Program

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Family History Conference

April 21, 2018

Trace Your Roots Sponsored by: St. Cloud Area Genealogists and Stearns History Museum

Stearns History Museum 235-33rd Avenue South St. Cloud, MN 56301

Featured Speaker

Paula Stuart-Warren CG®, FMGS, FUGA

Paula is an internationally recognized genealogical educator, researcher, and consultant focusing on unusual resources, manuscripts, methodology, and analyzing records. She also specializes in Native American research, the WPA, and railroad records. She spends extensive research time at state archives, historical societies, and at various locations of the National Archives. She is a long-time course coordinator and instructor for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. She presented 3 courses for Ancestry Academy and has presented seminars all across the U.S. and in Canada. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, a former officer of the Association of Professional Genealogists and former president of the Northland Chapter of APG. She has been a Board-Certified Genealogist since 1988.

She is descended from eight ancestral countries and has researched family connections across the U.S. and Canada including the Southern lines of her father-in-law and the Central Minnesota lines of her brother-in-law. She currently has her own educational website and blog at http://genealogybypaula.com and is enthusiastic about sharing knowledge and continuing education.

Schedule 8:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 8:45 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m.

Registration and World War I Exhibit Welcome and Announcements World War I Era U.S. Alien Registrations Break - World War I Exhibit Your Anytime Library: Success in the Virtual Stacks Break - World War I Exhibit

11:15 a.m. 12:15 p.m.

Breakout Sessions 1. Finding Family through DNA Testing 2. What Do I Do With All This Stuff 3. Tapping into Stearns History Museum’s Genealogical Online Resources: A Guide to Getting Started Lunch - World War I Exhibit

12:45 p.m. 1:45 p.m.

Breakout Sessions 1. Your Stories Are Your Life 2. Finding Your Irish Ancestry 3. Going Old School: Genealogy Tools that don’t need much Electricity Break - World War I Exhibit

2:00 p.m.

The WPA Era: Free Records Boon from the Government

3:00 p.m.

Break - World War I Exhibit

3:15 p.m.

A Baker's Dozen: Easy Ways to Begin Writing Your Family History

World War I Exhibit at Stearns History Museum

World War I raged from August 1914 to November 1918, and residents of Stearns County, many of Germanic descent, served in all military branches. It also was the first time women were actively recruited for war involvement, serving in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps and the Female Telephone Operators Unit, also known as the “Hello Girls.” In addition, those at home contributed to the war effort by manning factories and farms, planting victory gardens, and joining the “Clean Plate Club.” Whatever their role, World War I forever changed soldiers and citizens alike. The exhibit explores these tumultuous times through artifacts and images and draws heavily from the words of those from Stearns County. It also looks at the affect the war had on many Stearns County residents of Germanic heritage and the environment of mistrust and fear in which they lived.

8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.——————————————————————— World War I Era U.S. Alien Registrations By Paula Stuart-Warren Room: Gallery 2 and 3

The U.S. forced registrations of non-citizen Germanic people during WWI. Both males and females over the age of 14 had to register. Some registrations still exist, as do some abstracts, lists, and court battles. Minnesota required registrations of all non-citizens from every country and those records are available today. All the forms asked for extensive family and background information, including place of birth, family members serving in the military against the U.S. and other helpful family history details.

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. ——————————————————————Your Anytime Library: Success in the Virtual Stacks By Paula Stuart-Warren Room: Gallery 2 and 3

Rather research than count sheep? Peruse books at any hour without starting the car or breaking into the library? County, town, and family histories, record abstracts, and more await. Digitized, photocopied, excerpted, abstracted, OCRd, and indexed books provide a strong likelihood of success via your computer and that medium called the Internet. Add newspapers, documents, family trees, pension records, periodicals, and more to the accessible items and you might be housebound for days (months?). During this session we will concentrate on books. Finding books online might be as simple as typing the title in your favorite search engine and enclosing it in quotation marks. Your search engine (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) is your best friend. The majority of the material listed in the handout for this lecture are links to FREE sites.

11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ——————————————————————Finding Family through DNA Testing By Gretchen Leisen Room: Gallery 2

Have you considered having your DNA tested for ethnicity or other factors? Are you interested in finding new relatives through your DNA testing? The program will introduce you to the various terms used in DNA reports with an emphasis on its use for family/genealogy research. We will cover Ancestry DNA; Family Tree DNA, 23 and Me DNA, and Heritage Quest DNA.

What Do I Do With All of This Stuff By Brendon Duffy Room: Gallery 3

Genealogists have a knack for collecting records, documents, photos and other family memorabilia. Each of these items is a piece of evidence as we build our family history. But how can you take all that stuff and turn it into something that you can share? Brendon Duffy will offer some suggestions for how to organize your finds and some creative ways to share the story.

Tapping into Stearns History Museum’s Genealogical Online Resources: A Guide to getting started By Steve Penick and Jessie Storlien Room: Research Center

This how-to session, presented by Steve Penick and Jessie Storlien, is perfect for beginning to intermediate genealogists. Learn how to access and navigate electronic resources that SHM staff use every day. Free to museum members who visit the Research Center, Ancestry.com opens doors to your research. Other highlighted sites are free or have limited access but are available to patrons. They include: Minnesota Historical Society resources, church and county records, marriage records, the St. Cloud Times Index, and more. Ancestors not from Stearns County? Many of these resources go beyond central Minnesota.

12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.——————————————————————-Your Stories Are Your Life By Jim Barkley Room: Gallery 2

What value would you place on a recording with the voice of your mother, father or grandparents, talking about their life stories? Your children and grandchildren will feel the same way about you Recording spoken stories is the fastest way to preserve your life experiences for the next generation, while also capturing the richness of voice & personality. The latest digital innovations allow you to tell future generations about an earlier era - stories about the past that they can listen to on their smartphones. Presenter Jim Barkley will use real recorded samples to demonstrate the power of our voices to tell stories, reveal personality, bring back memories and transfer wisdom. You’ll also learn basic interview techniques and get recommendations for using the latest digital recording and editing technology to record your own stories.

