Minnesota 1940 census index now available!

The index for the Minnesota 1940 census has gone live at www.findmypast.com! My plans for the day are now changed. I am guessing it will be at www.familysearch.org pretty soon. These indexes and images are FREE.

This index was created by volunteers from all over the world. Many volunteers from the Minnesota Genealogical Society participated and we were lead by Kathy Lund. More states need to be indexed. Check them out and sign up to help at FamilySearch.

War of 1812 Preserve the Pensions Project update

You may have read previous posts I did about this exciting project. I just checked the FREE images on the Fold3 website www.fold3.com/title_761/war_of_1812_pension_files/ and there are now 253,498 images on there. I think July 4th is a great day to honor this project. I have donated twice and will donate again in August at the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 2012 conference in Birmingham and to the Illinois State Genealogical Society of which I am a member (see below). We are getting closer to the D section of the alphabet so I can check for some of my brother-in-law's Dubois family. Then let's get moving faster so I can check my late father-in-law's Hatfields, Johnsons, and Warrens.

I am a member of the FGS Board of Directors and we recently learned of two major things which have greatly impacted this project. 

On Monday, June 18th (the 200th anniversary of the start of the War of 1812), the Illinois Genealogical Society (ISGS) issued the ISGS $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge. ISGS will MATCH any donation up to the first $10,000 that is made before December 31, 2012. This means:

• If you donate $10, ISGS will match your donation with another $10
• If you give $100, ISGS will also give $100 to the project
• In addition, Ancestry.com will also match the overall amount donated by individuals and ISGS, which means that the $10,000 raised plus the $10,000 in matching donations will become:
• $40,000! 
• Your $10 donation to help digitize these files actually becomes $40!

Find out all the details at the Illinois State Genealogical Society’s webpage. If you’re interested in donating to the project, giving through the Illinois State Genealogical Society will ensure that your gift is quadrupled in value! One certainly cannot beat that kind of an investment.

Then on June 25th, the Federation of Genealogical Societies announced another major gift for the project. The FGS press release on that said:

“The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces the donation of a generous gift in the amount of $135,000 from the estate of the late Jon Stedman in memory of his mother, Ardath Stedman. The donation to the Preserve the Pensions – War of 1812 Pension Digitization Fund will be used to help preserve and digitize War of 1812 Pension records.

Hollace Hervey, executrix of the estate, indicated that Jon Stedman was "always interested in preservation and bringing information to the front" so genealogists could more easily use it. Besides caring passionately for facilitating genealogists doing good research, Stedman had a deep love and affection for his mother who was a genealogist in her own right. The Preserve the Pensions project is just such a preservation and access endeavor, and FGS is honored in receiving this generous donation.

The $135,000 donation is a significant lead gift to the Preserve the Pensions project as FGS ramps up its fundraising efforts (to raise $3.7M) during the bicentennial of the War of 1812 which started on June 18, 2012. Members of the genealogy and family history communities as well as the general public are invited to learn more about this important record preservation project by visiting the Preserve the Pensions website at www.fgs.org/1812 and assist with honoring our nation’s heritage by preserving the records of our past.”

FGS genealogy conference discount deadline is Sunday.

The 2012 edition of the Federation of Genealogical Societies annual conference is just two months away. It is taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. Last year it was in Springfield, Illinois. The first bullet below is the biggest reminder. Please let your genealogy friends know about this discount deadline.

• If you register between now and the end of Sunday, July 1st you will be registering at the price that reflects the $50.00 discount for the conference. On Monday, that price goes up. The cost for the luncheons, special events, and workshops do not increase. Take care of all this right here.
• Don't forget to register for luncheons because other options for lunchtime are quite limited near the Convention Complex and hotel.
• As always, the workshops are filling quickly. Get your registration in for those now so you won't be disappointed. Click here and scroll down to the Workshop category.
• The Sheraton Birmingham Hotel has run out of king rooms but there are still some rooms left with two double beds. 
• Speaking of that hotel, it is conveniently connected to the Birmingham/Jefferson Convention Complex by a covered skyway. It's also easy to cross at street level.
•  In case you haven't seen it mentioned before, each registrant receives a large number of door prize tickets. There are some super-sized door prizes! 
• For more conference updates, visit www.fgsconferenceblog.org

July 2nd Indexing Extravaganza

This press release was sent by FamilySearch. I will be participating. Will you? Just think what we genealogists can do if we band together. I have been one of the many who are helping to index the 1940 census and I really enjoy it. I often do it in the evening and find it relaxing. Visit https://familysearch.org/ and click on "Indexing" at the top of the screen to get started. The fill-in indexing forms are easily understood.
    
