Press Release on PERSI and periodicals digitization

Five days ago I blogged about a newspaper article discussing a project that would revolutionize our access to the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) and the articles that the index covered. Today I received the official press release about the project. I am excited about this. For many years I have promoted PERSI and all those wonderful periodicals from the past that hold valuable family history information, queries, indexes, bible abstracts, cemetery abstracts, and more. I will definitely be renewing my findmypast subscription! The Allen County Public Library is one of the local hosts for next month's Federation of Genealogical Societies genealogy conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Findmypast.com is a Platinum sponsor of that conference of which I am one of the co-chairs.

         

        

LOS ANGELES (July 19, 2013) – Findmypast.com, an international leader in online family history, today announced a partnership with the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) Genealogy Center to revolutionize the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI), the world’s largest and most widely used subject index for genealogy and local history literature. As part of the partnership, findmypast.com is enhancing PERSI, most notably by linking thousands of individual genealogical periodicals and resources to the index, allowing the original content to be accessed and connected digitally for the first time in the history of PERSI.

During the past 30 years, the ACPL Genealogy Center has created more than 2.5 million searchable records in PERSI, indexing every article from more than 8,000 different periodicals, including magazines, newsletters and journals, according to location, topic, surname, ethnicity and methodology. In the coming months, findmypast.com will launch the most complete version of PERSI online. Once launched, findmypast.com will work in tandem with the Genealogy Center to provide frequent updates to the collection as new entries are added.

PERSI has become an essential tool in helping genealogists and family historians locate valuable information, and this new partnership with findmypast.com will transform PERSI into an even more powerful resource.  Findmypast.com subscribers will be able to search and view digitized images of the articles, allowing unprecedented access to the information contained in these periodicals.

“We are proud to partner with The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library to continue indexing and offering PERSI – an essential tool for genealogical research,” said D. Joshua Taylor, lead genealogist for findmypast.com. “This is an ideal partnership given findmypast.com’s expertise in digitizing records and Allen County Public Library’s continual dedication to adding new records to the index. We look forward to working together to once again revolutionize the way genealogy and local history literature is accessed.”

“Partnering with findmypast.com represents an exciting opportunity to grow PERSI into an extremely relevant twenty-first century discovery tool for genealogists worldwide,” said Curt Witcher, ACPL Genealogy Center manager. “Having the ability to provide much more frequent updates and link index entries to serial issues is a real game-changer, not only for genealogists and local historians but also for the librarians and archivists who serve them.”

The future of online search through this partnership aligns with findmypast.com’s Society Data Initiative, a joint project between the Federation of Genealogical Societies and findmypast.com to preserve, digitize and provide access to the rich resources created by family history, genealogical and historical societies over many decades.

PERSI, and each periodical to be linked over time, will be available across all international findmypast sites, to personal subscribers and library users.

Findmypast.com’s expertise at digitizing historical records and uniting communities provides the tools to help people connect with their past.

To learn more about findmypast.com or to get started on your own family history:

Findmypast.com’s expertise at digitizing historical records and uniting communities provides the tools to help people connect with their past.

To learn more about findmypast.com or to get started on your own family history:

·         Like findmypast on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/findmypastus

·         Follow findmypast on Twitter at https://twitter.com/findmypastus

·         Follow findmypast on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/findmypastus/

 

University of Minnesota Archives and Special Collections

The opening two sentences of a 17 July article in the Minnesota Daily, the newspaper of the University of Minnesota's main campus, tells the story of why we still need to visit such places in our family history research.


"In the last five years, the University of Minnesota Archives has digitized about 1 million pages of records."

"But that’s only 1 percent of its total content."

I have seen the underground storage of many of these materials and just that part alone was impressive. The article further stated, "The University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Department houses 16

Isanti County Historical Society rises from the ashes

Back in 2011, I wrote about the arson destruction of the historical society building and contents in Isanti County, Minnesota. An article in yesterday's Isanti County News tells the story of the rebuilding, the future, and the hopes for this building and society that is physically located in Cambridge, Minnesota

"Our main focus is now going to be a resource center for genealogy and family history. We want our focus to be on pictures and stories and information on Isanti County"

"Isanti County Historical Society Heritage Center is a place to not only conduct research and learn about our past and the people who made us what we are today, but also a place to create new memories.”

