If Only Geographic Borders Didn't Change!

It certainly makes it easier to do genealogy if your family lived in the same place for hundreds of years, doesn’t it? Well, maybe. The reality is that over time, borders are always changing. As America became more settled by non-native people, the borders of cities, counties, colonies, and then states were forever shifting. In Europe, centuries of disputes over who ruled what and where meant that stability was the exception and not the norm. What do movable boundaries mean for those of us trying to research our families?

Newly Revised Missouri Birth and Death Indexes Online!

Just about a month ago, our friends at Reclaim the Records announced the release of birth and marriage indexes from Connecticut (which we told you about in a post on 6 September; if you missed it, you can read it here.) This week, they announced another exciting victory, one which may be much closer to home for many of us. Although this hardworking group had already obtained indexes for some births and deaths in Missouri, they have now been able to add about a million new names to what had previously been published. But it was not without an expensive fight! Here are all the exciting details.

Google Patents May Add to Your Family History AND StLGS Members, It's Time to Vote!

We already know that many of our ancestors were hard-working and industrious. They often had to be in order to survive. A lot of our ancestors were also extremely creative as they made their way through what often was a difficult world. Not satisfied with the status quo, they looked for ways to improve their lives. A few weeks ago, we told you about a woman named Nancy Donaldson Johnson, who invented and patented an ice cream freezer in 1843. (Did you miss that post? You can find it here.) How can you learn more about your own ancestors who might have been inventors? Once again, Google is your friend. Read on to learn about one of its best-kept secrets, Google Patents. (And if you are a member of StLGS, be sure to check out the information at the end of this post; it's voting time again!)

October StLGS Genealogy Meetings and Events

We hope our recent post on pumpkins got you thinking of autumn, even if it still feels summery outside. (Did you miss that blog? You can find it here.) We thank everyone who helped make our Fall Speaker Series so successful, and we look forward to welcoming all of you to some upcoming meetings and classes. Our October monthly meeting will be at the Grant's View branch of St. Louis County Library, but it will also be livestreamed for those who can't attend in person. We have an Irish SIG meeting in October, and some great classes are coming up. More information about everything is below.

Another Farewell and Calculating Days of the Week for Genealogy

We learned this week of the death of another St. Louis Genealogical Society volunteer, Don Wallace, who was instrumental in getting the society's congregations and cemetery projects underway on our website, and we were sorry to hear of his passing. More on Don and his contributions to StLGS in the "In Memoriam" section at the beginning of this post.

When you were young, you might have had an older relative who delighted in reciting an old English nursery rhyme to you concerning the day on which you were born. Or perhaps, you may have pulled the poem out when your first child, grandchild, niece, or nephew was born. It's a sweet ditty, although how accurate it is is questionable, but it reminds us that knowing the day of the week on which an event falls is sometimes important. This week we will take a look at perpetual calendars, how they work, and where you can find them.

Autumn Traditions are in the Air

Although it's still very warm in parts of the United States, those of us in the Midwest are enjoying some cool, comfortable weather this week. In fact, the nights are feeling downright autumnal! Stores are filled with the bright colors of Halloween decorations, and those of us who need our yearly fix of pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin muffins, and the ever-popular pumpkin spice lattes, are blissfully eating and drinking our way into the season. Did you know that pumpkins have a long, interesting history? If your ancestors were in this country or in South or Central America, they likely ate, cooked, and/or carved pumpkins throughout their lives. Read on for more!

Another Victory for Reclaim the Records!

We want to thank one of our readers, Bob Meinhardt, for reminding us about the newest accomplishment of the exciting, hardworking genealogy group, Reclaim the Records. The last time we wrote about this amazing organization was in February 2020, when we introduced you to them and what they were doing on behalf of all genealogists throughout the U.S. to make public records truly public. (You can read that previous post here.)