MoSGA Messenger

DEADLINE TODAY! OPPOSE TO THE FEE INCREASE FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION RECORDS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 16:11:00 +0000

URGENT! URGENT! URGENT! PLEASE HELP! DEADLINE IS TODAY, DECEMBER 30, 2019

SHARE YOUR OPPOSITION TO THE FEE INCREASE FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION RECORDS - it will only require 5 minutes of your time, but could make the difference!

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service is proposing a dramatic rate hike to access our ancestor’s immigration records. This is not about border security or stemming illegal immigration. It is about limiting AMERICAN CITIZENS’ access to their own family history. The fees for immigration records rose 300% in 2016. If the proposed change takes effect, the cost will rise an additional 492%.

I have accessed our family files in the past. One of our grandparent’s files had his naturalization certificate, marriage certificate and ship arrival record. Now USCIS plans to raise access to as little as five pages of records to $625. This increase will put access to our history beyond the reach of most of us. Don’t let the USCIS make this unnecessary and unfair fee hike!

Please consider commenting on this proposed hike. Go to the government website at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USCIS-2019-0010-0001 and click on the “comment” box in the upper right hand corner. Write a few sentences about why you are against this fee increase. Sample text is provided below. For more details check this site: https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/

Sample text:
I would like to express my opposition to the proposed rate hike in the Genealogy Program under DHS Docket No. USCIS-2019-0010. This rate increase would limit the ability of AMERICAN CITIZENS the ability to access their family's immigration history. A 492% hike, following a 300% hike in 2016 is unnecessary and calls into question the motives of the USCIS.

You Won't Want to Miss This Panel Session Next Week!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 17:28:00 +0000

Want to hear about our great state resources? Join us next weekend at the MoSGA conference! Register at mosga.org. Friday July 26 is the last day to register with meals!

New SHSMO Center for Missouri Studies

Missouri History Museum, St. Louis

Jefferson City

Tips for Researching in Manuscript Collections

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 14:36:00 +0000

Hidden Treasures: Tips and Rewards for Researching in Manuscript Collections.

photo courtesy of teespring.com

Many family historians fail to use manuscript collections in their research, either because they are unaware of them or think they are difficult to find. This session will summarize the types of documents one can locate in manuscript collections and how that information can help in your research. Discussion will include a method for locating your family in archival collections, and how to access the collections. The donation process and tips for donating your own materials to an archives will be included. Examples will emphasize Missouri families and archival collections.

Come here Bill Eddleman, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Cape Girardeau Research Center, The State Historical Society of Missouri. Bill is a trained wildlife biologist/ornithologist, he retired from Southeast Missouri State University in 2016. He has conducted genealogical research for over 25 years, produced over 20 books of abstracted records, presented to many local historical/genealogist groups, and specializes in Southeast Missouri research, land records, and military records. Bill is the past president of the Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society, and is the current President of MoSGA.

If you haven't registered for the MoSGA conference, you can do it by July 26th at mosga.org. See you in Columbia, August 2!

Deadline for MoSGA Conference Registration is this Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 14:30:00 +0000

If you are planning to attend the MoSGA Annual Conference August 2-3 in Columbia and have NOT registered, please know that registrations that will include meals must be received by this Friday, July 26. We are required to give a meal count to the hotel on that date.

This includes the FULL registration for two days with 3 meals. Also, individually purchased meals for guests or those not buying the "FULL package" must be made by this Friday. If you postal mail your registration in, the postmark date should be no later than Thursday, July 25.

Those who have already registered have received confirmation emails from MoSGA. If not, please reply to this message so we can check our records.

See you in 10 days!! Here is a link to our website home page. Registration instructions and link to online registration can be found at https://mosga.org

Kin In the Ozarks? Hear Their Rich History Here

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Who Were the Settlers of the Old Ozarks? Come hear about your Ozark relatives at the MoSGA conference on August 2-3, 2019.

Using his new book, A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks, as the launching point, Blevins will discuss settlement patterns in different parts of the Ozark region. Among the topics covered will be the ethnic and national origins of those who immigrated to the area between the 1790s and the beginning of the Civil War and the social institutions and lifeways they brought with them.

