​This week I was reviewing ancestor immigration records and found that the recent issue of Internet Genealogy contained a great article about ship records “Our Ancestors at Sea” by Sue Lisk. In addition to the many of the databases we are all familiar, she included one that I had not used before: Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives.  This database is a treasure-trove of ephemera and includes first-hand accounts and information about immigration and ships.  Let’s look.

​As I wait for a technician to fix an appliance this morning, I started thinking about our ancestors and all the technology that evolved in the last 120 years.  How can we can we tie early inventions and gadgets to our ancestors’ experience settling in the Midwest?  Let’s explore.

​As I sit at my desk while a ridiculously early winter storm is bearing down on the region, I’m trying to remember all the things I do like about winter.  There are very few… One of my favorite things when I’m stuck indoors is family history research.  Writing down those family stories is a great way to spend a day, an evening or weekend when the weather outside is no longer as enticing.  Having you written down some family stories from interviews, research or memories?  Let’s look at ideas to help us take that first step.

​If you have spent any time in the Bygdeboks of Norway, you find a wealth of information but also find that these books are in Norwegian.  This is as it should be since they were written and created in Norwegian communities.  It does prove a challenge for those of us not gifted in the Norwegian language but here are some tips and sites to help.