A county clerk's 'Genealogy Corner' gets national recognition

If you have heard me at seminars, you know that I often say things similar to "these records are so good because I don't have family in that locality" or in that particular set of records.

I have several localities where I wish my family had settled just because of the great information online from the county or city. A few of these are:

• Alachua County [Florida] County Clerk of the Court's website of "Ancient Records" www.alachuaclerk.org/archive/default.cfm
• Oakland County [Michigan] Genealogy Research Service www.oakgov.com/clerkrod/vital_records/pages/genealogy.aspx
• Ulster County [New York] Clerk Archives Division  www.co.ulster.ny.us/archives/database.html
• DeKalb County [Illinois] Clerk & Recorder Online Genealogy search   www.dekalbgenealogy.com/

Then my news feed delivered news of another county with a great genealogy service and that has received a national honor from government colleagues. The Collin County [Texas] Clerk and staff have been "awarded the 2014 Best Practices Award from the National Association of County Recorders, Elections Officials and Clerks (NACRC)."  Just two of the online databases for this county are:

•  Marriage indexes, dating back to 1864
•  Birth indexes, dating back to 1903 with some delayed birth records from the 1800

Read the full article from the McKinney Courier Gazetter by clicking here. To access the county's Genealogy Corner click here.

You may have already guessed that I have no ancestral connections to Collin County, Texas! Dangitall.

Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives serves researchers!

The Great Falls Tribune [Montana] has a wonderful article about the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, the holdings, and the mission of the repository. This is the way I wish all localities felt about historical researchers. That's what a genealogist does. We are searching for the history of our ancestors, collateral family, and the place in which they lived.

The article does have a few errors, but overall it is really great! I still have no connections to the area, but wish I did!

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/life/my-montana/2014/10/12/butte-archives-solves-mysteries-past/17061571/

p.s. The Butte-Silver Bow archives website is https://buttearchives.org/

Researching Old Ship Logs

How cool is this! Volunteers are combing old ship logs to learn weather details for The Old Weather project. It is a way to fill in the gaps of our climate knowledge.  It also tells the story of the humans involved in the shipping industry and the human enjoyment and suffering of those on the ships.

"Mariners have long kept meticulous logbooks of weather conditions and descriptions of life onboard, and the National Archives in Washington, D.C., has pages and pages and pages of them recorded by sailors on Navy and Coast Guard vessels. Along with the basic weather observations, the logbooks contain amazing stories of adventure, survival and mystery. A bouquet of dried flowers was sandwiched in one logbook. Another log describes a 1,600-mile overland journey to bring reindeer to some stranded whalers. And then there are the logs of the USS Jeannette. Its journey began in San Francisco in 1879, an ill-fated attempt to find an open-water passage to the North Pole. Two months later, the Jeannette was surrounded by ice north of Siberia."

Read the full article here: http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/09/03/ship-logs?from=environment

Job for a Minnesota genealogist

Carver County Historical Society, Waconia, MN, is seeking a half time genealogist/researcher. Applications will be taken until April 25, 2014, with interviews to follow early May. Interns are encouraged to apply.  To apply please email cover letter with salary requirements, and resume. Email questions preferred.

This is from the Minnesota Historical Society's Local History News for March 26, 2014. 

Read the full job description here. 

Sultana Disaster Records online for FREE

I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and also to be a contributor the the Stern-NARA Gift Fund and the Preserve the Pensions Project. Have you donated? Our donations are vital to making records available for all of us. This is last week's FGS Press Release about these records. Thank you to Fold3 too!

FGS STERN NARA FUND HELPS MAKE SULTANA DISASTER RECORDS AVAILABLE TO THE GENEALOGY COMMUNITY

Free Access Provided by Fold3

May 4, 2012– Austin, TX: The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) is proud to announce its recent participation in making the Sultana Disaster records available to genealogists and family history researchers. When the boiler exploded aboard the steamer Sultana on April 27, 1865, more than 1,700 people lost their lives. The records include lists of survivors, along with their military service information, as well as information on those who perished.

Through a grant from the Malcolm H. Stern-NARA Gift Fund, FGS has helped to bring this important Civil War record set to the Fold3 website. The fund is a nationally supported program to finance preservation and imaging of valuable research materials now preserved in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C.