Finding Your Irish Ancestry By Brendon Duffy Room: Gallery 3

Do you have Irish people in your family tree, but don’t know where to begin to look for them? Brendon Duffy will share some wisdom gained from six research trips to Ireland. In this session, he’ll summarize the three main periods of Irish emigration and show you some of the primary resources available both in the U.S. and Ireland. With a few tips, you can have the luck of the Irish in breaking through those brick walls.

Going Old School: Genealogy Tools that don’t need much Electricity By Steve Penick and Jessie Storlien Room: Research Center

Tired of looking at a computer screen for researching your ancestors? Then pick up a book and go old school! This hands-on SHM Research Center session presented by Steve Penick and Jessie Storlien will get you away from the desk and on your feet. Learn to use archival collections to add to your family story. Check out plat and community maps, city directories, census records, and newspapers for additional information. Town/parish/church histories also provide great backgrounds on where your ancestors lived. Think you’ve reached the end? We have gravestone indexes for three area counties compiled by dedicated genealogists.

2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.——————————————————————-The WPA Era: Free Records Boon from the Government By Paula Stuart-Warren Room: Gallery 2 and 3

During tough economic times in the 1930s and 1940s, government programs put many people to work. The Works Progress/Projects Administration created a goldmine of records that are useful for today’s genealogists. WPA record transcriptions, courthouse and manuscript inventories, indexes, city/county histories, and histories of businesses and families may exist for your ancestral locale. We will discuss many of those WPA creations, some of which you already use regularly, and where others may be found today. We will also discuss the online explosion of WPA materials.

3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ———————————————————————A Baker's Dozen: Easy Ways to Begin Writing Your Family History By Paula Stuart-Warren Room: Gallery 2 and 3

Any one can write! Learn ways to get your family history in print without a lot of strain. It’s not as daunting a task as you might think. A baker’s dozen of ways to work on this over time and ideas to get your greater family involved will be shared. You may find that you are already doing some of these but hadn’t realized you were actually getting family history into print! Some of the ideas lend themselves to scrapbooking techniques. Including family health history information is an important part of the process; what you share in print may aid a family member someday. Sharing and preserving the family stories, both the joyous times and the tough times, can enhance your understanding of yourself and the greater family. Visuals will demonstrate the Baker’s Dozen and a handout will point you to further ideas and help in both print and online formats.

About Our Speakers Jim Barkley

After starting his career at Minnesota Public Radio, Jim worked in a variety of marketing and corporate management positions. He and his wife live in central Minnesota. In late 2008 he left the corporate world to pursue a new path with his own small business. He is the creator and owner of Sonant History, a business dedicated to helping individuals, families and organizations capture their stories

Brendon Duffy

On a family trip to his grandfather’s hometown in Ireland in 1982, Brendon Duffy fell in love with genealogy. He has been working on all aspects of family history—both his own and others—ever since. Brendon has been a professional writer and editor and is currently the archivist at the St. Cloud Hospital. This past year, he completed a history book for his family. His wife and children keep him accountable for spending as much time with living relatives as dead ones.

Gretchen Leisen

Gretchen Leisen: A retired Medical Technologist whose lifelong hobby has been solving puzzles of every kind. Genealogy research was a natural fit for a lover of history. She is a charter member of St. Cloud Area Genealogists and has been conducting family research since 1972. With the internet now providing so many opportunities to trace ancestors and find relatives through DNA testing, she will now share her experiences with DNA testing.

Steve Penick

Steve Penick has been engaged in the history field for over twenty years, developing a passion for understanding the past that was instilled in him since childhood. He currently is the Head Archivist at the Stearns History Museum, and with a team of professionals, builds connections for patrons, staff, and the community at-large in an effort to appreciate our world. He has an MA specializing in local and state history.

Jessie Storlien

Jessie Storlien is a Stearns County native with a degree in Library and Information Sciences. She has been working in libraries for over 14 years, and early on discovered a great passion for research. Jessie is the Archivist in Stearns History Museum’s Research Center. She loves helping patrons with family histories, and learning something new every day.

We are grateful to those who donated items: Anonymous • Bernick’s Bottling Company • Gentz Financial Services •

Conference Sponsors Stearns History Museum www.stearns-museum.org

Founded in 1936, the Stearns History Museum has been preserving and interpreting the history of the region for 81 years. Its mission is to connect people to the power of history and culture by collecting, preserving, and interpreting our historical and cultural resources. It also is nationally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

St. Cloud Area Genealogists

www.stearns-museum.org/genealogy-org A non-profit organization that strives to make your family history research an enriching and rewarding experience. Our monthly meetings include guest speakers who provide educational presentations to teach ways to prepare a research plan, how to evaluate evidence, techniques to discover online and non-digitized resources, and so much more. Our premier organization is for everyone from the beginner to the most advanced family historian. Our members research their ancestors from varying locations within Minnesota, throughout the United States, and from foreign countries. Whether you have Minnesota connections or not, we invite you to join us in pursuit of your family history. Joining our organization is a great way to propel your research forward and for connecting with a network of people who share your interest in family history.

WIFI Information Password for Stearns History Museum WIFI: Stearns15

Conference Handouts Online Handouts are available to download until May 1st at: http://stearns-museum.org/genealogy-workshop

Special Thanks to Conference Planning Committee Michele Braun-Heurung Ruth Larson Reggie Mohs Steve Penick Kathy Sauer Dan Schroeder Marilyn Stinson Jessie Storlien Pat Quinn