Images Online

A wide variety of newspapers are indexed online and many have a link to the associated images. The majority require a subscription, but some are available at no charge in libraries. These are the links to several from the long list I will discuss over the next few weeks in greater detail:

http://www.ancestry.com/
http://www.genealogybank.com/
Google News Archive Search: http://news.google.com/archivesearch?ned=
http://www.highbeamresearch.com/
National Digital Newspaper Program: www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica
http://www.newspaperarchive.com/
Utah Digital Newspapers: http://www.lib.utah.edu/digital/unews/


In upcoming blog posts I will discuss the contents of each and share comments on the usefulness, search capabilities, and breadth of them.

New Contact Information

If you need to contact me, the updated mailing and email addresses are posted online in the directories at www.apgen.org and www.bcgcertification.org. I am actually living in Zimmerman, Minnesota, but my mailing address is in Elk River. I wonder what business and personal billing items such as credit card, membership, subscriptions, and utilities I have forgotten to update?

Everything is all moved

As of Tuesday afternoon, I am all moved. Notice I did not say unpacked! I just know that one of these boxes contains the pen and pencil cup for my desk. The movers were a fantastic group of guys. I did enjoy the look on their faces when they walked into my apartment and saw the multiple rows (stacked 3 high) of boxes. Then I explained that many of them contained my "library." With all the boxes of reference books, periodicals, electronic equipment, 25 years of client files, lecture files, and stationery items, and all the personal mementos a genealogist saves, they gave their muscles a workout. Of course, I had to browse through boxes of things that were in the back of the closet. I saved many things way before I caught that genealogy bug. I found ticket stubs from date movies, a ticket from a play that was more boring than boring, drawings from my own children and grandchildren, a dried corsage from a prom, poetry written for me, greeting cards, "things" from family vacations, baby books, and a lot of other fun stuff. A couple boxes of old love letters and cards have been taped shut with packing tape -- taped around and around. Too many of the grandchildren know how to read. I won't toss them, but they are not ready to read them quite yet!

More Free Blogs and Electronic Newsletters

A few more free blogs that you can check online and some electronic newsletter that you may choose to be emailed directly to you:

http://www.genealogue.com/ Chris Dunham's blog that he self described: "Genealogy News You Can't Possibly Use." Some of the posts are humorous, others ironic. Is there good genealogical news on this too -- YES. I love to read this for both humor and education.

http://randysmusings.blogspot.com/ Randy Seaver's blog that combines info on his own family digging and pertinent general genealogy info. The right side of the main page contains a lengthy list of other blogs, electronic newsletters, and helpful websites. I have enjoyed reading this one for a while.

http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ Both members and non-members can subscribe to the informative eNews, the New England Historic Genealogical Society's electronic newsletter. The news is about more than just New England research.

My family was not on that bridge

By now, you have probably seen images of that horrific bridge collapse here in Minnesota. I have heard from many folks who wonder if my family and I are OK. I am fine as is the family.

I pretty much sat in front of the TV all evening Wednesday. I didn't have nightmares, but did wake up with very sore hands -- must have been clenching them. I was on the bridge last week and also on the River Parkway that runs underneath part of the collapse -- it is just 4.5 miles from my current apartment. I do love that area and driving along the road under the bridge was a relaxing drive.

Last week I almost bought a condo that overlooked this area of the river on the south side of the bridge. It was in the Riverview Towers -- it is the high-rise that stands by itself at the south side of the bridge and has been on CNN over and over. There have been interviews with residents. I am now very glad I decided against it -- I loved that condo for the river view -- I am sure that would not be so special now.

I heard immediately from my oldest son (his daughter Kaylene, age 13, was with me) and from my sister who said all her family are just fine. My daughter Katie tried to call me for over an hour -- the phone lines were all busy. Granddaughter Kaylene says she won't go on a bridge over the Mississippi ever again. I did get her home today via one way that honors that. We will have to deal with it in time.

Unfortunately, there's going to be more of the sad news as they get to the submerged cars.

Saturday, August 4th

This is the last date to register online for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and Allen County Public Library's four day genealogy conference that takes place this August 15-18th. Of course, you may register at the door, but it is helpful to conference workers if you do register online by that date.

http://www.fgsconference.org/

PERSI and Fort Wayne

Have you used PERSI? That is the Periodical Source Index compiled by the staff at the Allen County Public Library's Genealogy Center. It is a subject index (almost 2 million entries) to more than 10,000 genealogical and historical periodicals published in English and French.

While in Fort Wayne, Indiana in two weeks I plan to spend considerable time in the periodicals section of the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center.

All. ALL. Every one. All issues. Yep, every item indexed in PERSI is from a periodical housed at the ACPL. When I was there in April, I walked past bookshelf after bookshelf of these periodicals. I didn’t have time to concentrate on the actual articles then – but I do when I return there in two weeks. I am bringing along my digital camera to capture images that I need to save.