Read the balance of the informative and uplifting article here.

Visit the society's website here.

Minnsota Historical Society adds Tuesday morning research hours

It's official. The research hours at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul are being expanded to include Tuesday morning. Now the Tuesday hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. beginning this fall. Wednesday - Saturday hours remain 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Hours are also being expanded at several historic sites.

Other research changes are afoot at MHS, too. Reader and printer repair and cleaning, perhaps? More accessible outlets for plugging in computers in both rooms? Fingers crossed! I hate crawling around on the floor to plug in my computer when the row of accessible plugs is filled in the Hubbs Room.

Thank you, Minnesota Legislature and all who championed this change.

Read the full press release here.

State archives newsletters hold value for genealogists

Have you checked the newsletters produced by the state archives in your ancestral states? The content varies, but may include:

• list of recent acquisitions
• bios of staff members (may tell you which person is familiar with specific collections)
• descriptions of collections
• notes on state history
• indexing projects
• digitization projects

Both the current and past issue are valuable. Many are in paper format but some have older issues online. Some archives deliver their newsletters electronically today. 

These are some you might want to check:

• Pennsylvania State Archives
• Missouri State Archives
• Maryland State Archives
• California State Archives
• Oregon State Records Center and Archives Older issues only
  

Genealogy articles indexed in PERSI to be digitized?

I love visiting the Genealogy Center at the main Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. My first visit there was in the early 1980s and I have been back there many times. One of the joys of researching there is accessing all those current, older and out-of-print genealogy and historical periodicals that are indexed in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). This is not an every name index to all articles but a subject index.

For about a year I have known something was afoot about the future of this wonderful resource and now we know something about that. Today's Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) has a story about the history of PERSI and that all those periodicals may be coming to a computer screen near us! Even better, the plan is to link the index to the actual article.

As the online article states, the index covers about 12,000 periodicals, some of which are no longer published. All hold genealogy gold. "The library’s collection is so big, the index now contains about 2.5 million citations, and ACPL adds about 100,000 more a year."

U.K. based brightsolid is behind this great project.

Read the full story here.

In the meantime, why not do some personal searching in all those periodicals while you attend this year's fantastic genealogy conference in Fort Wayne. I am co-chair of this Federation of Genealogical Societies August 21-24 event. Learn more and register at https://www.fgsconference.org/

FamilySearch U.S. Immigration Project

Have you checked out the latest indexing projects at FamilySearch? One of the neat ones is the U.S. Immigration project. Volunteer indexers are indexing U.S. passenger arrival lists and naturalization records.

"In June, the project reached a significant milestone of 50 million passenger ship and naturalization records indexed! Add that to the 25 million Ellis Island records indexed years ago—before FamilySearch indexing started—and you’ve got 75 MILLION free immigration and naturalization records ready (or nearly ready) to search to your heart’s content."

Read the full FamilySearch blog post about it here.

Have you helped with FamilySearch indexing projects?

NARA Regional Fellowship research project winners

he National Archives announced the recipients and research topics for the 2013 Regional Fellowship Program. The winners will research at specific National Archives locations. The topics include several that intrigue me due to the connection to American Indian research which is one of my specialties.

• The Northern Cheyenne Homesteaders of Southeast Montana's Tongue River and Otter Creek Valleys

• Dislocated Removals, Institutions, and Community Lives in America History. This is about the Hiawatha Indian Asylum in Canton, South Dakota. I have worked in the records of this and of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC where Canton residents were sent when that institution closed.

• Moving Towards the Mainstream: Native America, 1890-1940

The researchers will complete a research project for publication. They will also write a report about the research experience that the archives will publish.

Read the full press release on the NARA website.

Hennepin County, Minnesota new consolidated Records Center

I love progress! The Hennepin County (Minnesota) government is finally announcing the consolidation of court cases. A plus is that records once stored offsite will be more readily available once the project is finished.

