The Minnesota State Archives

The Minnesota State Archives is housed in the Minnesota History Center in downtown St. Paul. The Archives is part of the Library and Archives Division of the Minnesota Historical Society. The website for all of these parts is at www.mnhs.org. This includes the massive electronic catalog that enables researchers to find book, manuscripts, state and county records, and artifacts. Additional and important finding aids are "in-house."

To see what MHS might have that relates to your ancestral county just type keywords such as "Winona County" into the catalog search. On the State Archives page, click on recent acquisitions to see the monthly lists of acquisitions for the past year. These list are phenomenal.

A few exciting examples of acquistions, many of which are original records. In many cases, new acquisitions complement original records the state archives already has. Some acquisitions may not be immediately available as processing and cataloging occurs.

November 2007
Rural Credit Department. Contract for deed files (ca. 1920s-1995), county plat maps (ca. 1920s-1930s), and an index (1936) to the contract and deed files and the county plat maps. 4 boxes.

January 2008

• St. Louis County Marriage License Records 1871-1944, on microfilm

• Winona County Courts Records including plaintiff and defendant indexes 1854-1960, index to probate files 1856-1983, and civil case files

June 2008
Adjutant General. World War I bonus records, including warrants paid registers (ca. 1920-1924) which serve as a name index to the World War I paid bonus files, registers (undated) of World War I bonus payments and of Spanish-American War Veterans Relief Payments, and World War I veterans relief record (1931-1941) of the State Auditor. These records were created by the State Auditor, then used by the Adjutant General’s office to administer the World War I bonus program. World War I Bonus Disallowed/Rehearing Files (1921-1922) of the Soldier Bonus Board of Review. World War I Bonus Application Registers (1919-1924) of the Soldiers Bonus Board. 6 boxes, 4 oversize volumes, 1 oversize folder.

Upcoming appearances

I took the summer off from lecturing and had planned lots of organizational and writing work. Then my son announced his wedding and I moved. So much for the organizing tasks. Now, this fall I am speaking in several states. The September seminars and conferences are:

September 3-6, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Federation of Genealogical Societies Annual Conference
www.fgsconference.org and http://www.fgsconference.org/blog/
Haven't registered yet? Online and mail registrations have closed, but you can still register at the Pennsylvania Convention Center beginning Tuesday, September 2d from 3:00-7:00 p.m.

September 12-13, Tampa, Florida
Florida Genealogical Society of Tampa Fall Seminar
Includes a Friday Evening banquet to celebrate the Society's 50th Anniversary
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flfgs/ and http://fgstampa.blogspot.com/

September 19-20, St. Paul, Minnesota, Minnesota History Center
Star of the North 2008 Minnesota Genealogy Conference featuring several speakers
Minnesota Genealogical Society
The two day event includes a big banquet on Friday evening.
http://www.mngs.org/quarterly.shtml#meeting

Beyond the Web: Immigration History Research Center

I have to admit that I enjoy sitting at home in my pj's doing genealogical work online. Still, there are many repositories with one-of-a-kind records. One of these is here in Minnesota. The Immigration History Research Center is part of the University of Minnesota.

This repository focuses on the history of American immigration with materials on 24 ethnic groups from eastern, central, and southern Europe and the Near East. It includes newspapers, periodicals, church records and histories, photos, personal papers, genealogies, business papers, records of ethnic fraternal organizations, and oral histories. Some of the groups covered are Czech, Finnish, Polish, Italian, Greek, Hungarian, Jewish, Russian, Slovak, and Ukranian people. It is not limited to those who settled in Minnesota. Many of the records are in the native languages.

The IHRC website provides many details. A 1991 publication, Immigration History Research Center: A Guide to Collections described many collections (Susanna Moody and Joel Wurl, eds., Greenwood Press, 1991.) The website also has descriptions of many collections.

Some examples of records at the IHRC:

• Order Sons of Italy in American, Alabama Grand Lodge Records 1923-1987

• Holy Ghost Greek Catholic Church, Cleveland Ohio, Marriage Records 1909-1967

• Milford Finnish Relief Committee Records, 1939-1941 [Milford, New Hampshire]

• New York City P.S. 20 Alumni Association Records, 1958-1972

• Jarven Kukka Temperance Society, Sparta and Gilbert, Minnesota, Records 1897-1921

Register online for FGS Conference by August 22nd.