Will July 2, 2012, Be Our First "5 Million Record" Day?

July 2, 2012, is going to be an amazing day! We can feel it! It could be the first day that we achieve "5 Million Name" fame. That's right. July 2nd might be the day that we index and arbitrate 5 million names (or records) in just 24 hours! No other name transcription project that we know of has ever come close.

Together, we've achieved unbelievable success in the past three months. Our highest day for indexing & arbitrating combined—for the last three months and in the history of indexing—was April 30th. On that day, we reached 4.9 million records submitted. Amazing! We nearly made 5 million with just our everyday effort!

To make sure we reach the goal of 5 million records, we'll need help from every indexer and arbitrator out there. Everyone will need to submit an extra batch or two (or more!) during the day. Remember, though, that our "day" starts at 00:00 Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT), which means 6pm MDT (Utah time), on Sunday, July 1st. Check the Facebook event page for your local start time.

Now, don't think that we're focusing completely on quantity and forgetting about quality. Next week, to prepare, we'll provide ways to improve the quality of your work and suggestions for how to get ready for the big day.

Spread the word! Tell your friends and family about the opportunity to be a part of this history-making event. We may not have another chance like this for years, so plan now to get involved. We need you and everyone else out there to reach this goal!

Look for more details next week. For now, let's keep on indexing (and arbitrating)!

Picture board time of year

Yes, it's that time of year. Are you putting together a set of photos to display at a graduation open house, wedding shower, or wedding? Maybe you are doing it in a slide show format. Whichever way, it's time to also make sure those pictures are labeled. Even better, write up a few words that tell the story of the photo and the people in it. Where was it taken? How are the people related? What was the occasion?

You can purchase a special pencil to use in writing on the back of photos. I am not a preservation expert, but there are many websites with this info. A historical society gift shop, good camera store, or one place with scrapbooking supplies may have the correct kind of pencil. You may also find that you need to take better care of your photos whether they are printed or still on your computer (or camera!). One helpful website for supply and caretaking info is the Northeast Document Conservation Center. http://www.nedcc.org/resources/family.php.

I am putting together some picture boards for my oldest granddaughter's graduation party this weekend. I have done the same thing for other graduations, weddings, showers, and funerals. I wish I had typed a short little story to place beneath some of those pictures. This time I am adding some stories. These will mean a lot to me, Kaylene, and to her Dad who is my son. It will also help the guests to know more about her. Something tells me that she may not remember exactly where certain pictures were taken when she was a toddler!

Free talk on 1940 census and genealogy in St. Paul

A repeat performance by popular demand! Want to learn more about tracing your family history? I will once again present a free talk about genealogy in general and the 1940 census (with lots of updates) along with Mary Jo Webster from the St. Paul Pioneer Press. This is a lecture sponsored by the Pioneer Press and the St. Paul Public Library.

 Mary Jo will talk about her first-ever experience in researching the free, online 1940 U.S. census and finding a neat capsule of her own family history. I will add more about the 1940 census, other censuses, and share tips on researching your family history via materials that are online and some that aren't. There are many free resources for starting to research your family history. 

Wednesday, June 20th, 6:30 p.m.
Highland Park Branch of the St. Paul Public Library
1974 Ford Parkway, St. Paul (Between Fairview and Cleveland.)

It's a free class! You don't even need to register and there will be free genealogy handouts complete with a lot of information on searching and websites.

Click here to see directions to the Highland Park Library: http://bit.ly/KxPIBg
Click here to see the library calendar http://bit.ly/MqfIPO

75 million names already indexed in the 1940 census

And it's all been done by volunteers like you and me. The 1940 Census Community Project shows that "More than Half of the 1940 U.S. Census Records Indexed in Just Two Months Thanks to Thousands of Volunteers Across the U.S."

I just received a press release from FamilySearch that says "Thanks to the efforts of more than 125,000 volunteers, more than 75 million names from the 1940 U.S. census have been indexed with 18 state records already available to the public on all Project partner websites, including the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Archives.com, FamilySearch.org and findmypast.com. The records will also be made available in more than 7,000 public libraries nationwide in the coming months by ProQuest. The national service project, the first and largest of its kind, aims to establish a comprehensive searchable database and make the 1940 U.S. census records available for free."

Let's not stop. Keep up that indexing. My home state of Minnesota is about to be finished so I am now working on Wisconsin. When that is done I will choose another state. If you aren't indexing, join us. Just visit FamilySearch.org and click on the 1940 census project logo in the upper right hand corner. It's easy, it's fun, and oh do you feel good after you submit each batch. I have indexed about 5,000 names but that's a drop in the bucket compared to some of the loyal indexers.

