Genealogical Proof Standard

Genealogical Proof Standard(GPS) has replaced the former Preponderance of the Evidence (POE) standard for evaluation of genealogical research conclusions. The new standard is actually higher than the former, more legal standard that had been used traditionally. I just read Christine Rose's book: Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case over the weekend and wanted to recommend it to you as through, well illustrated with examples and logical in its presentation.

Ms. Rose covers direct versus indirect evidence, original versus derivative sources, and primary versus secondary information, even on "sticky" records, such as death certificates and censuses. The steps to reach a solid conclusion are explained and an examination of weighing the various records through case studies are presented. She especially stresses the need for a written conclusion, both for the researcher to present the solid case and for future researchers. I was especially pleased that she believes, as I do, that it is just as important to present the disproved theories and your conclusion as the solid theory that you have confidence in as a researcher.

Independence Day

As we contemplate the glory of our historic rise as a free nation this weekend, let us not just watch the parades and fireworks but pause for reflection and our own duty to this great country. I often consider the words of Patrick Henry:"I know not what course others may take but as for me; give me liberty or give me death." Now while Patrick Henry lived until 1799 and did not die at the hands of the British, he did dedictate himself to public service until his death, preserving and defending the ideals he championed.

How can you affect your corner of the American community for good? Take action! I believe that is the greatest tribute we can make to those who have fought, died and defended and continue to defend our freedoms!

Research diligence

After helping some friends research their own family lines this weekend, I was reminded of the importance of diligence in our searches!

Genealogical researchers rely heavily on indexes for vital records and censuses and hardly ever even give them a second thought as we cruise through where the ancestors should/might be at a given historical time and in a specific geographic location. When we don't find them where we expect them to be, we recheck our research assumptions and the source(s) of that information for credibility. But remember that the margin for error in indexing can be quite large and usually, with "Murphy's Law for Genealogists" working for me (or is that against me?!), my ancestors aren't on the index, apparently not living where I thought they would be or even where I absolutely KNEW they lived.

After accessing one of the online census indexes this weekend, I couldn't find a specific family but felt confident they should be there. I went online and looked at the original census records and let me tell you, the bottom quarter of each page was black and smudged and pretty much unreadable, making it impossible for the indexer(s) to complete their task as well. Sometimes the microfilmed copy didn't get proper lighting and whole families are unreadable. The moral of the story is: families were missed by the census takers, names can't always be read by indexers, best guesses on surname spellings can be way off the mark, human error by the indexer could have missed your family, so it is a very good idea to check the original yourself when in doubt, so you don't create an unneccesary brickwall.

Minnesota Genealogy Society

The Minnesota Genealogy Society is located 5768 Olson Memorial Highway in Golden Valley. Parking is available in the lot for free. Thirteen various genealogy interest groups operate out of the society and the building, including the Finnish Genealogy Group, the well-known Germanic Genealogy Group, the French-Canadian group, the Irish Genealogy Society, the Polish Genealogy Society of Minnesota, the Swedish Genealogy Society of Minnesota, and the Yankee Genealogy Society.

There are a wide range of research books and onsite, various surname research folders, computer databases, and friendly, helpful staff from the various interest groups on staff to answer questions on all shifts. A onsite copy machine is available. Regular classes and conferences are held by the Society. They also have an active online presence and you can see the online catalog at : http://m3hosting1.mlasolutions.com/m3/apps/m3opac/mgs

Immigration History Research Center, University of MN

The Immigration History Research Center is located on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis campus in 311 Anderson Library, 222 21st Avenue South, a few blocks off of 35W. Again, parking is at street side meters (bring lots of quarters) or in the parking ramp or parking lots on campus.

Highlights of the collection are the Finnish American Family History Collection, 900 ethnic group newspapers, manuscripts, fraternal society materials, and church records with a focus on eastern European immigrant groups. Many of these records are in the native languages of the specific group. There is a spacious reading room and fairly quick delivery to your research table from the caverns housing the materials below the library.

The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgeble. The former director Dr. Rudolph Vecoli, who built the collection for many years and was very active in fund raising, just retired. Be sure you have a firm idea of what you want in your research goal to find before you go. You can access a more complete description at: http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/research/famhis/genihrc.htm

Newberry Library

The Newberry Library is located at 60 West Walton Street in Chicago, off of Interstate 90/94. Again, you are on your own for parking but there are meters surrounding the library. The building is beautiful and the wide, marble steps are well-worn, a testament to their years of service.

Highlights of the collection are the newspapers, city directories for many major American cities, microfilmed censuses for the federal as well as territorial and state level, church and synogogue records, the Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library, local histories, and Family Resource Files. I personally did not enjoy my research time at the Newberry because it is so difficult to find resources- three different cataloguing systems were in operation and there are no plans to form one joint cataloguing system anytime soon, due to budget constraints, I was informed. This factor is discouraging for even a dedicated researcher!

Again, local access is usually a factor for a beginning researcher and I would suggest that you go to a local Family History Center before tackling the Newberry Library. Once you have a clear idea of which resources the Newberry has that could be of assistance to you in your research, go with another researcher who has been to the Newberry before to help you negotiate the collections and keep you focused and optimistic about your success! You can access the "Genealogy at the Newberry Library" webpage at: http://www.newberry.org/nl/genealogy/L3gabout/html.

