Criteria for Research Searches?

As I contemplate the current research tools, books, lectures, and classes that are available for genealogy and family history researchers, I am struck more than ever how we lack a current criteria or checklist for successful searches. Allow me to think online and give some input, please.

Online databases are added daily! Pedigrees proliferate! Home webpages fill my computer screen daily! Tomorrow the church records that I need to finally find out who William Dupuy's wife was may be online- today, I don't even know if they exist. I can write letters, read local research technique books and stay abreast of current laws and genealogy search engines, but I haven't felt for years now that I have an adequate checklist for research like I used to, in the golden, olden microfilm days. I check the usual spots and then some, but I can't help but feel like I should already HAVE the answers to many of my long-standing brick walls.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Minnesota's Virtual Genealogical Library

The Minnesota Genealogical Society has approved a recommendation to creat a virtual genealogical library of Minnesota-specific genealogical materials, according to the Novemeber newsletter. During the first half of the year, they report 26,000 visitors accessed 62,000 page views on the MGS website. Few of these webpages have actual data, mostly information on research and the groups that are affiliated with the state genealogical society. An inventory of potential material for the first database set progress report will be given in January 2006.

These developments on the local, state, national and even international level hasten the research process of the individual researcher tremondously! What used to take us weeks or months can now be accomplished in seconds online! What a tremendous tool for the researcher and potential boon for research facilities, for now, if I know that you have documents that may be of use to me, I am more inclined to make the trip than if I'm just guessing that your facility may have something of use to my family history research.

Success in the search!

Speaking of the Past.....

I just finished reading the NGS News Magazine for October/November/December 2005 and ran across this quote in the book review section: "The void that remains when we refuse to speak of the past is in fact a presence both haunting and destructive, " according to Tiya Mills in Ties that Bind.

All of the "secrets" that haunt us as family historians and genealogists are often traced back to what has not been spoken, whether for shame, out of fear, discrimination, wanting to protect someone or their reputation, or because of other personal reasons. We all run across these "secrets" sooner or later in our research.

Since I'm an oldest child, I doggedly pursue finding the answers and some have been on my ongoing research list for a decade now, still without an answer. Who was William E. Dupuy's wife? Did the Dupuys descend from Huguenot stock? Did Great-grandpa Koenig have a first German-born wife, like the ship's passenger list indicates, or was she listed as a "frau" so she didn't apper to be traveling alone to the New World? Were the von Buschhausens of a noble line?

Minnesota Naturalization Records

Well, I learned something new again- but then, I always learn something new every day!!! I had heard that naturalization records are hard to find, usually unorganized, hard to use, etc. so I really hadn't included them in my "usual list of records to search" but in helping a friend do her Minnesota research this last weekend over at the Minnesota Historical Society, I found them to be an easy record to utilize in Minnesota.

Each county is indexed, in book format, and available in the microfilm reading room. Finding the surname is easy enough. The index entry refers you to a SAM number (microfilm catagory at the MHS), which has the first and second papers on microfilm by county and by page number. We were looking at her great-grandfather's second papers within ten minutes of entering the microfilm reading room! It gave us his port of entry into the U.S., his country of origin, and the year of his immigration. He entered in Baltimore, not New York, as she had thought and now we have another few clues to follow to find his village of origin.

South Dakota Naturalization Papers

One other helpful set of papers to find villages of origin for ancestors in the genealogical "detective" game are naturalization papers. South Dakota has posted their first and second papers index online at www.sdhistory.org/arc/naturalizationarchives/firstpaperslist.asp

The list is alpha by last name, with county of residence, date of intent papers, birth country, page and location of the papers. The second paper index is the same format except that the final date and birth year of the applicant are also on the index. While one would have to pay for the research and copies from South Dakota, it would still potentially give you the clue that you need to proceed! Success in the search!