In addition, FGS and NARA, with the help of the genealogical community, have begun an exciting project to digitize the War of 1812 pension files. There are 7.2 million pages in 180,000 pension files that have never been available in any other form before. The Preserve the Pensions Project is in progress to digitize and make every page of these information-rich files available as part of a bicentennial commemoration of this historic conflict. Learn more about this important preservation and digitization project at the Preserve the Pensions page (http://www.fgs.org/1812/) and get involved by making a donation today.

Here is the recent announcement from Fold3 about the Sultana Disaster database and the specific information to be found within the records:

When the boiler exploded aboard the steamer Sultana on April 27, 1865, more than 1,700 people lost their lives. Most of those aboard were recently released Union prisoners from Confederate prisons in Cahaba, Alabama, and Andersonville, Georgia. They were en route from Camp Fiske in Mississippi to Camp Chase, Ohio, but the explosion occurred only a few hours into the journey.

In addition to the faulty boiler, the ship was also grossly overburdened with 2,200 passengers on a vessel built to carry 376.

Records relating to the Sultana Disaster, April 1865, are now available on Fold3. They include lists of the former prisoners who survived the disaster, with military service information and brief comments on their injuries. There are also lists of those who perished, yet not of the civilian survivors or those who died.

The enormity of the disaster led quickly to investigations. By January 1866, a court-martial was convened to charge Captain Frederick Speed, the man who volunteered to coordinate the transfer of prisoners, with “neglect of duty to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.” There are 647 documents in the court-martial case with testimonies, witness accounts, and statements by the defense and prosecution. After "nearly six long weary months" the trial came to a close. Capt. Speed was the only person charged in the incident. He was found guilty, yet the charges were later dismissed by Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt.

The Sultana Disaster records can be accessed on the Fold3 website at http://www.fold3.com/title_797/sultana_disaster_april_1865/. The original publication was financed by The Abrams Foundation of Michigan through the Stern-NARA Gift Fund and the National Archives Trust Fund.

Finding addresses for the 1940 census search

I recently posted on Facebook that I am working on my family addresses in preparation for the 1940 census opening next week. A couple people sent me private messages asking how I was doing that. So, here are some tips.

1. Did your family live in a city or town that published annual city directories? Don't know? Check the collections at a large city or county public library for these. The county or state historical society may also have the 1940 era directories in book form or on microfilm. You will need to make an in-person visit to view these. Don't forget that a 1940 directory might reflect a 1939 address. I have two ancestral families that moved a lot. I have gathered 1939, 40, and 41 city directory addresses for them.
2. Some major libraries such as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Library of Congress in Washington, DC, Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, and others have city directories for other cities in their onsite collections.
3. Check the websites of places like libraries, historical societies, and big genealogy libraries in your family's various cities of residence to see if they have digitized 1940 era directories. 
4. Ancestry.com, Fold3.com and other subscription website have some city directories.
5. Other institutions and libraries have digitized directories including those for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Rochester, New York
6. Check out the helpful United States Online Historical Directories links by Miriam Robbins.
7. Some major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago no longer had city directories published after the 1920s due to the size of the population. I need both of these cities for 1940!
8. Other city directories for the time period we need for the 1940 census research are copyrighted publications and it takes time to get permissions to digitize. It also costs money for this project.
9. Family photo albums, old letters, memories, birth or death certificates are just a few things the might provide a 1940s era address.
10. If your family lived in a more rural area or small town, it will likely be easier to just look page by page in the town or township.

Armed with the address, then visit Steve Morse's website for the "Unified 1940 Census ED Finder (Obtaining the Enumeration District for a 1940 Location in One Step)." Using this will enable you to determine the Enumeration District in which your family lived.

For example it showed me that the St. Paul, Minnesota address where my paternal grandparents lived (Stuart, 2019 Princeton) is in E.D. 90-245. I don't have to look through the entire city of St. Paul to find them. I have it narrowed down to a segment of pages. My maternal grandaunts lived at 358 Marshall Avenue in St. Paul and they are in ED 90-131, or 133. My 14 year old mother is probably at 486 So. Hamline Avenue which is an apartment in ED 90-80. For those of you who know St. Paul, these apartments are above the Nook and across the street from Cretin High School (today Cretin-Derham Hall).

And those actual census searches can be done starting Monday, April 2d at several sites, including http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/

Research in animal bounty records

Chippewa County, Minnesota has announced that it will again pay bounties for coyotes due to the damage they are doing to farm animals. According to TwinCities.com "The Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to pay $10 for every coyote trapped or shot in the county and brought to the sheriff's office from Dec. 1 through April 1 each year. Those that kill a coyote will be able to sell its pelt, which is worth about $15."