Wisconsin Historical Society

The WI Historical Society is my favorite Midwestern research facility! (I should add the note though, that I have yet to visit Fort Wayne for research and that could become my future favorite from what I have heard and read, but obviously, the traveling distance there is greater than Madison from Minneapolis.) Located at 816 State Street on the campus, there is no parking, so one must park and walk to the facility.

Key genealogical holdings are: birth, marriage and death records on microfilm pre-1907 for the state which have been indexed, three million items in open stacks of which about one-fifth are focused on family or local history, all U.S. censuses from 1790- 1920 with indexes, as well as Canadian censuses from 1666-1881, WI state censuses, passenger lists on microfilm, Wisconsin biographical indexes and microfilmed copies of many national newspapers, including colonial papers. It is easy to spend the day there and want to go stay past closing time! Copiers are readily available, which is alwaya helpful. I'm also happy to report that Jim Hansen, the Genealogy Reference Librarian still works there and he is WONDERFUL! The "Genealogy Tools" webpage at : http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/genealogy/

Minnesota Historical Society

Time to start discussing the great research facilities in the Midwestern states!

The Minnesota Historical Society is housed in a beautiful building on Kellogg Avenue right off of Interstate 94 in St. Paul. Parking is readily accessible. There are two main research rooms- one housing research books and tables for research while you await requests from the stacks and the other room across the hall has the microfilm readers, reader-printers and well-labeled microfilm drawers, along with relevant printed indexes. Both rooms have computers for online index and catalogue searching.

Key holdings are birth and death records with great online indexes, microfilmed censuses for a variety of Midwestern states, microfilmed newspapers for the entire state, city directories onsite and a large collection of various indexes and genealogical helps. In researching the Minnesota branch of my Koenig relatives, I also found city and county histories, including maps and photographs, that were helpful.

Staff is helpful and patient and genealogy volunteers man a table for some hours in the reading room each week. The "Family History Link" webpage is at: http://www.mnhs.org/genealogy/index.htm

Ethnic groups settling the Midwestern states

Various ethnic groups have settled the Midwestern states, which makes the research on any family line challenging. (I know that mine certainly is!) Major identified groups are:

African Americans
Austrians
British
Canadians
Cornish
Czechs
Danish
French
German
Greeks
Hungarians
Irish
Italians
Native American
Norweigans
Polish
Russians
Scottish
Slovaks
Slovenes
Swedish
Swiss
Welsh
Yugoslavs

I do remember vividly as a young genealogist being excited to look at Great Lakes immigration, ship passseneger lists and port records for immigrants, since so many of my German ancestors came through the Great Lakes to Milwaukee, but alas, no such records exist.

Midwestern city directories online

Several Midwestern cities have digital images of their pages scanned for free online access, where you can search by family name:

Chicago, IL 1844
Cleveland, OH 1837
Ohio City, OH 1837
Monroe, WI 1891

Entries include surname, residents of the household, occupations of occupants, and a citation for an address. The most obvious advantage for using city directories is that fact that you can pinpoint family members between federal and state censuses.
See for yourself at: olddirectorysearch.com

Happy hunting!

Favorite research website?

Naturally the follow-up question to the favorite book query is the favorite genealogy website question- which is your "can't do without" website?
How did you find this website? Do you have it bookmarked?
Does it have other links that you use regularly?
How often do you use this website?
Would you recommend any changes to the website?

Favorite genealogy book?

So what is YOUR favorite genealogy book? The one you really can't do without for your standard research?
When I'm asked to make yearly recommendations for book purchases for local Family History Centers, I have my list of researched book titles- ones that I've read the reviews on, ones that I've checked out from the library or even browsed through at the local bookstore, or heard about from fellow researchers with specialties. There are the basic book lists and then the "would be great to have" lists. Since most of us are on tight budgets and hard cover books aren't inexpensive, we choose wisely for our personal libraries.
What I would have put at the top of my favorite genealogy book list years ago, The Handybook for Genealogists, wouldn't be at the top of my list today. Given the vast resources of the Internet, I can find many resources without paying for them, except for my search time, of course. So today, my favorite would be Professional Genealogy by Elizabeth Shown Mills. How about you, fellow researcher?

Internet research

I love the Internet! You have any question and within seconds, you have lots of answers! Isn't it awesome?!?! (At work, they call me the "Google Queen". A title I try to live up to.) I remember when I might spend weeks to find the answers to history and genealogy questions, borrowing books through inter-library loan, reading microfiche and microfilm till my eyes hurt, writing dozens of letters trying to track down records. Now, type a few keywords into the search engine and you are in research heaven!
So, of course, I went to check on the Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Wisconsin. Guess what? So far, forty have been identified, through the work of Robert Carroon, and a bronze plaque with the names, units of service, and places of burial has been created by the Wisconsin Society Sons of the American Revolution. A photo of the plaque and the research is also published on the Internet, with links to short biographies of each of these soldiers. Check it out at : www.wissar.org/Graves.htm

Veterans in the Midwest?