Brooks Blevins is the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University in Springfield. He is the author or editor of nine books, including the first two volumes in the trilogy, A History of the Ozarks, covering the period up through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Register for the MoSGA conference at mosga.org

“This Indenture Made This…” Finding Ancestors in Deeds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Jul 2019 23:00:00 +0000

Have you tried to find your Ancestor in Deed records? Join us in Columbia on August 2-3 to learn the best ways to focus your search and get the most out of land records.

Picture courtesy of Roger Arrick; taken Wayne Co TN, April 2008.

MoSGA President Bill Eddleman. Ph.D. will discuss deed records as a source that beginning and intermediate-level researchers sometimes access sparingly, if at all. Often this is because the records require a deeper level of understanding in order to locate and use them effectively. An estimated 80% of men owned land during the 19th century, and deeds disposing of this land often document relationships.

Join us in Columbia! To register and get more information go to mosga.org

Do You Have Germans in Your Family Tree?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Jul 2019 12:00:00 +0000

In the 1990 Federal Census, 58 million Americans claimed to be solely or partially of German descent. That means a sizable proportion of Americans have a German or two hanging out in their family tree.

figure from mo-germans.com

Germans began emigrating to Missouri in the 1830s after the publication of Godfried Duden's book Report on a Journey to the Western States of North America in 1829. According to the 2010 Federal Census twenty Missouri Counties still speak German as their second language.

Would you like to know more about your German ancestors who settled in Missouri? Join us on Friday August 2 at 2:15 pm to hear Dorris Keeven-Franke, the Executive Director of the Missouri Germans Consortium & President of the German-American Committee of St. Louis. Dorris helped to create the German Heritage Corridor, blogs on Mo-Germans.com, teaches genealogy, and has been a professional genealogist for over 40 years. She recently completed a chapter of an upcoming book on German Abolitionists (State Historical Society of Missouri).

Register for the Missouri State Genealogical Association Conference at mosga.org. See you in Columbia on August 2-3!

Want to Get the Best Advice for Using Online Genealogy Sites?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 21:30:00 +0000

Most genealogists have used Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and maybe even FindMyPast.com in their family history research. But have you kept up with all the changes these sites are making? Do you experience frustration when you go back to the site you knew and can't find the features you used to use regularly?

Do you wish you had a refresher course or just someone to explain all the new features?

Join us August 3 at 8:30 AM at Stoney Creek Inn & Conference Center when Jacob Eubanks and Daniel Lillienkamp, two genealogical experts from St. Louis County Library show us the latest features of these sites - and most importantly how to get the most out of them.

Register today for the 2019 MoSGA Conference at Mosga.org. See You in August in Columbia, MO!

What's Your Lineage?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 19:40:00 +0000

Have you joined a lineage society? Did you ancestor meet the requirements by arriving on the Mayflower, participating in the Revolutionary or Civil War? If you have ever wondered about it, you won't want to miss this!

Mary Celeste, a MoSGA Board Member and long-time Kansas City resident, will be presenting Hats Off to Our Ancestors: A Lighthearted Look at Lineage Societies, at the 2019 MoSGA Conference in Columbia, Missouri.

If you think of the Mayflower Society, the Jamestown Society, and the DAR when you hear the words “lineage society,” be forewarned. This program, which will be anything but serious, may lead you to a lineage society that perfectly fits. But please be kind, Mary is putting her dignity on the line to help you zero in on this rare find!

Join us on August 2-3, 2019 at Stoney Creek Inn & Conference Center. For details and to register go to Mosga.org.

See you there!

Did Your Ancestor Walk the Golden Lane?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 19:23:00 +0000

On April 5, 1919, women in Missouri were guaranteed the right to vote...for the President of the United States. Two months before the U.S. Congress passed the women's suffrage bill, the Missouri legislature passed the "Presidential Suffrage Bill" clearing the path for the women of Missouri to vote in the presidential election. The Missouri Women's Suffrage Association (later known as the League of Women Voters) had worked tirelessly to gain the vote since its founding in 1867.

One of the hallmarks of the movement in Missouri was the Golden Lane that occurred during the 1916 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis. Nearly 2,000 women lined St. Louis streets wearing white dresses with yellow sashes and carrying yellow parasols. The men attending the convention couldn’t help but notice the women as they walked from their hotel to the Coliseum.

One of the speakers at this year's MoSGA conference is Margot McMillen, author of The Golden Lane. Ms. McMillen will discuss the "walkless, talkless parade" that showed delegates that after 75 years of argument, women had made their point and carried the burdens of modern society just as men did. They deserved to vote. Women from every state and many foreign countries participated in suffrage demonstrations.