You can still be a part of the 2008 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, Footprints to Family History, being held in Philadelphia, September 3-6. Four full days of lectures, luncheons, a banquet, and an Exhibit Hall with many vendors is not to be missed.

Registrations or changes to a registration can still be done online through Friday, August 22nd, 5:00 p.m. CDT. After that point, registrations and modifications will need to be done on site at the Philadelphia Convention Center beginning on Tuesday, September 2d at 3:00 p.m.

Visit the FGS Conference Website or the Conference Blog for more of the exciting details.

See you there! While at the conference, be sure to visit the FGS booth area and pick up information on the 2009 FGS Conference being held in Little Rock, Arkansas. The local host, the Arkansas Genealogical Society, is planning some very special events in the area of the Statehouse Convention Center.

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy Update

10 August UPDATE: all registrations for Course I can be done online. Thanks to the webmaster for fixing this!

I received this note today from the 2009 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (January 8-12) about the course that I coordinate at SLIG.

"For some reason, the popular Course 1 "American Records and Research: Focusing on Localities" with Paula Stuart Warren does not appear in the registration area of the UGA members section. It is listed in the non-member section. Our programmer is still working on solving this problem.

To register for Course 1, UGA members should email info@infouga.org to reserve a place. Then submit payment ($280 until Oct. 30th):
- by mail to UGA, PO BOX 1144, Salt Lake City, UT 84110
- or by credit card by calling our toll free number at 1-888-463-6842

For further info, please contact the Utah Genealogical Association."

Ancestry.com launches 1891 Census of Canada

Ancestry has launched the 1891 Census of Canada, which is online for the first time. The 1891 Canadian census contains 4.5 million searchable names and 90,000 images of original census pages. Included is information from all 10 present-day Canadian provinces and its three territories. The 1891 census is fully indexed and searchable and can be accessed on Ancestry.ca, as well as on Ancestry.com at: http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=List&dbid=1274.


I have been searching for some of my ancestral surnames. Maybe I can find my great great grandfather's brothers!

Recent genealogical press releases

Project cooperation between FamilySearch (Family History Library) and Ancestry.com (The Generations Network) including reindexing of the 1920 U.S. census.

Thinking about becoming a certified genealogist? The Board for Certification of Genealogists now has a full application and judge's comments online. If you are attending the FGS Conference in Philadelphia this September, visit the BCG booth in the Exhibit Hall and check the sample portfolios there.

Speaking of the FGS Conference: if you have just registered or haven't quite done that yet, you might want to gather a group of your genealogical society's members and become eligible for a rebate. Full details are on the FGS Conference website and on the Conference Blog.

FamilySearch has been posting many new indexes and digitized records at its website.

The Utah Genealogical Association has posted overviews of its ten courses and nighttime lectures for the annual week-long Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy to be held January 12-16, 2009.

Alive and breathing!

Yes, I have been silent. Working all day, moving, unpacking, and working on things for my son's wedding -- just not any more hours left for blogging right now. I love my new home and have not unpacked all the books yet. I attended a shower for my almost daughter-in-law a few days ago and had a great time. We had dinner at a German restaurant in Stillwater, Minnesota (Gasthouse Bavarian Hunter) and it was fabulous as usual. She loved her gifts. My 14 year old granddaughter wrote a very sweet note to her almost step-mother and we all had tears when it was read.

I will do a posting above this with some links to recent press releases about wonderful things in the genealogical world. This time you will have to read the links to get the full stories I don't have time to discuss right now. They are exciting things!

Records Preservation and Access Committee

Where would we be without records to research? What if we lost access to the probate or land records of our ancestors? What if the birth or death records were suddenly closed to all except the person the record includes? What if the state legislature did not provide for retention of records before 1920 for your ancestral states?

The Records Preservation and Access Committee is a joint venture that helps preserve, protect, and advocate for access to records. The committee was started by the Federation of Genealogical Societies and today is a joint committee of representatives from FGS, the National Genealogical Society, Association of Professional Genealogists, Board for Certification of Genealogists, and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. These groups represent a total of 1.3 million genealogists. It's a case where our voices can be heard when access or preservation is threatened.