Wouldn't it be cool to have it all indexed by the Fourth of July as we celebrate our country's birthday? Plus this is showing the record keepers, legislatures, librarians, archivists, and others that we are a powerful group. I suspect that some of those folks are also volunteer indexers for this project.

Those 18 searchable states already on those sites mentioned above are:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• Oregon
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Wyoming

Minnesota activities for those who crave history

My email today brought me the Local History News from the Minnesota Historical Society. I want to attend just about every event that was listed in it.

The spotlighted project in this issue is that of the Richfield Historical Society. Richfield is in Hennepin County and is a first-ring suburb located adjacent to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The funds the RHS received from the MHS' Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants Program have been used to "To make publicly accessible a collection of 7,500 photographs of Richfield housing, 1955-1957."

Read the full newsletter with the extensive list of historical events in the state click here.

Mankato, MInnesota Family History Conference

In partnership with Minnesota State University, Mankato, and the Blue Earth County Historical Society, the Minnesota Genealogical Society presents this year's greater Minnesota genealogy conference June 22 and 23.  Friday kicks off with an evening social and program at Blue Earth County Historical Society.  Saturday's full-day conference at the university, "South Central Minnesota in the 1860s," is headlined by Stephen Osman's presentation, "Minnesota's Two Civil Wars."  

A total of 16 breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics are being offered. 

For details: http://www.mngs.org/

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy Registration Opens June 2!

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy Registration Opens June 2! That's this Saturday!

One June 2, 2012, at 9:00 AM (Mountain Daylight Time) (11 Eastern, 10 Central, and 8 Pacific) the mad dash to register for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy will begin. There are eleven great courses to choose from in this Utah Genealogical Society (UGA) institute. Register at www.slig.ugagenealogy.org It's the perfect way to spend quality genealogy time next January 14-18 near the greatest genealogy library in the world.

At at this genealogy institute you choose one topic track and you get 25 hours of in-depth instruction and networking on that topic. Click here to see the full list of tracks and click on each title to see details on each. [I am coordinating and teaching in Course I, American Records & Research, and teaching in Courses 2 & 6.]

Tuition:
Many of the tracks fill quickly so you'll want to register right out of the gate. Early bird registration ends October 31, Tuition rates are as follows, note that there is a $65 additional cost for Problem Solving:

    UGA Member with Early Bird discount - $350
    Non-UGA Member with Early Bird discount - $400
    UGA Member after October 31, 2012 - $400
    Non-UGA Member after October 31, 2012 - $450

If you are a UGA member, check your log-in information in the website now. The webmaster will not be able to field log-in problems on June 2. If you are not a UGA member, join now! Membership is only $35, so you'll save yourself $15. If you cannot log-in on registration day please register as a non-member and then email info@ugagenealogy.org requesting a new invoice with the correct total.

Evening Sessions, etc.:
UGA is building a new registration system which will allow you to edit your order at any time. It's not quite ready, so until it is they will only be opening registration for the main tracks. Please note that later you can register for evening sessions, meal plans, parking passes, and more as soon as their new system is ready. SLIG registrants will receive an update via email.

Dining Options:
Each year UGA receives suggestions from the students regarding dining options. They heard you! Each morning registered students will be entitled to a complimentary continental breakfast at the Radisson hotel. This breakfast will include pastries and fruit, coffee, tea, juice, and water, and will be offered in the main Wasatch hallway on the second floor. There will also be two lunch plans for interested students. Watch for details later.

Memorial Day: Honoring the Fallen

My family has been pretty lucky as far as returning family members who served in the United States military. My Dad, Father-In-Law, and my ex-husband all returned as did those in previous generations. My father did have some service related health issues but nothing too severe. As I watched TV today showing President Obama and others at the ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, I shed some tears. Taps, the Star Spangled Banner, other music, and the bagpipes do it to me every time. I was also thinking about all the families who have lost family members while in service to this country and continue to suffer today.

In the last couple weeks I happened to drive by two houses that brought to mind two such veterans. I drove by the house on Randolph Avenue in St. Paul where my late uncle's mother and brother lived. I visited them many times since my grandmother lived 1/2 block away. Gerald Joseph Mueller died during the Korean war years. He was married to my Mom's sister, Jeanine Hanley. His remains have never been found. I don't remember him but always knew about him and I used to visit his grandparents in Buckman, Minnesota. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1017305

The next house was on Munster Avenue, also in St. Paul where Tom Kingston lived. I went to grade school with Tom and will always remember his red hair. Tom was killed in Viet Nam in January of 1968. I still remember receiving the letter from a friend back home and the feeling of shock. I was living in California at the time near a Naval Air Station were my husband served. He did not go to Viet Nam, but served on Adak in the Aleutian Islands. I imagine we will remember Tom fondly this October when we have our 8th grade reunion. I have visited the wall in Washington, DC and did cry as I touched Tom's name.