"The new Records Center allows citizens to look up records from various cases in one place, ranging from civil and conciliation to criminal, housing and probate/mental health. The center is located in the B Vault in the lower level of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. 6th St., in Minneapolis."

"Hennepin County is still in the process of digitizing the equivalent of 180 semitrailer truck loads of record accumulated over 130 years."

Read the full StarTribune article here. 

Learn more about hours, access and pricing (gulp!) here. 

Don't forget to check FamilySearch.org (FamilySearch catalog) and the Minnesota Historical Society catalog for some Hennepin County records.

FamilySearch adds 50.1+ million record images

From a press release just received from FamilySearch:

View the full announcement online at FamilySearch News and Press.

"July 3, 2013

FamilySearch Adds More Than 50.1 Million Images from Belgium, BillionGraves, Brazil, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States

FamilySearch has recently added more than 50.1 million images from Belgium, BillionGraves, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 10,242,324 images from the Belgium Civil Registration collections between 1582-1912, the 6,993,483 index records and images from the Spain Municipal Records collections between 1251-1966, and the 29,532,624 index records from the new United States, Public Records Index collection . See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org."

Free Access to Irish Records on findmypast.com June 27-30

Have you investigated the offerings of findmypast.com? Here's a chance to research part of that website for FREE. This is from a press release provided courtesy of findmypast.com.

"On June 30, 1922, the Public Records Office of Ireland, located at the historic Four Courts in Dublin,

The fire has had lasting effects – still felt today – as Irish family history requires a unique approach to research than other heritages. To commemorate this anniversary and encourage exploration of Irish genealogy, findmypast.com will offer its full collection of Irish Birth, Marriage and Death indexes free of charge from June 27 to June 30. Anyone searching for their Irish ancestors can access the full Irish record collection by registering for free at findmypast.com.

Despite a great loss of records in the historic fire, there are still many opportunities to discover Irish heritage, with countless fascinating stories to be found from the records that survived."
caught fire during the Irish Civil War. Tragically a considerable amount of Irish records were destroyed.

The Harvey Girls and the railroads

In my lecture about finding railroad records that might relate to an ancestor, I discuss some of the railroad-connected jobs in which the workers were not directly employed by the railroads. I love to do this lecture and open the eyes of researchers eagerly looking for records, sharing tactics to take in "tracking" them down, and tell about the myriad of finding aids that are available. My handout for this lecture includes many websites.

One of the occupations I discuss is the Harvey Girls. You may have seen the 1940s movie with Judy Garland or read the book from that era. These women worked in the hotels and restaurants of Fred Harvey that served various stops along the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. Did you know about Lesley Poling-Kemps 1994 book, The Harvey Girls: Women Who Opened the West?

My news feed today showed a link to an article about a new exhibit and a documentary film at the U.S. National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri.  "A documentary capturing first-person accounts of the famous Harvey Girls will premiere Friday at the National Archives in Kansas City in conjunction with an ongoing exhibit there. The free film, “The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound,” will be followed by a panel discussion by the film’s producers and other scholars." Oh, do I wish I could be there in-person. The exhibit runs till next January 4th. I see a road trip in my future.

ad more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/19/4301648/harvey-house-documentary-premieres.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/19/4301648/harvey-house-documentary-premieres.html#storylink=cpy

To read the full articles in the online edition of the Kansas City Star, click here.

Slovenian Consulate opens in my neighborhood of Roseville

It's not every day that a foreign country's consulate opens near me! It's practically in my backyard. The Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia is in the home of Miro Medved who was named Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia.

"Slovenia, a country about the size of New Jersey, gained its independence in 1991 from communist controlled Yugoslavia. . . Medved said it was time to establish a consulate in Minnesota, where he said around 30,000 people of Slovenian descent reside."

I was aware that many Slovenians first settled in northern Minnesota on what is fondly called the Iron Range and were miners or in other occupations. The article related that many have moved to the Twin Cities metro area. It also told me that Minnesota's own U.S. Senator, Amy Klobuchar, is of Slovenian descent.