The committee has produced a meaningful brochure and you can view it at websites, including the FGS site. Instructions for ordering a quantity of these is included on the site. Order a quantity to distribute to records keepers and to fellow genealogists.

British Ancestry?

I was asked to share this press release:

The International Society for British Genealogy & Family History (ISBGFH) is sponsoring the 8th Annual British Institute in Salt Lake City, October 6-10, 2008. The Institute will be held at the Crystal Inn, 230 West 500 South.

The week-long courses and the instructors are: David Rencher, CG, AG, FUGA – Finding the Place of Origin for Your Irish Immigrant; David McDonald, CG – Ecclesiastical Records in British Research; Barbara Baker, AG – Scottish Research Basics; Diane Loosle, AG and her team – Using Family Search to Find Your British Ancestors.

The five-day tuition for the courses taught by Rencher, McDonald, and Baker is $335 (members), $320 (alumni of the Institute) and $360 (non-members). The tuition includes individual consultations with instructors and on-site assistance in the Family History Library. The tuition for the course taught by Loosle and her team, is $199. All tuitions include the banquet to be held on Monday evening, October 6.

For registration and course description details, visit the website at http://www.isbgfh.org; or write to ISBGFH, P.O. Box 350459, Westminster, CO 80035-0459.

School Records

One of the subjects I lecture and write about is the use of older school records in researching individual, family, and community history. A wealth of information waits in these records. School censuses can help fill in the gaps in federal and state census enumerations. In many cases, these records give detail on an entire family. A record of your ancestor's grades, days in attendance, and even books borrowed from the school library can fill in more on the life story of that person. Details on a teacher's own schooling or rate of pay can often be found.

Historic school records may be found in a variety of places today. They may still be in the actual school or school district offices. Perhaps they have been transferred to a county or state archive or historical facility. Two state archives with a bounty of school records from around their respective states are Minnesota and North Carolina. The Family History Library has not concentrated on filming school records, but some are in the library. The records from a religious or ethnic school may be with an archive for that religion or ethnic group.

Some records are stacked in box after box in warehouses and access is almost impossible. According to the July 1st edition of the Post-Journal, the Jamestown, New York, public schools now has its own archives to preserve such records in a controlled environment. If only more were preserved so well.

The 14th annual Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy

2009 will be the 14th annual week long SLIG held in Salt Lake City. The 2009 dates are January 12-16. SLIG lasts for 5 full days plus optional evening special lectures. The ten courses offered for 2009 are: American Research and Records, Research in the Gulf South, English Research, Research in German Speaking Areas, Colonial American Research, Effective Use of the Internet, Hispanic Research, Beyond the Library,, Skillbuilding for Professional Level Research, and Problem Solving. Yes, you do have to pick only one course!

Check out the Utah Genealogical Association's website for a description of each course and the coordinator for each. Check back later for the full class listing for each and for the names of all the instructors for the courses. The courses generally consist of 20 classroom hours and then you can walk or ride 2.5 blocks from the Radisson Hotel to the Family History Library and immediately put what you have learned to work. The friendships that have developed over the year are wonderful. Some return year after year. New students fit right in.

I coordinate and teach in Course I: American Research and Records: Focus on Localities. This is a two-part course with the alternate year focusing on Families. 1997 was the first year I taught at SLIG and have been coordinating a course since 1998. I wouldn't miss this special week! What else can you do in January? This course is educational and fun at the same time. A special bond develops between the class and instructors.

Course I is designed a bit differently from the others. 16 hours are classroom hours, some with hands-on work. There are optional FHL homework assignments to help you immediately apply the new knowledge. This course also offers 6 hours in the FHL with mini-tours and one-on-one consultations. The instructors for this course are Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., FUGA, Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA, Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA, Kory L. Meyerink, AG, FUGA (2), and D. Joshua Taylor.

Birdie and Josh will once again assist me in the FHL with the tours and consultations. It is a great feeling to help a student work on what to do next and then have that person come back and say "thank you, I found them." I will also be an instructor in the Beyond the Library, Gulf South, and Skillbuilding courses. This year's line up of coordinators and instructors that I already know about is impressive. All the full course titles are listed in the blog post immediately below this one.

