Wisconsin Historical Society digitizes 3,000 maps

I love this! 3,000 of the 25,000+ maps held by the Wisconsin Historical Society are now digitized and online. I spent too much time already tonight looking at various maps for cities and towns where my ancestors resided.

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to access the maps and atlases and learn more about the collection.

Wisconsin Gene-A-Rama here I come!

I just finished two great seminar weekends. The first was March 16th with the Dallas Genealogical Society and on the 23d  with the Conejo Valley [CA] Genealogical Society. It's always tough to leave the places where I present the seminars and have spent time renewing old friendships and meeting new friends. It was even tougher for me because the weather in both these places was perfect and since Spring has been ignoring Minnesota, it was tough to leave the sunshine.

I hear that Spring is actually making baby steps toward Minnesota and Wisconsin and I am happy that I will be back in Wisconsin for Gene-A-Rama at the Plaza Hotel & Suites in Wausau on April 5 & 6. Wisconsin Genealogical Society events are always fun. I will be presenting four regular lectures:

Wisconsin pronunciation guide is great for genealogy!

I was at a Christmas party this evening and had a fun time. Then I came back to my apartment and have been having fun on my computer. The Wisconsin State Cartographer's Office has an online pronunciation guide to places all around the state. Not a written guide, but an audio presentation.

I do stumble over some of the names of Wisconsin places where my ancestors resided.

Pronounce these names and then see if you got them right by clicking here. Click on the arrow on the map and then jump around to see a variety of places. Then use the search box near the upper right corner to do more specific searches.

• Berlin
• New Berlin
• Buena Vista
• Oconomowoc
• Peebles
• Stoughton

I would give you more places to check but I need to go back to my own evening entertainment. Hmmm, how is Hurricane or maybe Louis Corners pronounced?

National Tartan Day: my roots in Scotland

April 6th is National Tartan Day in the U.S. I have some proud Scottish ancestry.

Among the names I find in my ancestry in Scotland are
Stuart: Strathdon, Aberdeen; Abroath, Angus;
Grant: Strathdon, Aberdeen
Leighton/Lighton: Farnell, Angus
Niddrie/Nedry: Farnell and Kinnell, Angus
Allardice/Allardyce: Kinnell, Angus
Edward/s: Brechin, Forfar, and Abroath, Angus
Cowie: Brechin and Forfar, Angus

In the U.S. the Edward/s and Stuart families and descendants are in Fond du Lac, Ripon, Beaver Dam, Rhinelander, Sheboygan, Omro, Berlin, Fort Atkinson, and Oshkosh Wisconsin; Rutland, Vermont; Chicago and Elgin, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Salina and Marysville, Kansas; and St. Paul and Roseville, Minnesota. Some descendants have lived in New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Colorado later in the 20-21st centuries.

UW River Falls -- free classes and new archivist

Kathryn Otto is the new Archivist at the Area Research Center (ARC) and University Archives housed in the Chalmer Davee Library at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. A news story in the New Richmond [WI] News tells about the free classes she is inviting people to attend. These are for those interested in "learning about the archives, doing historical research, or seeking ancestors." 

I got to know Kathie when she was Head of Reference at the Library and Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society. The folks across the border are lucky to have her. If you have family in the Wisconsin counties of Burnett, Polk, St. Croix, or Pierce be sure to schedule a research visit to the ARC. You may also find some connections to folks across the St. Croix River in Minnesota. It's been a while since I have researched there, but it is a great place to do so. Click here for more details.

State censuses on Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com now has Missouri state censuses online. While not as numerous as some other state's censuses, these are still helpful. Among the other state censuses on Ancestry are Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Kansas. For the story about Missouri check here.