KARE 11 reports Chaska Moravian Church books stolen

It's been a tough news day here in my area. One horrific story has been the shooting and death of a suburban police officer. That has affected my thinking all afternoon. My heart aches for his family and fellow officers.

Then I checked the local news channels websites to see if the suspect had been found and so far that news is negative. I saw another story that caught my eye. Definitely not as horrific, but still sad. A local news channel (KARE) has reported that thieves broke into a Minnesota church and among other items stole the church record books. These books from the Chaska Moravian Church are a big part of the history of the church and the area in Carver County, Minnesota.

KARE11 reports "Sometime in the late evening hours of Monday, July 14th, Reverend Eder discovered thieves broke into the church office and took a locked safe containing $50, but even more valuable to the church were four handwritten ledgers containing birth, wedding and death records dating back to 1920. The leather bound books contained important genealogy information of members from the early years all the way to a baptism performed two weeks ago."

I just checked several catalogs including those of the Minnesota Historical Society and the Family History Library and didn't see any evidence that these record books were ever microfilmed. The Moravian Church Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania does appear to have something from the first two record books. That means two of the stolen items are the only locations of the valuable information. Now I wonder if it is microfilm, photocopy, index, abstract, or what else? The inventory is not clear.

Read the full KARE story here plus the video of the newscast announcement.

Some record abstracts are posted on this website. Debbie Moe did an even greater service at the time by providing this information.

Update to police officer death: the suspect has been apprehended.

Genealogical Research Institute of Pennsylvania 1 & 2!

I am home from a successful week at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh that was held at LaRoche College. I had a classroom full of wonderful and sharing people in the course I coordinate, “Intermediate Genealogy: Tools for Digging Deeper.” The homework project for the week turned out to be one that featured many twists and turns. One newspaper article even called the family "notorious!" We were able to spend time discussing many of the students' own research problems and I hope they follow up on the great research suggestions we all shared. Sometimes it just takes a different set of eyes and experience to help solve an issue.

I also taught in the “Becoming an Online Expert: Mastering Search Engines and Digital Archives" that is coordinated by Josh Taylor and had fun sharing the ins and outs of searching on Ancestry.com and on public library websites. I appreciate the great presentations by Debra Mieszala, CG and D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS in the intermediate course.

I made some new friends last week and some of them are even attending a course in Orchard Lake! They are hooked on the institute experience.

The next offerings of the week-long institute are July 20-25, 2014 in Pittsburgh and August 3-8, 2014 in Orchard Lake, Michigan (a beautiful suburb of Detroit). I will be repeating the “Intermediate Genealogy: Tools for Digging Deeper” and will also be teaching in the “Bridging the Gap: New England to the Midwest, 1780-1840.”

There are still some openings in the Orchard Lake week. Visit http://www.gripitt.org for more details.

You may still register for the FGS Genealogy Conference in San Antonio!

I just had someone ask me if they could still register for the FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies) conference in San Antonio, Texas.

That answer is easy: YES!

One other question that I usually receive since I am a member of the FGS Board of Directors is whether this is just a conference for genealogical societies. Another easy reply: NOT AT ALL!

Anyone may register and you don't need to belong to a genealogical society. Though, I would then ask why that person doesn't belong to a society where they reside and also where the ancestors resided. Whether you are just starting out with your family history research or have been researching for a long time, there are helpful presentations, networking, vendors, speakers, topics, fun events, plus the beautiful and famous San Antonio River Walk just steps from the convention center and hotels.

Check the conference information, speaker and topic lineup, hotel details (a second large hotel was added), luncheons with special speakers, evening events, workshops, exhibit hall participants, and more at https://www.fgsconference.org. Be sure to click on the Blog and read updates and important details, too.

If you register now, you will soon get online access to the full syllabus. Each conference registrant will receive notice in early August that the conference syllabus of lecture handouts is online and ready to read. Be sure to print the sections for lectures you plan to attend. Many speakers refer to specific points, have the URLs in there, and you may want to add additional notes on some of the points.