SLIG 2009, January 12-16: Course I classes

I coordinate and teach in the annual Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy's Course I: American Records and Research: Focusing on Localities. The lineup of classes for this course is below. Read the entry just before this one for more about SLIG in general, the instructors in this course, and the other courses.

• Never Enough Time! Strategies and Organizational Tips & Tools for Busy Researchers
• Answers in County Courthouse and Town Hall Record
• Family History Library Labs on 3 afternoons: one-on-one help in the FHL
• Greater Success through Source Citation
• Becoming Americans: Finding and Using Naturalization Records
• Homestead and Related Records: The Basic Processes
• The WPA Era: What It Created for Genealogists
• On and Off the Net: Locality Searching
• How to Avoid Being Duped on the Internet
• Homestead and Related Records: Maximizing the Bureau of Land Management Web Site
• Vanity Sketches: Sources and Truths Behind Mugbook Entries
• Genealogical and Historical Periodicals In Print & Online
• Finding Ancestral Places of Origin in U.S. Records
• Tic-Tac-Toe with Historic Legal Basics
• Newspaper Research: The Dailies, Weeklies, and Beyond
• Finding Immigrant Arrival Records
• The U.S. National Archives: The Nation’s Attic
• Wrap-up, Completion Certificate; Q&A

A genealogist on the move

Those of us who have the genealogy bug should never move. We have too much stuff. Over the next week, I am moving. Yes, again.

Since last August I have been living at my oldest son's home. There is plenty of room for me. I kept thinking that I would find a place to live sooner than this, so 90% of my many boxes of books were never unpacked. I also didn't need to unpack all my china and kitchen stuff for here. My son said that my couch and love seat will NOT be moving with me.

So, the bookshelves, printer, computers, back-ups, reference books, reference files, family files, client files, and a box of mysterious cables and cords will be traveling again.

I found a one level town home to rent. My commute to my main client's offices is now going to be 20-30 minutes instead of the sometimes 2 hours each way. I have loved the peacefulness of the country, the deer outside my office window, and being close to one set of grandchildren. The others are 2-1/2 hours away. I will be just minutes from a large shopping center, much closer to the airport, but still in a peaceful area with a park and woods nearby.

The main reason for moving is that my son is getting married in a month. I gain a wonderful daughter-in-law in the process. And 4 more grandchildren. I have known them for 3 years and love them all. The wedding will be in their large yard and has a Hawaiian theme. This means I can find a cool mother of the groom outfit.

There will be no change in my e-mail address.

Genealogy and today's newspapers

I love to read news stories, obituaries, and press releases that mention words such as archives, indexes, genealogy, genealogical . . . you get the idea. I will continue to pass along such articles when I come across them.

A long-time friend died this week. Patrick Chandler, along with his late wife, Dorothy, was a volunteer extraordinaire for the Minnesota Genealogical Society Library. Pat's obit in yesterday's St. Paul Pioneer Press did mention his genealogy involvement. The name of the society was not quite correct, but at least it did mention genealogy.

A recent issue of the Shakopee Valley News carried an article about a group of volunteers, led by Betty Dols, who gave many hours to index newspapers and other items for the Scott County (Minnesota) Historical Society. I recall Betty telling me that at one time, her dining room table was covered with Scott County records. Now, these are found at the SCHS's Stans Museum in Shakopee. If your family was in the county or in surrounding areas, you should check out their indexing results on the website.

Ancestry doubles size of newspaper collection

In a press release today, Ancestry.com announced that it has doubled the size of its newspaper collection:

"Ancestry.com has doubled the size of its newspaper collection - adding a billion names and 20 million images. Culled from a cross section of American newspapers, from large and small towns alike, this collection has newspapers beginning in the early 1800s and some extending into the 2000s. (Available years vary by newspaper.) As an example, the collection includes newspaper titles, such as:

* The Anniston Star (Anniston, AL)
* Modesto Bee and Herald News (Modesto, CA)
* Raleigh Register (Raleigh, NC)
* Odessa American (Odessa, TX)
* Xenia Daily Gazette (Xenia, OH)
* Panama City Herald (Panama City, FL)
* Chicago Daily News (Chicago, IL)
* Delta Democrat Times (Greenville, MS)
* Reno Gazette (Reno, NV)
* Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA)
* Northwest Arkansas Times (Fayetteville, AR)
* And many more

Now through June 19th, the Ancestry.com newspaper collection is open to the public for free. Search the Ancestry.com newspaper collection at http://www.ancestry.com/newspapers. (Please note: Users will need to register as members of Ancestry.com to access the free newspapers. This free registration does NOT require a credit card. Those registering for a free membership account will be asked to provide an email address.)"

