37 th Annual Family History Workshop. October 6, Heritage Education Commission

Transcription

1 Heritage Education Commission presents 37 th Annual Family History Workshop October 6, 2012 Comstock Memorial Union 6th Avenue South and 14th Street Minnesota State University Moorhead

2 Workshop Schedule 8:00-8:30 Lobby: Registration and Refreshments 8:30-8:40 8:45-10:00 East Ballroom: Welcome Room 101 Blaine Hedberg Overview of Norwegian and Norwegian- American online genealogy sources Room 203 Mary Bakeman Planning a Research Trip to the Minnesota Historical Society Room 205 Virginia Hanson Can t Find Great Grandpa Room 207 Margaret Zeren & Kristi Kaiser A Moment in Time - discovering key moments in our ancestors lives Room 208 Beth Mullinax Census Class Introduction Room 227 Michael Swanson A Smorgasbord of Choices: Databases for Swedish Genealogical Research 10:00-10:45 10:45 - Noon Genealogical Exhibitors' Hall Open Room 101 Blaine Hedberg Norwegian Bygdebøker - How to find them - how to use them - can you trust them Room 203 Mary Bakeman Maps in Family History Room 205 James Specht German Research Room 207 Mark Piehl What s in and How to Use the Clay County Archives Room 208 Jackie Marler A Beginning Guide to Family History Research Room 227 Verlyn Anderson & David Pfeffer Homestead and Land Records Noon - 1:30 1:30-2:45 Luncheon - Awards - Speaker: Blaine Hedberg "Life onboard the emigrant ship - actual stories from translated letters & diaries." - Genealogical Exhibitors' Hall open about 1:00 Room 101 Blaine Hedberg Scandinavian genealogical websites maneuvering through EmiWeb and the Digitalarkivet Room 203 Marie Williams Plowing through the Family History Library Room 205 Virginia Hanson Newspapers, Newsletters and Newsworthy Room 207 Jane Cumber Poland [Pommern area] Research Sources Room 208 Beth Mullinax Going Home - To Ireland Room 227 Rick Crume A Guide to Online Genealogy 2:45-3:15 3:15-4:30 Genealogical Exhibitors' Hall open and Refreshments Room 101 Blaine Hedberg Resources in the Norwegian-American Genealogical Center and Naeseth Research Library Room 203 John Beving Land Records Room 205 Les Bakke Make Mine Digital Room 207 Jane Cumber Chipping Away at Your Brickwall Room 208 Shane A. Molander Accessing Archival Collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota Room 227 Rick Crume From Revolutionary War to Vietnam: Military Records Online Subject to change revised date: 5/31/2012

3 Workshop Presenters 37th Annual Family History Workshop, Moorhead, MN Blaine Hedberg is the executive director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Research Center, Madison, Wis. His experience is unparalleled: he has also served as volunteer, assistant, researcher, tour leader, lecturer, teacher and editor. In 2001 Blaine was named the first Fellow to hold the Gerhard B. Naeseth Chair for Genealogical Research and Publication. In 2010 he was awarded the St. Olav Medal by the King of Norway. Blaine is a much sought-after workshop presenter and speaker on Norwegian genealogy throughout the United States and Norway. Overview of Norwegian and Norwegian-American online genealogy sources: An overview of a number of both free, and paid genealogical websites including the Digitalarkivet (Digital Archives); Norwegian data center (census records); Norway Heritage (passenger lists); Norwegian American Genealogical Center (emigration records, US census, Norwegian American church records). Norwegian Bygdebøker - How to find them - how to use them - can you trust them: An overview of the popular secondary genealogical source of bygdebøker (Norwegian local histories). Learn how they are arranged, learn about accuracy of the information; how to access these books in the US, and avenues to purchase books for your own collection. Scandinavian genealogical websites maneuvering through EmiWeb and the Digitalarkivet: Detailed information and handouts on maneuvering through the Scandinavian website, EmiWeb, a paid resource with a great deal of Swedish, and other Scandinavian genealogical sources. Also detailed information on maneuvering through the Digital Archives website - looking closely at available databases of church records, emigration records, scanned Norwegian church records, and land records. Learn search techniques to find information quickly. Resources in the Norwegian- American Genealogical Center and Naeseth Research Library: Detailed information on the extensive Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogical resources held at the Norwegian American Genealogical Center in Madison. We will look closely at church record transcripts, cemetery records, emigration records, scanned church records, census transcripts (with additional genealogical information); Norwegian farm maps, and a host of other resources. Verlyn Anderson & David Pfeffer: Verlyn, retired library director and professor of Scandinavian studies at Concordia College, earned his advanced degrees at the University of Minnesota. He has escorted many study tours to Norway and the Baltic region for Concordia College, the Smithsonian Museums and the National Trust for Historic Preservation of Washington, DC. Verlyn and his wife, Evonne, served as resident directors of the Norway and the Baltic Program at the Oppland College in Lillehammer, Norway. David was controller of Hennepin Technical College prior to his retirement. After military service he earned a bachelor s degree at the University of Minnesota and became a CPA. His Norwegian and German-Bohemian ancestors have been the focus of his family history hobby. Several of his relatives homesteaded in Minnesota and North Dakota in the second half of the 19th century. He ordered their land entry files and found them most helpful in learning about their homesteading experiences. Homestead and Land Entry Records: Did your immigrant family settle on a homestead? This PowerPoint session includes a description of the 1862 Homestead Law and other land laws, and the eligibility requirements of homesteading applicants for obtaining a homestead. Examples of the documents generated for the application for the homestead, the settling on the land and the receiving of a legal deed of ownership are shown and discussed. Examples of historic family documents from the Land Entry files that are available from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. will be shown. Directions for obtaining copies of your ancestor s land entry files are also included in this workshop. Time permitting; a description of the land survey system will also be included.