Did you have an ancestor who came to St. Louis for the event? Or someone who worked for or against women's suffrage? Bring your stories to the August conference, or e-mail them to conference@mosga.org and Margot will try to work them into her talk.

The MoSGA Conference will be 2-3 August. Don't forget to register at mosga.org. See you there!

Missouri Gold...a Preview of the Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 May 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Missouri Gold: Digging Deep
into our Sources & Culture

2019 MoSGA Conference, August 3-4, Columbia, MO

This year the conference format will be different than past years - we will have two full days of events beginning at 10 AM on Friday, August 2 and running through mid-afternoon on Saturday. We thought it was time to change things up! We will still have great speakers with fresh ideas along with a few twists. Stay tuned to this blog and our Facebook page for details. We will have some exciting surprises in store for participants so join us in Columbia on August 2nd and 3rd! Register on MoSGA's website.

One new event will be our Networking Desserts on Friday night after the buffet. This fun networking opportunity will be held in a Salon filled with ephemera that is sure to spark conversation, memories and perhaps plant ideas for new avenues of discovery in your family tree. We hope you will join us for the conference and especially this chance to network with like-minded ancestry-seekers. For all the conference details and to register go to mosga.org.

Registration for 2019 MoSGA Conference is OPEN!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 May 2019 20:46:00 +0000

Missouri Gold: Digging Deep into Our Sources and Culture

2019 MoSGA Conference, August 2-3, Columbia, MO

We are excited to announce that registration is open for our annual conference that will be held at Stoney Creek Inn in Columbia, MO on August 2-3, 2019. This year we are focusing on honing our skills and getting up-to-date advice on online and technology-based tools. We have invited some of the top genealogical experts Missouri has to offer from St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Cape Girardeau and all points in between.

Join us in August to hear about…

The NEW Center for Missouri Studies that opens one week after our conference
New collections at the State Archives and Missouri History Museum
Tips for Missouri First Families and Lineage Societies
How to get the most out of Ancestry.com, FamilySearch and FindMyPast
How to Find our Female Ancestors
How to find our family members in land records, manuscripts and online newspapers
A fresh look at immigration and census records
A great book sale with many hard-to-find treasures
And much more!!!

We will have some fun, too. On Friday evening join us for dinner and stay for Networking Desserts where we will display some old items to jog memories and invite stories to be told. Bring your best ideas and prepare to share! We want everyone to leave the conference will new ideas for their research, new friends and a renewed feeling they can break down any brick wall or get one step closer to the cherished past. See the full agenda and REGISTER online on our website. You can also print the brochure and mail in your registration.

For hotel registration, contact Stoney Creek directly. See brochure for more details. Stay tuned for more announcements on this blog and MoSGA's Facebook page.

See You in August!

SAVE THE DATE!!! MoSGA Conference will be August 3-4, 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 23:25:00 +0000

Missouri Gold: Digging Deep into the Past with Modern Tools

2019 MoSGA Conference, August 3-4, Columbia, MO

We are very excited about our annual conference that will be held at Stoney Creek Inn in Columbia, MO on August 3-4, 2019. We are offering a different format this year that will focus on how to best utilize the ever changing technology tools, access Missouri’s rich state resources, and get a refresher on where to find those pesky relatives that prefer to hide behind brick walls. We have invited some of the top genealogical experts Missouri has to offer from St. Louis, Kansas City, Cape Girardeau and all points in between.

Included this year:

Updates to Ancestry.com and FamilySearch – they have some great new tools!
Missouri Resources such as the amazing new Center for Missouri Studies that opens in August
Tips for Missouri First Families and Lineage Societies
Finding Records for Migration to Missouri from Germany, Virginia and Kentucky
How to Find our Female Ancestors
How to find our family members in land records, manuscripts and online newspapers
A fresh look at immigration and census records
A great book sale with many hard-to-find treasures
And much more!!!

We will have some fun, too. On Friday evening join us for dinner and stay for Networking Desserts where we will display some old items to jog memories and invite stories to be told. Bring your best ideas and prepare to share! We want everyone to leave the conference will new ideas for their research, new friends and a renewed feeling she AND he can break down any brick wall or get one step closer to the cherished past. Watch for updates on the MoSGA website, our Facebook page and this blog. We will announce the full agenda and let you know when registration is open.

See Y’all in August!