The Encyclopedia of Chicago

Kudos to this excellent website!!! The Chicago Historical Society, the Newberry Libary and Northwestern University have created a fine, easy to use website, with room to expand significantly as funds and skills allow. Check it out at http://www.encyclopedia.chiagohistory.org

The main catgories to search are: Alpha list, Historical Sources, Maps, Special features and the User's Guide. The biographies and historical sources include better known leaders and businessmen, photos of their businesses such as Marshall Fields, as well as documentation of groups such as the Knoghts of Labor. The maps wowed me! For example, I viewed the "Business Portion of Chicago, 1862" lithograph and zoomed in on each block- the quality was excellent! What a magificent opportunity for students or anyone studying the time period to utilize a source most likely seldom ever seen so quickly and so easily!

The Special Features included Interpretative Digital Essays, Rich Maps, Galleries, such as "The Public Faces of Religion", and Indices, with a Biographical Dictionary citing the tradtional name, birth and death dates and short biographies. Again, an excellent source for a fmaily historian fleshing out the details of life in various time periods in a large Midwestern city.

Female Ancestors

In the complicated search for additional genealogical research sources online, I ran across "Lost Female Ancestors" today. It is located at http://geneasearch.com/findfemale.htm

Your options are to search for your ancestress by name, alpha by FIRST name, by the way, in case that is all the data you hav. Then fields include: birth date and place, spouse and marriage date, where lived, comments (usually has names of children, documentation sources, such as censuses), the submitter's name and e-mail address. The other otion is to post similar data, in hopes of others sharing data and/or networking together to pool your research potential. Since every generation further back adds more potential descendants to the mix, it make sense to check these types of databases periodically.

Women are notoriously more difficult to find before 1850 in the U.S., as females had few to no political and economic rights, weren't typically the heads of households, and weren't listed on voter lists and so forth. It would be interesting to compare tax lists of widows and single head of household women and land records in a few counties to see how well documented wowmen would have been in the Midwest before 1850. (Sounds like a dissertation topic for someone, if it hasn't been done already!)

Technology and Tombstones

We've all seen the older tombstones with the photographs of the loved one and the etchings of hobbies, pets or special interests of those who have died on the stones, but technology offers other options today. Touch screen messages with recorded last words, holograpic images of the deceased (just like in the movies), or three-dimesional head portraits on the tombstone, created from photographs of the dead relative are all options now.

As a genealogist, the thought of future generations being able to hear and see me is a wonderful thing! Maybe I could relate my love of genealogy and my family and inspire others long after I've lived and have a pedigree chart on the back side of my tombstone, protected from the elements of course, so it would "weather" the passing of decades of time. What a unique way to differentiate the lives of those who have lived and leave behind a message for the family and friends! Much more than the typical set of dates after the name, and perhaps a Bible verse.

The grave yards of the future would be a history and life lesson all wrapped into one. Now we just need to resurrect the family going to tend the graves on Memorial Day as a national tradition!

Veterans Graves Registration Index

In honor of Veteran's Day tomorrow, the Minnesota Historical Society is opening its "Minnesota Veterans Graves Registration Index". While not all veterans buried in Minnesota are listed, those from 1927 to 1975 were reported and thus, indexed. Approximately 70,000 veterans are listed, mostly from that time frame but some War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, Indian Wars, the Spanish American and Phillipine Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, and Boer War veterans are also listed.

According to the website data, the listing on the index gives name, date of death, county of burial, and war or wars in which the veteran served. You can then order the report itself, which gives more military service history, family data, residence and so forth, for a cost of $8, or you may research the reports in person at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul.

Linkpendium

Another surname search site is Linkpendium, which boasts 2.3 million surnames worldwide. It is found at www.linkpendium.com. I tried a few of my "brick walls" and had no luck, but that doesn't mean that you won't find some useful data. Any of these worthwhile, expanding databases should be "bookmarked" on your computer and checked periodically as they grow!