4 Mary Hawker Bakeman has been researching families for almost thirty years. She owns Park Genealogical Books, a local and family history bookstore specializing in Minnesota and the surrounding area. She edits the Minnesota Genealogical Journal, a semi-annual publication with 100 pages of records in each issue and Minnesota s Heritage, a new publication focusing on the U.S./Dakota War of She has also authored several family histories and numerous finding aids for Minnesota, and has published works by other authors and compilers. In 2008, Bakeman was awarded the Pioneer Explorer Award by the Minnesota Genealogical Society for her contributions to the development of Minnesota resources for genealogy and family history research. She established the genealogical help desk in the Library at the Minnesota Historical Society, which serves both newbie and experienced family researchers. She is also a member of various genealogical and historical societies, from Maine to California, including the New England Historical and Genealogical Society. Bakeman can be reached at P O Box , Roseville, MN 55113, or by at mbakeman@parkbooks.com. Planning a Research Trip to the Minnesota Historical Society: Making the most of your time in using the myriad resources of this repository. Maps in Family History: A survey of the varieties of maps that can both open new doors and help scale brick walls in family research. Les Bakke, Information Technology Director Emeritus, Minnesota State University Moorhead, is a past president of the Heritage Education Commission. He is currently Commission secretary, web master, and coordinating the Commission s Veteran s Oral History project which is dedicated to collecting oral histories from area veterans, especially WW II era veterans. Les has been a Commission member since Make Mine Digital: Will demonstrate how to convert old VHS and cassette tapes to digital format, edit the videos/audio and save them as digital (computer) files. Also shown will be how to create audio CDs and video DVDs of the digital files, move them to an ipod or MP3 player, and move them to social media such as YouTube and Facebook. John Beving is currently President of the Red River Valley Genealogical Society. He has been a RRVGS officer for the past 12 years. John has been interested in genealogy for over 20 years. Land Records: This session will focus chiefly on research in the Midwest. Topics to be discussed include: the rectangular method of survey, land patents and deeds, and land records from the National Archives, abstract of title and plot maps. Rick Crume is a contributing editor for Family Tree Magazine. He has also written for Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy and Discovering Family History. The author of Plugging Into Your Past: How to Find Real Family History Records Online, he specializes in online research, genealogy software and British genealogy. Online Genealogy: A Quick Tour of the Best Sites: With so many genealogy resources online it s hard to know where to start. Rick will point you to the best online destinations for family history research. You ll learn how to take advantage of genealogy research that s already been done and find census, vital and military records. Rick will also share tips and tricks for searching the biggest genealogy sites. From the Revolutionary War to Vietnam: Military Records Online: Military records reveal not only details of a soldier s military service. Sometimes you ll also find the soldier s dates and places of birth, marriage and death, the names of family members and even a physical description. Someone who never served in the military still may have registered for the draft and appear in government records. Jane Cumber started family history research in the early 1970s by documenting records from elderly relatives both oral and written. She has done family research in ND, MN, WI, Norway, Germany, and Poland. Poland [Pommern area] Research Sources: This session will provide examples of my research for my husband s Polish ancestors in the Pommern area of Poland. Available internet resources to locate the current names for towns listed on sources [immigration, census, marriage, death]. Map resources and on-line databases which may be helpful to locate birth, marriage and death records in the Pommern area of Poland. Chipping Away at Your Brickwalls: This session will share some hints on what may help you chip away at your brickwalls, including a case study.