Michelle Spencer
2019 Conference Chair

Library of Congress Virtual Card Catalog for Copyrights

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 16:08:00 +0000

Library of Congress Card Catalog

Last week the Library of Congress blogged about the U.S. Copyright Card Catalog. Check it out here.

It provides an index to copyright registrations and other public records pertaining to ownership of copyrighted works. The catalog enables users to identify original copyright registration records and other U.S. Copyright Office records from 1870 through 1977. The information in these records typically includes: author(s), title of work, copyright registration number, and effective date of registration. These records do not include the full registration records or copies of deposited works registered with the Copyright Office. The card catalog also contains entries for transfers of ownership, generally one card for each title, assignee, and assignor.

Over the decades, with changes in the rules of cataloging copyright registrations, the U.S. Copyright Office has organized these records into several chronological periods or indexes. The indexes available in this Proof of Concept are the latest sections of the card catalog, interfiled alphabetically, covering registrations from 1955 through December 31, 1977, the last day on which works were registered under the 1909 copyright law.

THE PURPOSE OF THE VIRTUAL CARD CATALOG

The Proof of Concept card catalog represents a small sample set of card records, displayed in JPEG images, from the U.S. Copyright Card Catalog collection. It is not a final version of the planned Virtual Card Catalog (VCC). The images are presented in a similar filing order as found in the physical card catalog and may contain filing errors and corrupt images. In addition, the enhanced browse capabilities are limited due to the use of raw OCR data. We are working to update and improve the overall functionality.

The purpose of this Proof of Concept is to provide the public with a glimpse of the digitized card catalog and to solicit feedback that will provide valuable information for the future digital transformation of the U.S. Copyright Office physical historical records.

Browse through it today!

NEHGS Offers FREE Access on American Ancestors Thru Tues!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 00:04:00 +0000

NEHGS Offers FREE Access to All Databases
on AmericanAncestors.org from November 6–13

On November 7, 2018 NEHGS announced the following:

To assist family historians of all levels with a great reason to fall back into research, American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) are granting FREE access to more than 1.4 billion names within its data-rich online records. For a limited time only—from Tuesday, November 6, 2018, through Tuesday, November 13, 2018—anyone can access the many research databases within the award-winning website of NEHGS by registering as a FREE Guest Member at AmericanAncestors.org/Free-Billion.

The website of NEHGS at AmericanAncestors.org contains some of the most important online databases for researching American ancestry, with more than 1.4 billion names in records covering 18 countries. Many databases include original content created by the experts and scholars at NEHGS, and all are open for eight days of FREE research to anyone who registers as a Guest Member. Access to all databases is free from November 6 at 12:00 AM EST through November 13 at 11:59 PM EST.

News You Can Use #2: Who You Do Think You Are? Debuts New Episodes in December

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 22:52:00 +0000

New Episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? on TLC

Here is the schedule for the upcoming season of Who Do You Think You Are?

Mandy Moore (December 3): Mandy Moore is shocked to discover ancestors who lived in Australia and travels far, determined to unlock the mystery of how they got there. Moore is touched by the courage of those who made the journey and the sacrifice of those who were left behind.

Josh Duhamel (December 10): Josh Duhamel travels to England to investigate the extraordinary life of his 12 times great-grandfather and uncovers an astonishing, dark twist of interrogation and torture that rocks his belief system to the core.

Matthew Morrison (December 17): Matthew Morrison explores his American roots for the first time and is surprised to discover his family’s ties to the Revolutionary War. He learns of the bold lengths that his ancestor went through to protect his allegiances and the brutality he faced on the battlefield.

Regina King (December 17): Regina King investigates her maternal family tree and uncovers an ancestor who was a passionate civil rights activist in Alabama; a man who came out of slavery, endured horrific violence, but never stopped fighting for his people.

News You Can Use #1: Ancestry.com Updates DNA Estimates, Offers Free Military Records

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 22:32:00 +0000

Sorry for the long absence! Life got a little crazy for a while. Here are a few genealogy-related stories to catch you up. There are a few things happening at Ancestry.
First, they are offering FREE access to military records from November 2-12 in honor of Veterans. You can access the more than 250 million records at www.ancestry.com/honor.

