January Topics

We're looking forward to some informative meetings in January. The first Tuesday comes early in the month, so we'll be starting with a workshop. Here's the scoop!

January 2 - During this workshop we will begin with a few suggestions for genealogy goals for the year, but the main focus will be a review of the many ways to find records on FamilySearch.

January 9 - Pam Ingermanson, who gave such a great presentation over Zoom in 2021) will join us to talk about Family Search Memories and the Family Tree App. She has also agreed to answer any questions members may have about the FamilySearch website. Start making a list!

January 16 - This week's workshop topic is census research with tips for locating information beyond names, ages and birthplaces.

January 23 - Diane's presentation is about using Find A Grave. We'll learn about any recent changes in the site and how to use it most efficiently.

January 30 - The month's final workshop will be a review of vital records, including why they are important research targets, what information they may provide and where to find them.

December 5 Workshop

During our final workshop of 2023 Maureen gave us an overview of the 1931 Canadian census released last spring. She outlined the various questions that were asked, including whether the household owned a radio. Maureen advised us to be aware that indexing was done using OCR and there are some issues with locating your ancestors because of that. Be persistent, however.

The census is available on Library and Archives Canada, Ancestry and FamilySearch. Our Canadian members still cannot recommend using the National Archives site as it continues to need work!

Thanks for another enlightening presentation, Maureen!

Legacy Software and Webinar Sale

Legacy is offering both its software and webinar memberships for half price from December 10 through December 15. Maureen says "This is a great deal!" Use the link below for more information.

https://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/happy-holidays-2023-c322.php

November 28 Workshop

This week Pam brought the scrapbooks she's been working on for years and gave a great presentation on how we could use our research to create similar family books. She reminded us where we could locate much of the information to include and suggested places where we could buy supplies.

Pam recommended Mixbook.com (ca.) as an online resource where she is presently recreating her first scrapbook so that it can be reproduced for family members. Her handout included an outline to follow for setting up our personal genealogy scrapbooks.

Thanks for the interesting presentation, Pam!

Olaf Skye

Last spring a new family history book was featured at the Waupaca Public Library. My cousin had a copy and ultimately in June we met the author's daughter and she gifted me my own copy.

Olaf Skye came from Norway in the 1890s to Scandinavia, Wisconsin. He and his family interacted with my Norwegian ancestors in that area.

Most exciting, Olaf went to the Klondike with a small group of Scandinavia residents. Part of the book describes his travels there and the search for gold. Olaf and some of his companions wrote letters home that tell about their mostly unsuccessful search for riches. His daughter saved all of their correspondence and this became the basis of the book. 

After returning to Wisconsin, Olaf again became a "wanderer." In 1906 he traveled to Saskatchewan and made a land claim near Dinsmore. Each year he spent six months on his land in Canada and returned to Wisconsin in late November. Again, he corresponded regularly with his daughter describing his life on the prairie. He also became a Canadian citizen before returning to spend the rest of his life in Waupaca County, Wisconsin.

We had two presentations last year: one about an ancestor who went to the Klondike for the gold rush, and another about a grandmother who homesteaded on the Canadian prairie. I would be happy to lend the book to anyone who is interested in either of these portions of Canadian history.

November 21 Workshop

This week we looked at several examples of the types of books available at local public libraries. Many small towns have enthusiastic historians who are interested in local history and write on a particular topic for that area. 

Olaf Skye (more later on him), From the Indian Lands, Rural on the Crystal, Rural Schools of Waupaca County, and Waupaca from Arcadia Publications were a few of the books that we examined.

Annie also provided a brief review of the most efficient steps to use in locating records on FamilySearch. Follow the sequence below!

    Search: Records: Name Field: More Options: Type: Census: Search

    

Family History Library Consultations

Dennis reported that he had a very successful consultation with an Irish research expert at the Family History Library this month. He accessed the Help Center on the FamilySearch website and booked a session for "In Person Help." The session was scheduled for 20 minutes, but Dennis said he was able to ask questions for about an hour. His original problem was resolved, and he learned much more about researching in Ireland.

If you take advantage of this free service on www.familysearch.org, be sure that you have a specific question for their expert.

Genealogy Club News

During Tuesday's meeting Maureen Edwards was elected as our new vice president. Diane Jalbert has stepped up to complete Susan Mavor's term of office, as she left the park last year. Current officers are Diane Jalbert, president; Maureen Edwards, vice president; Dick Rietz, secretary; Bob O'Donnell, treasurer and Annie Rietz, program director.

Our final workshop for 2023 will be December 5, as the park has asked to use the SanTan room on December 12 to set up for Palm Creek's 25th anniversary celebration the following day. 

Topics for the next three weeks include local public library genealogy resources, scrapbooking and genealogy and an overview of the 1931 Canada census.