Yul Yost, a Slovenian-American, who lives in Roseville, . . . said he wanted to forge a network of Slovenians together living in Minnesota, so he and others organized the group Twin Cities Slovenians ten years ago. The group’s goal is “to honor Slovenian heritage interest through the sharing of fellowship, culture, history, music, language, literature and genealogy activities.”

Ah, that magic word, genealogy!

Read the full article in the May 28th Roseville Review.

St. Paul's Pilgrim Baptist Church celebrates 150 years

Sasha Aslanian, a reporter from Minnesota Public Radio, has a wonderful story today about Pilgrim Baptist Church. The church is celebrating 150 year of existence. It was founded by former slaves.

Sasha relates ". . . Robert Hickman, an escaped slave from Missouri who 150 years ago led slaves traveling north on the Underground Railroad, a physical and spiritual migration that Pilgrim Baptist celebrates this month."

The name Hickman is definitely a recognizable one in St. Paul's black community. Unfortunately, when they arrived in St. Paul, members of the group were forced to separate with some going to different places in Minnesota. This sad occurrence may have solved a research mystery for me.

 " In 1866, Pilgrim Baptist Church moved to a permanent home in downtown St. Paul, making it the first predominantly black church in Minnesota. Church members celebrated with a baptism on the shore of the Mississippi."  Today the church is located on Central Avenue in St. Paul.

Robert Hickman, a 39 year old preacher is listed on the 1870 census of St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota (page 15/1097, line 6). The census entry states he was born in Missouri. Here is a view of his household on that census from Ancestry.com.

 Please click here to read the great story on MPR's website.

For more on Robert, read this website www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/hickman-robert-t-1831-1900

Bus it to the FGS Conference from Minnesota

If you live in Minnesota or Wisconsin, why not consider riding to the Federation of Genealogical Societies August 21-24 Conference in Fort Wayne with a bus filled with eager genealogists? The conference theme is "Journey through Generations" and you have the opportunity to travel with others who understand that phrase!

Check the website of the Minnesota Genealogical Society for the full details. MGS has arranged for hotel rooms and the bus will deliver you to the convention center each day.

2013 FGS Conference Early-Bird discount ends July 1

This press release is from the Federation of Genealogical Societies. I am on the FGS Board of Directors and am also National Conference Co-Chair for this event.

“Journey through Generations” – A Conference for the Nation’s Genealogists

June 10, 2013 – Austin, TX.  Discounted early-bird registration for the 2013 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference will continue only until July 1. Early registrants receive a $50 discount for the full four days, or a $20 discount for any single day. Details at http://www.fgsconference.org. 

The conference will be held 21-24 August 2013 in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. This year’s conference theme is “Journey through Generations,” and the local hosts are the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) and the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana (ACGSI). Platinum sponsors are FamilySearch.org, FindMyPast.com and Ancestry.com.

The conference offers opportunities for all who are interested in researching their family history, with over 160 educational sessions on records, strategies, and tools for genealogists at all levels. The exhibit hall features over 70 vendors offering a wide range of genealogical products and is open and free to the public. 

Luncheons, workshops and special events provide additional opportunities for networking and learning. Make sure the get your tickets to these conference “extras” early to guarantee your spot.

See you in Fort Wayne in August!

Learn More and Stay Connected:

• Visit or subscribe to the FGS Conference Blog at http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org.
• Like the conference on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FGSconference.
• Follow the conference on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/FGSconference and hashtag #FGS2013.
• Visit Fort Wayne at http://www.visitfortwayne.com/FGS.

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.

Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree

I really enjoyed the special genetics learning day at the Jamboree. The speakers, lectures, and comaraderie were great. I volunteered as a room monitor all day and tonight my feet really know I did that! I learned a lot about DNA testing from knowledgeable presenters in the rooms where I worked. I am convinced more than ever that I need to do this NOW.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. during a late afternoon break with Cyndi Ingle Howells and Elyse Doerflinger. Thank you to Cyndi for arranging the meeting.

Elyse Doerflinger, Dr,. Gate, and me

I met new friends and spent some time with long-time friends. That's an important part of these conferences. Also, that we ate too much! Looking forward to three more days in Burbank learning, presenting and having meetings. Hey fellow Minnesotans, the sun really does still exist.