Second, if you haven't heard, Ancestry has added millions of results to their DNA database and unveiled new ethnicity estimates for everyone who has taken an Ancestry DNA test. So if you haven't checked your DNA lately, it is worth a look. According to the Ancestry Blog:

Ancestry will deliver ethnicity estimates with increased precision to its customers, through a new algorithm that analyzes longer segments of genetic information, marking an important evolution in the way we interpret DNA data. Having built and expanded our DNA reference panel, we have a better understanding of genetic signatures globally, can break down geographic ethnicity estimates with greater specificity and give you a more detailed picture of your origins.

AncestryDNA Updates Estimates

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 17:31:00 +0000

If you have had your DNA tested by AncestryDNA you may or may not have found the results useful or seemingly accurate. Ancestry has updated individual results this week, matching them against thousands of new results they have obtained during the last year. Its worth your time to check. My estimates changed dramatically!

Three $1,000 21st Century Fund Grants Awarded

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Jenna Mills, Awards Committee chair, presented $1,000 grants to the following groups:

Bill Sheehy accepts the grant on behalf of Iron County Historical Society.

Rhonda Simpleman accepts the grant on behalf of the Carrollton Public Library.

Linda Brink & Estella Morrison accept the grant on behalf of the Excelsior Springs Genealogical Society.

Congratulations to all our grant recipients!

2018 MoSGA Award Recipients

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0000

AWARDS presented at the 2018 Conference

MoSGA Awards Committee Chairman Jenna Mills with Harold Kerr.

Harold Kerr II received the Award of Merit. He was nominated by the Howard County Genealogical Society.
A Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to Mike Bridwell of the St. Louis County Public Library.
Debbie Furnell received the President's Award.

Prize Winners from the 2018 Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 19:54:00 +0000

Did you know that our vendors offer door prizes at the annual conference? This year prizes included an Ancestry.com DNA test, 1 year membership in a county genealogical association, books, and lots of other goodies!

2018 MoSGA Conference Award Winners

In Case You Missed It...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 16:04:00 +0000

We had a great MoSGA conference last weekend! Everyone enjoyed hearing Amy Johnson Crow. She was informative and a lot of fun. Stay tuned here for more pictures of this year's event as well as details for things to come in 2019!

Thanks Amy and all our presenters!

Think You Know Someone Who Died During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic? (Hint: We all do!)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 06:00:00 +0000

Beginning in the spring of 1918 influenza crawled across the globe. In three waves the virus touched every continent and virtually every family on earth between early 1918 and the summer of 1920. Scientists now believe that at least 50 million people died, including 675,000 Americans.

The question for genealogists is aside from death certificates, how do we know if our family was affected?

I have a personal interest in the pandemic and have studied it for more than ten years. In a session on Friday, August 10 at the MoSGA conference in Columbia, MO, I will talk about influenza and how to search a wide range of records available to researchers. Influenza killed more people than WWI, WWII, Korea and the Vietnam Wars combined. It is an important part of our history that is often overlooked.

Don't miss out! Register for the conference at mosga.org.

Need Help Finding Your Ancestors? Come to the MoSGA Conference to Learn New Strategies!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 22:24:00 +0000

We all have those ancestors that frustrate us, tease us with a little bit of a trail, then seemingly disappearing in front of our eyes. Sound familiar?

Join us 10-11 August in Columbia, MO with our keynote speaker Amy Johnson Crow. She will be sharing several "alternate routes" to finding those who came before us in sessions that might just spark a light to a new avenue through timelines, local websites, occupational records as well as how to take a second (third or fourth) look at the sources you have found for additional clues.

Its not too late to register at mosga.org so do it today and join us in the fun!

Have You Researched Online Newspaper Databases Lately?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 06:00:00 +0000

If you haven't already, be sure to add Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers at the Library of Congress to the research list.

With the ever-growing options to search digitized newspapers from home, the Library of Congress (LC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have joined efforts to digitize and preserve newspaper history through their National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

Courtesy of Library of Congress

The Chronicling America collection is an ongoing database of American newspapers digitized primarily from microfilm by NDNP participating institutions. Spanning from 1690 to the present, the collection currently comprises nearly 154,800 digitized newspapers across the United States, American Samoa, Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The Missouri database currently encompasses 88 newspapers within a date range of 1839 through 1922.

The online search engine offers several options to browse newspapers by title, state, date range, keyword, ethnicity, or by language. An advanced search further allows for searches of keywords and phrases.

No subscription or login is required to access ChroniclingAmerica.

Thanks to LaDonna Gardner for this blog post!