5 Virginia Hanson, Government Records Archivist, SD State Archives. A professional genealogist for 20 years and working on personal genealogy for over 43 years. BS in K-12 Music Education, History, Language Arts; teaching experience in Foreign Language & Library Science. President and current member of the board of the SD Genealogical Society & Pierre/Ft Pierre Genealogical Society, as well as Regent of the Pierre area DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).. Newspapers, Newsletters and Newsworthy: Periodical resources for genealogical research which includes newspapers, college publications, organizational newsletters, foreign language newspapers, church publications, to mention a few pieces, with the main focus on SD which you can apply to other areas. Kristi Kaiser & Margaret Zeren: Kristi has a degree in Zoology from NDSU; she has worked for more than 20 years in the computer industry at Great Plains/Microsoft. Beginning her family research in 1976, she was bitten by the geno bug and has been researching ever since. Her areas of interest for genealogy research include regional history of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin as well as countries including Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg, Germany and Poland. Margaret has lived in the Fargo/Moorhead area for her entire life and graduated from MSUM with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in Business. Her interest in Family History Research started in High School with the required project to write her family history. That was when she learned that her Irish Great Great Grandfather was a ship captain on the Great Lakes. Since then, she has attended the HEC Family History workshop for over 25 years and joined the HEC in She is married and has two grown children. A Moment in Time - discovering key moments in our ancestors lives: This session will explore how to create and leverage timelines for your ancestors allowing you more insight into your ancestors lives. Timelines can be leveraged for research, breaking through walls and ultimately help you publish the information you have worked so hard to discover. Jackie Marler has been a practicing family historian for the past 30 years. She has won two G. K. Haukebo awards for Hallinglaget Journals Index (1992) and People s History of the Hallinglag of America (2007) and has been a presenter at numerous Family History Workshops. She currently is newsletter editor for Red River Valley Genealogical Society, the genealogist for the Hallinglag of America since 2004, and on staff at the West Fargo Public Library Historical Center. Seed Time: A Beginning Guide to Family History Research: Seed Time will help you to understand the basic procedures in any genealogical research project and how they apply to yours. These first steps are important to give your family history research good roots from which to grow. Shane A. Molander is the Deputy State Archivist at the State Archives, a division of the State Historical Society of North Dakota in Bismarck. He began working at the State Archives as a reference specialist in A native of Crosby, ND, Shane holds a B.A. degree in History from Minot State University and a MPA (Master of Public Administration) degree from the University of North Dakota. Accessing Archival Collections of the State Historical Society of ND: The State Archives is responsible for acquiring, preserving, and referencing the documentary holdings of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. It is the depository for the records of enduring value produced by state agencies and local government offices. The division also acquires and preserves all types of research materials relating to North Dakota and the Northern Great Plains, including manuscript collections, books, periodicals, maps, newspapers, audio and video materials, and photographs. With today s technology, researchers expect easier access to records via the internet rather than having to spend long hours in a library. Find out what the State Archives is doing to try and make its records more accessible. Beth Mullinax is the Librarian for the Irish Genealogical Society International. Since its inception, Beth has held almost every position on IGSI s Board of Directors, including past president. As Librarian, she has been instrumental in building the Irish research collection housed at the Minnesota Genealogical Society library, as one of the largest collections of Irish research materials in North America. A genealogy researcher since 1981, she has lead four research trips to Ireland and is a sought after genealogy speaker in the U.S. and Canada. Census Class Introduction: What s