On a stroll through the small cemetery near my Dad's place in Burnett, Wisconsin over the weekend, my youngest son found a War of 1812 veteran's stone, marker and flag fluttering in the brisk wind of a hot day. (Yes, I'm grateful that all of my children like to help search for tombstones of ancestors, distant cousins, and new stories!) I was amazed! I've seen plenty of Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War markers but I can't remember ever seeing a War of 1812 stone in Wisconsin before.
It got me to wondering- are there any Revolutionary soldiers buried in the area? Since they may have received bounty land "out west" for their efforts, there could be some. How many? Are veterans of the Black Hawk War also recognized?
Share your knowledge and let's learn more together about the great Midwest.

Don't you love cemeteries?

Personally, I LOVE cemeteries! It started when I was young.
Call me strange but I just love to stroll through looking at the old gravestones, learning more about the local history, feeling the pain and joy of families recorded and felt in those very places, even if I have no one I know buried in the cemetery that I am visiting. Sometimes I just pull into a cemetery that I am passing by or one that I live by now, just to spend those contemplative moments about the cycle of life and the recording of family and community history.
While I was growing up, we made the annual Memorial Day trip to the cemetery where my maternal Great-Grandparents, later my younger brother and maternal Grandmother were buried. We cleared the growth around the stones, washed each stone, planted new flowers for the year and talked about those we had loved and now lost. I asked many questions and always felt at peace there, as the wind would blow through my hair and I would glance around at all of the other tombstones in the cemetery. Soon I was drawn to look at the surrounding stones- the veteran's flags, the German inscriptions, the symbols and tokens of love left by many a stone there. So much of life is there and we are closer to them there, I think!

What got YOU started?

So the question of the day/month is : What got YOU started in genealogy and family history research?

Each of us has a unique experience, close family member, flash of inspiration, special moment or reason to do the digging (no pun intended) for our ancestors and I'd like to hear your stories. Was it something that fascinated you in your youth, as you listened to stories of the "olden days"? Did you grow into the interest as you began to wonder how your grandparents met or why a Great Aunt wasn't buried by the rest of the family? What prompted you to start recording the information? Was it the annual Memorial Day trips to the family cemetery plots? Or did a relative pass the information to you for safekeeping? Are you the one always asking questions out of natural curiosity, so you began the search for the ancestral village of the immigrant ancestor for a school project? Or something else all together? TELL US!

Thanks to other Researchers!

Last week, I had the chance to help another "newbie" find a cemetery site for a fellow veteran, who served with this young man in the Marines in Vietnam. Within 25 minutes, some Internet database research to find out who his parents were, whether they were still living, and two local phone calls, I had the specifics- down to the plot number in the section and block of the cemetery. All because another researcher had noted the cemetery where his parents were buried, long after his death in 1968 in Quang Tri,Vietnam!
Let's all take a moment or two and THANK the other researchers who are thorough, accurate and so helpful to our own research and those we help along! I'm sending the researcher a short, written thank you note today, hopefully encouraging the man who may never know how helpful his published research was for others, far away here in Minnesota. I encourage you to do the same- offer the words of appreciation we ourselves so seldom hear as dedicated researchers and hopefully, more people will "pay it forward" and genealogists will gain even greater respect and admiration for all the good we do !

Midwestern States

The Midwestern states for genealogical certification are: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. I have the good fortune of having had ancestors and family members live in ALL of these states. I've researched these states on many levels and in many facilities for over twenty years now and feel qualified to share my experiences and ask you to share yours as well- we are part of a learning community!

My own ancestry is German, Swiss, English, Scottish, Irish (really!), and French. (The French Huguenot line out of South Carolina has been pesky for eight years now but I still haven't given up.) Some of the key family surnames I research are : Koenig, Walworth, Bombal, Koester, Schwabro, Seyfert, Zurcher (Switzerland), Weber, Jung (Germany), Kasten, Bushhausen ( from the Hamburg area), McMillen, Dobbs, Booth, Helms, Ferguson (Ireland), Jamison(Ireland) , and Dupuy.

Welcome!

I have the addiction- the incurable "genealogy bug"! I've combined my historical research skills with my Google searching skills and now with blog technology for a new adventure here! I would like to share my successes, failures, research experience and genealogical frustrations here with fellow addicts, with an emphasis on Midwestern Genealogy.

As for me, I started researching my family tree when I was fourteen- driven to find out more about the maternal grandfather that I had never met. Success was finding him, still alive, retired and living in Georgia, when I was twenty-two, making a four generation reunion possible! (Can it get any sweeter than that?) Now I have a Masters degree in Genealogy and Family History from the University of Minnesota - my thesis was :"Raiders of the Secret Archives: Genealogists, Electronic Records and the 21st Century- Digitizing the Interface". I volunteer time at the local Family History Center in Brooklyn Park, MN and lecture on a variety of genealogical topics yearly. I've published one family history to date: Koenig Family History (on my German maiden name line from Radigke, Brandenberg, Germany) and am studying to take the A.G. exam in 2006.