Goodbye to Another Longtime StLGS Volunteer and Some New Maps on Our Website

Another of our valued StLGS volunteers has passed away, and we share an "In Memoriam" this week to our former remote data entry team leader, Mary Ryan. We'll fill you in next week on upcoming April events, but meanwhile, please use the Annual Family History Conference and Calendar of Events pages on our website for the latest news. Registration has opened for our annual Salt Lake City Research trip, and, in addition, we want to tell you about two new mapping resources uploaded recently to our website, so please keep reading.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Irish or Not!

Whether you are walking in a parade, drinking a Guinness, or just wearing a touch of green today, it's a perfect day to celebrate the traditions of Ireland, that spunky country from which so many Americans emigrated. They brought us their work ethic, their wonderful sense of humor and love of language, and, of course, recipes for delicious food. No, not corned beef and cabbage; that is decidedly NOT authentic Irish cuisine, just an American adaptation. But yummy stews, chowders, and breads top the list of foods you can easily cook at home to celebrate Irish heritage. (For a more complete discussion of what is truly Irish, see the blog we posted in March 2023. You can read it here.)

You are Invited to Our Annual Open House!

Last March, St. Louis Genealogical Society revived our annual Open House after a hiatus of several years, and it was a great success. Moved from Sunday to Saturday afternoon so more people could attend, the Open House allowed our volunteers to meet old and new friends, show off our newly painted and re-carpeted office, and answer lots of questions from interested attendees. Now that spring is finally in the air, we are excited to welcome you once again to this year's Open House. Read on for all the details!

StLGS March Genealogy Meetings and Events

We've had a little taste of spring in St. Louis this week, and we are looking forward to our March meetings and events. If you missed the February meeting on "Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Genealogy," featuring our co-webmaster Jim Ross, you can still watch the digital recording on our Monthly Meeting page and get some great ideas for how you can incorporate this new technology in your own family history research. You can dive deeper into AI at our upcoming Family History Conference! Later this month, the German SIG has a meeting, and we are excited to welcome you to our annual Open House on Saturday, March 22nd. Read on for more information. 

Visiting an Ancestral Town in France

As anyone who lives either in St. Louis or New Orleans knows, the beginning of March is the time for all of us to dig deep to find some French roots as Mardi Gras approaches. (Or we can just enjoy celebrating, no matter what our ethnicity!) Regardless of where your ancestors are from, we hope you will enjoy a bit of a travelogue this week, as one of our members, Joan Koechig, who does have roots in France, shares an interesting research experience in the land of her ancestors. Thanks, Joan, for writing this week's post! Perhaps Joan's experience in France will motivate you to travel to your own ancestral cities! Joan writes . . .

Two Exciting Genealogy Announcements!

 Happy President's Day. We hope you are staying warm and dry during this winter of every kind of weather! This week, we have several items to share with you that we believe are of interest to our genealogy community. With luck, you will discover something new to help move your research forward.

Can You Help Us Return Photos to This Family?

OK, genealogy detectives, we have another mystery for you to solve. You may remember that in early December, we posted some military documents from a soldier named James Ronald that needed to be returned to his family. We got several responses with suggestions of things for us to do, but, luckily, one of our members, Norm Miller, recognized the surname. He made some phone calls, and, amazingly, discovered that a relative of the Ronald family was related to his own family. Several more phone calls later, and the documents were on their way to Arnold, Missouri, where they will be forwarded to the Texas family who has been eagerly awaiting their return. Kudos and many thanks to Norm for reaching out and making the contact!