6 so hard about census? Everyone knows how to do census records, right? You need to STUDY the census to find the wealth of information most contain. When I instruct researchers, the first thing I ask them is if they have done the US census. It can give you a rough idea of when they migrated, where they came to in the U.S. or Canada, their migration across the states if they left the East Coast. The Canadian census even gives their religion. We will peek at the new 1940 census. Going Home - To Ireland: Acquainting researchers on what they need to do to succeed in researching their Irish ancestors. What records are now available, which records have been destroyed and how we can get around them. It is also important to know the land divisions in Ireland, the church records available, civil records available, and how to access all the information in the Irish collection at the library. With enough information, we can assist you to get back to Ireland, walk the roads your ancestors walked, visit the churches and obtain all available records. Mark Peihl is the Archivist for Historical & Cultural Society of Clay County (HCSCC); a position he has held for the past 26 years. He earned a BA in History from UND in He is responsible for HCSCC paper materials photos, manuscripts, documents. He assists people with research requests and does a lot of writing about local history for HCSCC publications, exhibits and programs. He is originally from Hunter, ND, married, no kids, one yellow lab. He likes to hunt, fish, canoe, hike and camp, etc. What s in and How to Use the Clay County Archives: will introduce you to its extensive holdings of historical artifacts, photographs, and documents. The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Minnesota is housed in the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead. Jim Specht, a professor of accounting at Concordia College, has been working on his family history for 12 years. He has traced his ancestors back to 1610 from the US to Russia and back to Germany. He has located newspaper articles back to 1817 on his family in Germany and government records of all types in Russia. He plans to complete his book late this fall and then to start on his mother s ancestors. German Research: Research necessary to identify how to locate appropriate church records to begin your research in Germany. Also the topic includes how to use centralized archives in Germany and how to use LDS record search techniques and records in tracing your ancestry. Michael Swanson is a native of Fulton, Illinois. Michael is currently the Assistant Archivist in the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections at the University of North Dakota. He graduated in 2007 with a MSI degree from the University of Michigan, specializing in archives and records management. His current responsibilities include providing reference assistance to visiting patrons of the department and conducting genealogical and historical research on behalf of remote patrons. Michael also manages the Arne G. Brekke Bygdebok Collection, housed in the Department of Special Collections. He is a member of various genealogical and historical societies, including the Minnkota Genealogical Society and the Swedish Genealogical Society of Minnesota. The current focus of his research interests is documenting the history of the Dutch in Whiteside County, Illinois. A Smorgasbord of Choices- Databases for Swedish Genealogical Research: There is an array of available databases one can use to conduct Swedish genealogical research. This presentation will discuss the features and limitations of the larger image databases, primarily comprising the digitized records of the approximately 2000 parishes in Sweden. In addition, smaller, more specialized databases of other genealogical records will be described. Marie Williams has been an educator for over 25 years. She graduated from BYU with a BA in Elementary and Special Education. She also has a Master Degree in Education Administration. She has lived in the Fargo area for almost 2 years, having moved here from Colorado. She had the opportunity to visit places where her ancestors lived while living in New England. Her family has been interested in Family History since she was young and has a collection of her family s personal histories. She recently was asked to be over the Family History Center for the LDS Church in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Plowing through the Family History Library: Discover your family tree! Find your family by searching free online genealogical records and learn how to receive help at the LDS Family History Centers.

7 Family History Research Award Entries Entries for the following three awards should contain information of regional interest and must be received by September 1, The Heritage Education Commission will exhibit the submitted works and present the awards during the workshop luncheon. For more information visit www. heritageed.com/ and select Workshop and Research Awards on the top banner or heritageed.com. Beverly M. Paulson Family History Book Award: This award is designed to encourage area genealogists to submit diaries, memoirs, journals, family reunions or scrapbooks which might be of use to historians, be of intrinsic literary worth and perhaps comprise the first step in developing more extensive family histories. Audrey Zube Jones Family History Book Award: Area residents may submit duplicated family histories, genealogies or other books with family or genealogical focus. G.K. Haukebo Heritage Resource Award: This award recognizes other projects of merit which family history researchers in locating genealogical materials of expanding their research skills. Card indices, computer databases, exhibits and videotapes are examples of acceptable formats Location, Cost and Parking How to find us: Comstock Memorial Union is located at th Street East, Moorhead. From the East - Interstate 94, exit 2 to Moorhead. Turn right, driving north until 12th Avenue South. Turn left and continue until 14th Street South a one-way going north. From the West - Interstate 94, exit 1 to Moorhead. Turn left, driving north until 12th Avenue South. Turn right and continue until 14th Street South a one-way going north. You ll find MSU Moorhead three blocks away. Cost: $40 includes luncheon for those whose pre-registration and payment are received by September 28, Walk-ins are welcome; however, the luncheon is not guaranteed for registration fees paid on the day of the workshop. Parking: Park in either Lot A located at 9th Avenue and 14th Street South adjacent to the Roland Dille Center for the Arts or Lot U next to Comstock Memorial Union. Pre-Registration Form: 37 th Annual Family History Workshop To pre-register for the workshop, including luncheon, return this form with your payment of $40 by September 28, Make check payable to Heritage Education Commission and mail to: Heritage Education Commission, US PO Box 292, Moorhead, MN or register online go to Enclosed is my check for $40 which registers me for the workshop Name Address City State/Zip Phone Dietary Restrictions List additional registrations on a separate sheet.

8 Heritage Education Commission PO Box 292 Moorhead, MN