Everton’s Genealogical Helper Adds New Online Edition!

Leland Meitzler asked me to post this press release for my readers.

New Online Edition of Everton’s Genealogical Helper will debut July 1! Subscribe today for only $10.00!

LOGAN, Utah, June 12, 2008. Genealogy Online, Inc., publisher of Everton’s Genealogical Helper, today, announced the publication of the Genealogical Helper in an Online Edition. The Online Edition is an identical copy of the 176-page paper edition – complete with hotlinks to the hundreds of website addresses found therein.

Launch Date – The new Online Edition will launch on July 1 – simultaneous with the home delivery and newsstand date of the paper edition of the July-August issue.

Free Access – Subscribers to the traditional Genealogical Helper will have 100% FREE online access to the magazine – with no extra fees whatsoever. See http://www.everton.com for sign-up information.

Online Edition subscriptions – Everton’s Genealogical Helper, Online Edition, will sell for just $12.00 per year! That is only $2 per issue! And it’s only $10.00 for subscriptions made before July 1 at http://www.everton.com or phone 1-800-443-6325.

Net Family History – An important feature of Everton’s Genealogical Helper is the magazine within a magazine entitled Net Family History. New information specific to using the Internet for genealogy is always found in this portion of the bimonthly publication. Extensive website reviews are always located here, as well as articles dealing with Internet-related activities.

Why an online edition? – Every issue of Everton’s Genealogical Helper now contains hundreds of website addresses. The Internet is where some of the most exciting genealogical resource advances are taking place, so it’s required that information about these resources be disseminated to the Helper’s thousands of readers in every issue. Everton’s Genealogical Helper, Online Edition, will allow readers to go from their paper edition to the hotlinked Online Edition and access any of the websites with just a keystroke or two – no more typing in those lengthy website addresses! The Online Edition offers more than just the links found in the magazine – it is the entire magazine itself!

Format & hosting – Everton’s Genealogical Helper, Online Edition, will be in pdf format, readable by anyone, with any computer running an Adobe Acrobat Reader (Available at Adobe.com as a FREE download.) The Online Edition will be hosted by FamilyLink.com, Inc.

Why subscribe to the Genealogical Helper? – Subscribe to have access to the Helper’s how-to & historical articles, Net Family History (see above), genealogical sharing, extensive book and CD-ROM reviews & announcements, queries, the most complete event calendar available anywhere, and hundreds of ads detailing new products and services. In addition to these day-to-day features, you will also have access to the NEW updated, hotlinked Directory of Genealogical and Historical Societies – to be published in the Sept/Oct and Nov-Dec issues! Edited by Leland K. Meitzler, the Helper is guaranteed to help you extend your lines and fill in those blanks in your family tree.

WHAT A DEAL! – Your cost for a full subscription (the paper magazine & online access both) is less than 3 cents per page – delivered to your home, and now accessible online. Subscribe to the Online Edition alone for just over a penny a page! Subscribe by July 1 and it’s less than a penny per page!

Subscribe NOW at: http://www.everton.com or phone 1-800-443-6325.

*************

About Genealogy Online, Inc.

Genealogy Online, dba Everton Publishers, is the publisher of Everton’s Genealogical Helper, now in its 62nd year of helping genealogists find their ancestors. Genealogy Online, Inc. also publishes the Handybook for Genealogists, 11th edition, a top-selling guidebook for family historians. Their website is found at: http://www.everton.com. Also see: http://www.GenealogyBlog.com.

Amazing libraries around the world

A colleague from Massachusetts, Christine Sweet-Hart, posted an amazing link on a professional genealogists' discussion list. That link is to Curious Expeditions and the pictures of libraries and books is literally thrilling. I have only been to six of those libraries.

Christine warned that viewing this site would make us grab our passport and run to the airport. That is putting it mildly. Real libraries. Real books. Real art. Real craftsmanship. Wow! How many have you been to?