Historically many towns and counties have paid bounties for such animals. If you have Minnesota ancestral ties you might find details of a bounty paid to an ancestor or other family members. Within the state archives collection at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul researchers have access to bounty records from a variety of locations. These records put the person in a specific place at a specific time. They might even help to prove that a person was still alive in a given month and year. The information varies but usually contains the name of who the bounty was paid for and the amount along with details on the animal or pelt. A few examples from the Minnesota collection:

• Wilkin County: wolf, fox, crow, lynx, bobcat, and bear bounties (1928-1965)
• Rice County: wolf bounties 1897-1900
• Eagan Township, Dakota County: wolf bounties (1889-1918)
• Sherburne County: wolf bounty certificate books (1878/1879, 1893-1897; 1897-1899)
• Bemidji Township, Beltrami County: gopher and wolf bounty records (1901-1960)

Grabbing the knowledge in documents

I was looking at some old document copies today. I can't decipher all of the words as I carefully transcribe it into a nice typed document. I need to use some of my proven methods for figuring out what it says:

• Put it way for a while
• Try to read it away from your home or the library where you copied it
• Give it to another genealogist to decipher (don't tell them what you think it is)
• Give it to a non-genealogist to decipher (don't tell them what you think it is)
• Yes, I have already compared the letter and word formation with others on that page and a few pages before and after

9 times out of 10 one of these methods works. When it doesn't I tend to lecture myself that I should be able to figure this out. My youngest son can figure out what things say in a variety of languages so I should be able to read something in English, no matter the era!

Sentimental Sunday: Thinking about on-site family history searches

I love to sit at my computer checking Ancestry.com, Facebook, NewspaperArchives, American Ancestors and a bunch of other websites. Today I was thinking about some other research ventures that involved on-site researching. I find it exhilarating to touch original records, get my fingers dirty paging through an old volume of court records, view an original will, or whatever the sought after record might be.

City directories at the St. Paul Public Library: discovering other people with the same surname (Cook) as my maiden grandaunts living at the same address in St. Paul. I had never heard their father or brother's names before.

Civil court records at the county courthouse: finding my father's divorce papers from his first wife. Yes, she did run off while he was overseas during WWII. There were no children. 

Correspondence with a distant cousin: finding out that our mutual ancestral surname was not Dow and was not English or Irish, but was Daoust and French-Canadian.

Family History Library in Salt Lake City: reading deeds from Arkansas on microfilm and finally connecting some Warren relatives of my father-in-law's. 

Genealogical society meeting: shared something about a 1st cousin twice removed and a fellow attendee ended up giving me a box full of clippings and stories about MY cousin who had lived in the same town with her aunt.


Newspapers at the Minnesota Historical Society: finding the 50th wedding anniversary story about Nils Christian Carlsen and Betsy Peterson, a set of my maternal great grandparents.

Newspaper clipping file at the St. Paul Public Library: finding the clippings about my mother-in-law's cousin Eddie Green that told us he was an associate of John Dillinger's.

File at the public library in Clarksville, Arkansas: seeing the names of other people also researching my father-in-law's family.

Civil war pension reading at the National Archives in Washington, DC: viewing the complete pension files of ancestors and siblings. 

Area Research Center in Wisconsin: seeing the signature of my own great grandfather in the papers of the St. Andrew Society.

Cemeteries in Wisconsin: seeing the stones for my German ancestors in Fort Atkinson and Watertown.

Miscellaneous Serendipity!

Some of my favorite records are those labeled as “miscellaneous” or “loose.” Others are data in the back of a totally unrelated record book or on the back of a note or index card.
                               
Miscellaneous
These may be a collection of related or unrelated papers and the dates of coverage may not be clear. The Family History Library Catalog www.familysearch.org does include some miscellaneous court and vital records. Do a keyword search for "miscellaneous" in the catalog or that of any record repository. A state or other archive online catalog or in-house inventory may show a couple of volumes of “Miscellaneous Records” for a town or county. A check of the catalog of the Missouri State Archives http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/ using only the word miscellaneous yields “Miscellaneous Court Records.” The subject tracings include

Research in original records

Yesterday when I was at the Minnesota Historical Society I noticed something that made me smile. I saw more than a dozen people sitting at tables researching in original records. Most of them stayed at it for many hours, going through file folders of records or multiple volumes of records. Others arrived later in the day to stay through the evening hours. I have no way of knowing exactly what they were working on, but it was exciting to see so many boxes of original records being used.

