Help us Preserve the Veteran Bounty Land Records—Update!

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is spearheading a campaign to save thousands of precious military records housed in the National Archives that are rapidly deteriorating and of vital interest to genealogists. Along with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the leaders of FamilySearch, NGS is reaching out to local and state genealogy societies across the U.S. in an organized effort to preserve these records, and StLGS has recently begun to assist in these important efforts. We learned about the project a few months ago and posted some preliminary information then. Here is an update, now that StLGS is officially part of the project.

Ready to Learn More About Artificial Intelligence? Join us in September . . .

Exploring AI for Genealogy: A Hands-On Experience

Featuring StLGS co-webmaster, Jim Ross

Postcards Help Us Picture the Past

 More than a century before anyone sent an email or text message, the postcard was born. Evolving from a series of alternatives to long, tedious letter writing, the postcard as we know it was created by Dr. Emanuel Herrmann, an economics professor in Austria, whose ideas came to the attention of the Austrian Post, which, on 1 October 1869, created a Correspondenz-Karte. Printed on light-brown paper, about the size of a 3" x 5" index card, it had space on one side for an address, a blank back for a message, and a pre-printed stamp in the upper right. Most importantly, it cost half the price of a letter! Within just a few years, postcards were in wide use throughout the world. Today, postcards can assist in your genealogy research as well.

August Genealogy Events and Classes

 

It seems that no matter where you are this summer, the weather is going to play a part in your daily life. For most of us, it's been hot and humid, but the good news is that all of our StLGS events are in comfortable air-conditioned meeting rooms. If you prefer, you can stay at home enjoying your own cool house and attend our events via Zoom. So, check out the August schedule, and make plans to join us soon.

Did You Have Ancestors in a Poorhouse?

There have always been poor people, in every society and every time period. However, our treatment of those less fortunate has not always been exemplary. Sometimes a poor person might have had family or friends to help them out, but if not, a poor person might be dependent on the community for care, and their treatment would vary, depending on where and when they lived. If you had an ancestor who was in a poorhouse, you may want to learn more about what that meant and how to discover what might have caused them to be there. Read on for details.

Exciting News About Irish Records in Ireland!

Most people who can trace their ancestors back to Ireland learn quickly that a terrible fire at the Public Records Office (PRO) during the Irish Civil War destroyed about 700 years' worth of records. Documents that went back to the fourteenth century when the British ruled in Ireland plus "thousands of wills, title deeds and parish registers" went up in flames on 30 June 1922. According to an article recently published in The Irish Times online, the 1861 and 1871 census records had been destroyed by the British, and during World War I, the 1881 and 1891 censuses were repurposed because of a lack of paper, as it wasn't deemed necessary to keep the data. What did remain in the PRO were the censuses of 1821, 1831, and 1841—all particularly valuable because they were created in the years before the Irish Potato Famine. These records also burned in that disastrous fire. However, Irish historians, archivists, and genealogists are making a concerted effort to rebuild what was lost and make as much as possible available to researchers. They have created a website called "Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland," and it's growing all the time.

Genealogical Timelines Can Be Wonderful Research Tools!

Now that summer is in full "Hot" mode, many of us are spending these sunny, sticky days indoors where the air conditioning can be a lifesaver. If you are one of those folks, perhaps it means you are also refocusing on your genealogy and looking for ways to solve baffling problems. One overlooked tool that may help you is a timeline. Let's look at what timelines are and how they might solve genealogical mysteries.