This past weekend I attended the Family History Workshop 2023 organized and hosted by the Heritage Education Commission Moorhead. It was a great day with interesting topics and excellent speakers. As you probably have surmised, I do love old newspapers. They are a wealth of information. The Community History Archive includes newspapers that local libraries have digitized. Let’s look.

​Today I learned a valuable lesson about researching onsite. I decided to visit the local FamilySearch Center which has a lovely bank of computers to access those “locked” files online. Oh, if only they would unlock them for home use…but that is another story. Let’s look at lessons learned.

​This week’s blog will be short and sweet. All is good but it has been a crazy week, but I wanted to share some Irish resources that were presented in a presentation by Dr. David R. Elliot for the Lambton Genealogical Society of Ontario. Lambton County Branch – Ontario Ancestors – – Lambton County a Branch of The Ontario Genealogical Society (ogs.on.ca) Let’s look.

​This time of the year triggers thoughts of school and learning, no matter how long it has been since I stepped foot in a classroom. While I’ve resisted the urge to stock up on pens, paper, and other school-related items, I have found myself searching for online opportunities to learn more about family history research and genealogy opportunities. I thought I’d share a few things I’ve discovered. Let’s look.

In a previous blog we talked about house names which are different than the house numbers we typically use for addresses. In fact, the name of the house might not have anything to do with our family surname or might have been the reason that our family surname was changed to match the house. I have been looking for older maps to better understand what a village in Luxembourg might have looked like when my ancestors’ lived there. I thought I’d share useful map links for your quest. Let’s look.

You have probably squinted and tried to magnify a blurry old photo to see the house number of an ancestor or relative, usually without much success—unless you know the house number and are just confirming that the photo is of the house at that address. Or perhaps you have an ancestor who lived on a farm that had a name. I’ve learned a few things about house names recently. Let’s look.

As a long-time supporter, and former board member of the Heritage Education Commission of Moorhead MN, I wanted to share information on their upcoming 47th Family History Workshop - "Your Immigration Story".
 
You can find details at the main page of their site: Family History Research Workshop (heritageed.com).  For those who live in the Red River Valley area, this is information packed day at a reasonable price, including lunch! Topics range from Swedish ancestry, writing, DNA, genealogy technology and more. Take a few minutes to check it out. The workshop will be September 23rd from 8:30 to 4 at the Ramada by Wyndam of Fargo.
 
While it is great that we can spend time learning and researching online, it is good to take time to attend a genealogy workshop in person. Not only will you get great ideas from the presenters, but you can also exchange ideas and stories with fellow attendees. 

I’ve been searching to see what databases and sites that I haven’t utilized for my family history. Genes Reunited is one that I haven’t used before and noticed on a top ten site list.  Let’s look.

It is now August, and it seems like Summer is heading into Fall. If you’re like me, you fully intended to visit some local genealogical centers, libraries as well as local cemeteries. I hope this revisit to a previous blog encourages you to take advantage of summer weather to go on a genealogy adventure…even if it is just across town. Enjoy Using Local Genealogy Resources - Herding Cats Genealogy and Leach Library and Online Newspapers - Herding Cats Genealogy. And for a reminder about local historical societies: Getting Social - Herding Cats Genealogy. 

As I mentioned last week, the next couple of weeks will be busy with family and friends so I’m sharing past blogs, including some additional thoughts. Summer is a busy time, and we seem to have more activities to participate in, watch together and enjoy. Even though our ancestors were likely working extremely hard to keep food on the table, they still liked to pause to enjoy community activities like baseball, dances, and celebrations (weddings, parades etc.) Do you have any pictures or newspaper articles that talk about your ancestors or what was happening in the community? Chances are that your people were at some of these events. How can you incorporate that into your family story? Read Fishing with our Ancestors - Herding Cats Genealogy for more ideas.