So often today, researchers including genealogists, historians, editors, writers, and others turn to online resources. I do that too. But the gems in those millions of files and record volumes at historical societies, archives, courthouses, and libraries are also waiting for us. I have no official statistics, but I would venture a guess that only a smidgen of those items have been microfilmed and/or digitized.

Even better is that this is a great time of year to do this type of research. Others are busy being in the holiday mood and that opens up lots of space and staff assistance time for dedicated researchers. Keep this in mind for 2011. From Thanksgiving week through New Year's Day is a great time to research. Many of these places have an online presence that includes a catalog, other finding aids, and some other clues to the records they hold.

Imagine this family group sheet in the future!

100 years from now a family genealogist is looking at a family group sheet posted on whatever the technology of the day is. The first thing the budding genealogist notices is that somehow in the one ancestral family branch the father, mother, and child have all been given the same day of birth, November 24th. This genealogist has already taken some classes from the experts of the day and knows to question such a thing. Did the person doing the earlier research make some mistakes when doing the data entry? Was there an error made by the hospital clerk who did the data entry into the state's master birth files? The genealogist realizes that the person who compiled the family group sheet did not cite the sources and wonders why those folks back in 2010 didn't do that?

Then the future era genealogist notices that the mother's surname is the same as the father's surname. Didn't those earlier genealogists realize that these are supposed to list the maiden name of the mother? 

So research begins to ascertain the correct days of birth for this family and the maiden name of the mother. The index to the Minnesota birth records and, of course, digitized information from all the 20th and 21st century births for the state are easily accessible on her home digimatic machine.

Whoa, Mom's birth surname is the same as the Dad's. And all three have the same date of birth. Could this be true? Well, next the digimatic is checked for the back files of everything that was on those old televisions. There is a story on November 26th, 2010 that tells the story of the baby being born on November 24th, the same birthday as both his parents. Maybe everything that is found on this newfangled technology isn't too bad. It even says the Mom and Dad have the same surname.

True? Yes, the story appeared today on one of my local TV stations today, KARE 11. You may read the full story about Jamal White, Jr. and his parents here: www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=884952.

States I have visited

In the summer of 2009 I was fortunate to be in two more states, Maine and New Hampshire. I have now visited all of the mainland 48 states. I have not been to Hawaii or Alaska and I hope to do so! I thought about this recently as one of my nephews asked me about one of the states where I recently lectured. He has only been in a few states.

That made me realize how lucky I am to have been in most of the states. I love this country and have never had a bad visit. Some of these states were visited when I was a senior in high school, on family vacations with our children, others researching family history for me or clients, and yet others where I presented all-day seminars or lectured at a genealogy conference. I have visited some states several times and lectured in others more than once.

Late this week I will list the states where I have and have not presented lectures. Then in another post I will talk about states where I have researched on site.

First impressions should be captured

Today was spent at a client's home. We were doing some organizing and research planning. This made me think of a column I wrote for Ancestry's old electronic newsletter a few years ago. I reread and updated it and present it here as some food for thought.

The following words are based on the premise that most of my work steps have not varied over the years.

The first impression when reviewing something new is often a fantastic impression. I have learned to not just think about the project or task and the research process, but to actually make immediate notes. In the excitement upon finding or receiving a family clue or record my mind goes off in a dozen different directions. Years ago after simply letting my mind go in these directions, I realized that many of those thoughts were actually great research routes to take. There were times when the first impression ideas did not magically reappear.

When something new arrives
When I open the regular mail, check my e-mail, or find something online – I do so with pen and paper at hand and make notes. This way I do not miss any of those important first impressions that may not rush into my mind when I actually begin the follow-up research.

LaCrosse, Wisconsin Library to receive special award

On October 24th, the La Crosse Public Library’s Archives "will receive the 2010 Governor’s Award for Archival Achievement. It recognizes not only the library’s extensive archives but the ways they’ve been made accessible, [Wisconsin] state archivist Peter Gottlieb said.
“A lot of archives are content to wait for people to find them,” Gottlieb said. “What makes Anita’s [Anita Doering] program a natural winner is the initiative to connect what you have with how you can help people. They’re not passive. They really get out there in front of people.”

You may read the full story in the LaCrosseTribune.

Visit the library's Genealogy section of its website for details on the great holdings. It's been a while since I researched there, but I remember it was a good place for research. This is also a helpful library if you have Winona, Minnesota family connections.