Kingsbury County, South Dakota

As we narrow our search for records, we frequently assess the county level resources. Don't forget to check online sources, such as the GenWeb Archives, posted on Roots Web. I checked on Kingsbury County, South Dakota and found a wide range of helpful links, such as the 1909 Business Directory for 14 cites in the county, the 1909 Standard Atlas, indexed with townships and sections listed. Also the cemetery records for 37 individual cemeteries, again all indexed, along with sex, birth and death dates, block , lots and section numbers, whether a vet, notes, city, county, and cemetery name.

While the church records links are few (only 3), there were membership records and membership status lists posted for three Methodist Epoisopal churches. Three farm directories are also posted, for 1950, 1952 and 1954- helpful for the more recent data one can't access through census records. A four year range of marriage records extracted for the De Smet Leader newspaper are posted, a 1883 pensioners list, along with cause for which pensioned and a 1942 Iroquios phone book link.

Many counties have these type of links online and it is worth your time to check to see if records useful to your search are online for free, before you order microfilm to search at the local Family History Center. Success in the search!

Surname Research

Each of us constantly tries to network with other genealogy researchers to exchange information and family group sheets, pool our resources, share our research data and find new leads. Another resource for you to check for networking is the "Surname Resources at RootsWeb" at http://resources.rootsweb.com/surnames/rootsweb.com

The main page is an alpha link to search established surname sites, so for example, I found a link to the Jung surname but not to the Seyfert surname, (two names of German ancestors that came to Wisconsin). Once you click on the surname, you are presented with a menu of possibilities to check, such as the Soundex code, World Connect Family Tree site, the Social Security Death Index, Personal websites, Projects, Primary records, Genealogy Lonks and Mailing lists. As you pursue the philosophy of leaving "no stone unturned" in your pursuit of the elusive ancestor, you should bookmark this site and periodically check for new leads.

Success in the research!

Privacy laws

It has always been my understanding that privacy laws in the U.S. protected one and their personal information, such as census data and so forth, for 72 years; hence we can only look at the 1930 U.S. federal census today, but we will be able to see the 1940 federal census returns in 2012. (That's only six and a half years away and I already have a few key items that I need that census for, in order to verify genealogical theories.)

Today in my website searches for Michigan data, I ran across the Genesse County site that allows one to search the vital records index easily enough, but it claims to have marriage records from 1963. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid with all of the identity theft reports that been publicized recently, but wouldn't it be fairly easy to establish a new identity with this recent information available online? Just type in a few names ? Order a few key documents?

What are the parameters of the privacy laws in this arena?

Anthrogenealogy

Another branch of the continuing and expanding influences of genetic genealogy today brings us to anthrogenealogy. The definition being used is that of: "the study of deep genealogical origins through the means of genetics."

Now, we all hear about the potential branches of the family tree being solidly linked through the newest scientific solutions, but caution must be advised for those seeking a quick break-through of the perpetual "brick wall". The genetic matches and possiblities are established by genetic testing and genetic markers demonstrating reltionships, however, anthrogenealogy won't replace the research and documentation portion of through genealogical research and it won't give us specific names for our pedigree charts and family group sheets. It can definitely rule out or rule in the branches of the family being tested as being related or not, however, I see anthrogenealogy more like another sign post to help us in the right direction, eliminating a "road to travel".

For me, I could see its potential impact on my William E. Dupuy line- firmly establishing my theory that we are NOT part of the Count Bartholomew Dupuy line.

Orphan Trains to the Midwest

From time to time, you may have read a reference to the "Orphan Trains" that brought over 200,000 youngsters to the Midwest. The easterns saw them as a drain on resources and potential troublemakers if they stayed, so a solution was sought. They came from the New York and Boston areas, from 1853 to 1930 and traveled the rails, being shown at each train stop platform along the rails west, where families could pick them for labor, love, and life.

Their history is slowly being repieced and retold through the Orphan Train project by the states where they arrived and lived. You can check sites for Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana, although two of the links weren't functioning today. The Indiana site was further along- check it out at www.rootsweb.com/~inhamilt/otrdb.htm or the Wisconsin site at www.rootsweb.com/~wiorphan/people.htm