I am grateful to these two men who lost their lives while fighting to keep us free. But I wish no one had to fight in any war.

Austin, Minnesota couple married in cemetery

I love this story in yesterday's St. Paul Pioneer Press. A couple in Austin in Southern Minnesota were married this past Saturday near their parents' graves in Austin's Oakwood Cemetery so their parents could be at the wedding. Their engagement began in the cemetery after the couple reconnected via Facebook.


Click here for the full story and a picture.

Tracing your family history with the 1940 census and other tools

Join me and Mary Jo Webster from the St. Paul Pioneer Press at the St. Paul Public Library, Highland Park branch, for a free class next week. Mary Jo is a reporter and computer-assisted reporting editor for my hometown newspaper.

Mary Jo will talk about her first-ever experience in researching the free, online 1940 U.S. census and finding a neat capsule of her own family history. I will add more about the 1940 census, other censuses, and share tips on researching your family history via materials that are online and some that aren't. There are many free resources for starting to research your family history.

It's a free class on Wednesday, May 23d at 6:30 p.m.

Click here to see directions to the Highland Park Library: http://bit.ly/KxPIBg
Click here to see the library calendar http://bit.ly/MqfIPO

GRIP early bird tuition deadline

Where has this year gone already! I just noticed that the early bird deadline for the 2012 Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) is at the end of this month. Are we really at the half-way mark of May? There are limited open spots in three of the courses. You will be delighted no matter which course you take.

You save $20.00 if you register before June 1, 2012. GRIP takes place this coming July 22-27. Check out all the details at www.gripitt.org.

Early bird tuition for the one-week course includes daytime and optional evening sessions, all syllabus notebook materials, social activities, snacks, and a polo shirt. The cost is $380 paid by June 1, 2012 and $400 thereafter. The website also details info on dorm rentals.

Have a genealogy question? Are you at the NGS Conference in Cinci?

Stop by the findmypast.com booth in the Exhibit Hall to get your burning genealogy questions addressed. Three top family history experts will be in the booth to assist you in your family history quest. The cost? FREE. The consultants are:

Wednesday: Debra Mieszala, CG
Thursday: Paula Stuart-Warren, CG
Friday: D. Joshua Taylor, MLS
Saturday: Debra Mieszala, CG

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.

Librarian from the Library of Congress to speak in Northfield, Minnesota

I wish I could attend this presentation down in Northfield, Minnesota at Carleton College. Hopefully some of my blog readers will attend. If you feel like sharing about this event, I'd be happy to publish it on this blog and give you full credit.

"Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, will give a talk on digitizing library materials. His presentation, entitled “Living with the Real Thing: From the Original to the Digital,” will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Thurs., May 10 in the Carleton College Boliou Hall, Room 141. This event is free and open to the public."

Dimunation is a graduate of Carleton's St. Olaf College. Read more about him and the presentation in Carleton News. http://apps.carleton.edu/news/news/?story_id=841544

Free expert advice at findmypast.com booth at NGS Cincinnati

findmypast.com is hosting an "Expert of the Day at its Exhibit Hall  booth at the National Genealogical Society Conference in Cincinnati this coming week. (May 9-12)

Ask questions and receive expert advice from some of the nation’s leading genealogists. No appointment necessary! Visit one on one with the Expert of the Day for free at the findmypast.com booth.

Wednesday: Debra Mieszala, CG
Thursday: Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA
Friday: D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS
Saturday: Debra Mieszala, CG

About the Experts:

Debra Mieszala specializes in forensic genealogy, 20th century research, and the Midwest. She does genealogical research for the military to help locate family members of service members missing in past wars. A national-level lecturer and author, she has taught at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and other events. Debbie al so holds a certificate in paralegal studies.

Paula Stuart-Warren has been conducting research since the early 1980s and works full time in the areas of genealogical and historical research, lecturing, consulting, and writing. A board-certified genealogist since 1988, Paula is a firm believer in continuing education in genealogy and frequently participates in national and local conferences. Among her many activities, she is a member of the Board of Directors for the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

D. Joshua Taylor is the Business Development Manager – North America for brightsolid online publishing, the creators of findmypast.com, and a nationally known and recognized genealogical author, lecturer, and researcher. Active in the genealogical community, Joshua is the current Vice President of Administration for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and has been a featured genealogist on NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?