Pennsylvania State Archives closing for 4 months

According to a press release, the Pennsylvania State Archives will close from Oct. 18 through Feb. 3, 2011, for needed renovations. October 16th is the last day researchers can visit the facility in person, but the staff will continue to respond to telephone, e-mail, and postal inquiries during the renovations.

"Barbara Franco, PHMC executive director, said the $250,000 project will expand and modernize the existing lobby and public research areas. A larger vestibule is required to facilitate access for people with disabilities and will include automatic doors. The work will provide more space for the increasing number of researchers, as well as new wiring and additional computers to improve access to the collections. Security systems will also be upgraded."

A good reason to double check with a research repository before any research trip. Visit the PA State Archives website to learn more.

NY State Archives INCREASES hours

Yes, you read that correctly. The New York State Archives in Albany is adding Saturday hours as of this Saturday, 16 October 2010. This is wonderful in contrast to the many archives, historical societies, libraries, and other research facilities that have seriously reduced hours. This archives is open full days so that researchers have time to order, study, and copy records.

The archives is located in the Cultural Education Center building. The NY State Archives website is at http://www.archives.nysed.gov/aindex.shtml.  "The New York State Archives is located in the Cultural Education Center (CEC) in Albany, New York. The CEC is at the south end of the Empire State Plaza, across Madison Avenue (Route 20) from the Plaza (at the opposite end from the Capitol). Public access to the Archives is gained via the Reference Room" which is located on the eleventh floor of the CEC and is open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

On Saturdays, free public parking will be available in the Madison Avenue parking lots adjacent to the CEC.  Directions and parking information is available on the New York State Museum website at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/information/general/muswhere.html.

The archives as a great Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/nysarchives.

I have a list of things to do at that facility if I ever have the chance to get there.

Researching Delaware family history?

According to DoverPost.com (October 1st) The Delaware Public Archives has produced a series of twelve videos that provide info about the holdings and research at the Archives. Each video is two minutes long. Click here to view the videos.The topics include Visiting the Archives, Manuscript Genealogies, Vital Statistics, Tombstone Records, Photographs, and Orphans Court Records.

Thomas M. Summers, Manage of Outreach Services for the Archives, is the man you see in the videos. Also check out their Facebook page and blog. All of these along with the Delaware Public Archives website provide extensive details about their holdings and research.

Makes me wish I had some Delaware ancestry.

These are my favorite things about research repositories

Wouldn't it be nice if we could take the most useful aspects of each of our favorite research places and combine them so that each place would have all that we love? (Yes, I know about reality, but I can dream, can't I?) My ideal library, archive, and historical society would have:

• Copy cards so I don't have to carry change
• Space and plugs for laptop computers -- even next to the microfilm readers
• Wireless internet accessibility
• Lockers big enough for our bags that we must lock up
• My favorite staff people
• Staff that isn't overworked
• Finding aids that tell more about individual collections (online and off)
• Comprehensive online catalog
• Place to sit and reorganize your work for the day (where you can use the materials you had to put in the locker)
• Onsite or close by place to eat
• Record or book retrieval service that is not too slow
• More materials on open shelves
• Self-copiers
• OK to bring in a flat bed scanner and a digital camera
• Clear guidelines posted to remind us of them
• Record retrieval forms that don't take so long to fill out
• Record retrieval request online (how many times do we need to fill our our name and address!)
• Parking onsite or nearby and well lit
• Public transportation at the door
• Self-retrieval microforms
• Clean and nearby restrooms (not on a different floor of the building)
• Reasonable security features

I know there must be more features I love and will post those in the future. Do you have any suggestions for the perfect place to research? 

Combine genealogy, history, and a visit to part of Minnesota's beautiful lake country!

Combine genealogy, history, and a visit to part of Minnesota's beautiful lake country! The Becker County Historical Society and Heart O’Lakes Genealogical Society announce their first joint open house on Saturday, July 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Becker County History Museum. The museum is in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota at 714 Summit Ave at Front Street. Detroit Lakes is in Northwestern Minnesota and is definitely a vacation destination.

"Attendees will be given the opportunity to learn how both societies assist in historical and genealogical research requests." How perfect is this1 Check out the research library while your non-genealogy friends or family tour the museum, browse the gift shop, golf, swim, boat or even just sit and enjoy a wonderful summer day in Minnesota.

Check out the full notice from June 25th at D-L Online [Detroit Lakes].

Info on the Detroit lakes area:  http://www.visitdetroitlakes.com/
Info on Minnesota tourism:  http://www.exploreminnesota.com/