WPA, Public Libraries & Guy Fawkes Day

I have spent the last month under the weather and unable to concentrate for long period of time. That may be a bad combination for writing my blog but it did give me a chance to sit for hours looking up variations of the surname Haag and who lived at 93 Sands Street in Brooklyn in the early part of the 20th Century!

To read about my research on the Haag family check out my new Pack Peddler's Blog entry. Now for some tips to help you in your research.

Sunday October 30
* Iowa Graves Project - WPA - Works Project Administration 1930’s Graves Registration Survey
* Counties not indexed by the 1930s WPA Graves Registration Project, and thus not included in the database on this web site, include Appanoose, Benton, Cherokee, Clinton, Dallas, Des Moines, Dubuque, Hardin, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jasper, Lyon, Monona, Osceola, Pottawattamie, and Warren.
* For more information on WPA Projects check out this article: Records of the Works Projects Administration
* Cyndi's List has a comprehensive list of WPA and other Depression Era Projects

Monday October 31
* Nevada became a state on this date in 1864
* Nevada counties started recording births and deaths in 1887 and are available at the Nevada County Recorder's offices or online.
* Check out Joe Beine's Nevada's Death Records

Tuesday November 1
* Researching in Scotland can span four languages: English, Gaelic, Scots and Latin.
* A name might be Hamish in a Gaelic record, but James if it is recorded in English.

Wednesday November 2
* North and South Dakota became a state on this date in 1889
* The North Dakota State University has a digital collection, online databases, and biographies
* South Dakota residents were counted in the census of Wisconsin in 1836, in Iowa in 1840 and in Minnesota in 1850 as the Pembina District.

Thursday November 3 
* Researching in Scandinavia?
* When researching it is important to understand naming patterns of the region. Your ancestor’s last name in Finland may have been taken from the farm they lived on as an adult.  Example: Isakki Lyllykorpi became Isakki Keturi when he moved to the Keturi farm.

Friday November 4
* Planning a combination vacation/research trip? Or researching at home?
*  Check out the Public Library Site to find local, college, state libraries and more!

Saturday November 5
* Guy Fawkes Day
* The Gunpowder Plot Society traces the events of November 5, 1605 when a group of 13 men tried to blow up Parliament.
* Check out the Gunpowder Plot Society website to see if your English ancestor was involved!

I will be speaking, along with my genealogy buddy Pam Treme at the Florida State Genealogical Society's Annual Conference on November 11th and 12th. If you live in or around the Orlando area please come by!

Take Care,
Pattie


 

Sick Day Research Tips - West Virginia, Maiden Names and Finnish Cemeteries

The dog days of summer are here and summer colds and illnesses can be brutal as I found out last week. I made good use of my time by reviewing my Grandmother Hilia Johnson Keteri's twelve sibling's family trees. I was able to find obituaries for many and even some engagement and wedding announcements.

I hope some of this week's tips help you flesh out your family research.

Sunday August 14
* Love old newspapers? Search over 13 million pages of NY newspapers at the Old Fulton New York Postcard Site.
* Visit: http://www.fultonhistory.com/

Monday August 15
* Getting Started in Finnish Research? The Finnish Genealogical Society has listing of Finnish cemeteries across the United States.
* Visit: http://www.genealogia.fi/haudat/index4e.htm

Tuesday August 16
* The state of West Virginia has digitized vital records and they are available online.
* Visit: www.wvculture.org/vrr

Wednesday August 17
* Looking for Native American Indian Records? Check out Joe Beine’s website “Genealogy Articles, Tips and Research Guides”.
* Visit: http://www.genealogybranches.com/nativeamericans.html

Thursday August 18
* When trying to find a maiden name be sure to search in the unusual sources. Check out the following possibilities:
* Baby or autograph books
* Cards from a wedding or baby shower
* Guest books from weddings or anniversary parties
* Old address books

Friday August 19
* National Aviation Day
* Researching an ancestor that was involved in aviation? Find great research links, virtual museums and more at the American Aviation Historical Society
* Visit: http://www.aahs-online.org/news.php

Saturday August 20
* World Vital Records has a number of free databases, but it is primarily a subscription site. Review the available sources or try a free trial membership.
* Visit: http://worldvitalrecords.com/


Here is a picture of my grandmother and eight of her siblings. We are so lucky that someone in the family actually identifed all the children.

Family of Elias and Anna Hallsten Johnson, Toivola, MI

Take Care,

Pattie

South Carolina, Joe Beine's Death Indexes and Wordle

Getting Started Researching in South Carolina?

If you have ancestors in 'the Carolinas' it is important to know that North and South Carolina split into separate territories in 1712. Your ancestor may have moved without packing the wagon! South Carolina went on to become a state on Monday May 23, 1788

Check out the South Carolina Department of Archives and History to see all the records that are available online.

And since this is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War it is important to note that South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States.

Joe Beine's Death Indexes

Joe Beine's Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records are a genealogy treasure. Broken out by state the site is very user friendly and explains exactly what the index is searching.

Joe's website is not limited to Death Records, he also has "Online Genealogy Records and Resources". On this page he has links to military records, census records and other vital information.

If you are on twitter you can follow Joe Beine @fairangels and stay up to date on when new indexes are added.

Wordle

This last week I kept seeing references to Wordle. I decided I needed to check it out. Wordle is an application that creates a 'word cloud' based on words entered into the Wordle application. There is also an option to enter a blog URL. I had seen something similar on blogs advertising Amazon, but had never understood how it worked.

Since I had just been on a mini research trip to Illinois I decided use my Schwemm surname, families they had married into and the names of the towns where they had lived to create my first 'Word Cloud'.

I then wanted to see what it would do with an entire blog. I entered my friend Pam's blog My McKee Family Tree and here are the results:

Now What?

Once generated these 'Cloud' images can be incorporated as part of your genealogy research results. A Word Cloud would make a great cover for family tree, folders or document files. It could be used as a picture on your blog, Facebook or Twitter. If you create business cards to hand out to other genealogists it would make a create theme.

The possibilities are endless.

Take Care,

Pattie