April 4, 2005 - The thirty-second coin in the State Quarter series,1 the Minnesota Quarter was the second quarter released in 2005.2
1http://www.statequarterguide.com/2005-minnesota-state-quarter/
2http://www.theus50.com/minnesota/quarter.php
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
On This Day in Minnesota History: April 3
April 3, 1970 – “The former Greyhound bus station in Minneapolis opened its doors as a music club, the Depot. Eight years later it would be renamed First Avenue by Steve McClellan and Jack Meyers. A cornerstone of the city's music scene, First Avenue hosted local and national acts and was featured in Prince's movie Purple Rain.”
http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part3.pdf
http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part3.pdf
Monday, April 2, 2012
On This Day in Minnesota History: April 2
April 2, 1856 – “The three settlements, Upper Town, Middle Town, and Lower Town, were granted authority by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature to incorporate into the City of St. Cloud in March 1856, and on [this date] the first town officers were chosen.”
http://wjon.com/st-cloud-becomes-one-town-on-this-date-in-central-minnesota-history/
http://wjon.com/st-cloud-becomes-one-town-on-this-date-in-central-minnesota-history/
Sunday, April 1, 2012
On This Date in Minnesota History:
April 1, 1946 - Dick Goodrich and John Kenfield “incorporated Bemidji Airlines on [this date], referring to it as the Paul Bunyan Playground Route. Daily two hour flights, costing $10.00 per passenger brought businessmen and tourists back and forth from Minneapolis and Bemidji, with one stop at St. Cloud. Bemidji was one of the first Minnesota regional cities with airline services.”
http://www.lakesnwoods.com/BemidjiHistory.htm
http://www.lakesnwoods.com/BemidjiHistory.htm
Valuable Information Can Be Found on Death Certificate, Part II
While the coroner provides some of the information on a death certificate, other information is provided by an informant, usually a family member or friend: date of birth, place of birth, spouse’s name, father’s name, mother’s maiden name, current residence, etc. These are the fields that can qualify or disqualify someone as your ancestor. Wrong father’s name, wrong place of birth, wrong birthdate can mean he or she is not your relative.
However, information from the informant is often wrong or missing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found the father’s name or mother’s maiden name listed as “unknown” on a death certificate. And this is when the informant was a spouse, sibling or child of the deceased. It can be so frustrating, especially when you’re specifically looking for the mother’s maiden name, which is often difficult to find.
My grandpa’s death certificate said his mother’s maiden name was Bradshaw (the informant was his wife, my grandma). Once I started looking for my great-grandmother, however, I discovered her maiden name was really Branshaw. But that was only after her father had immigrated to the U.S. (Wisconsin) from Quebec, where the family name was actually Branchaud. Apparently my great-great-grandfather felt the need to simplify or Americanize his French surname.
Do you know your mother and father’s birthdates and your paternal or maternal grandma’s maiden name?
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
However, information from the informant is often wrong or missing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found the father’s name or mother’s maiden name listed as “unknown” on a death certificate. And this is when the informant was a spouse, sibling or child of the deceased. It can be so frustrating, especially when you’re specifically looking for the mother’s maiden name, which is often difficult to find.
My grandpa’s death certificate said his mother’s maiden name was Bradshaw (the informant was his wife, my grandma). Once I started looking for my great-grandmother, however, I discovered her maiden name was really Branshaw. But that was only after her father had immigrated to the U.S. (Wisconsin) from Quebec, where the family name was actually Branchaud. Apparently my great-great-grandfather felt the need to simplify or Americanize his French surname.
Do you know your mother and father’s birthdates and your paternal or maternal grandma’s maiden name?
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Valuable Information Can Be Found on Death Certificate, Part I
Death certificates provide a great deal of information for family history researchers besides cause of death (COD), although COD itself can sometimes be quite interesting. I once pulled a death certificate for a client where a widowed farmer in his late-70s was thrown against a barn and then trampled to death by a bull. According to his obituary1, his badly crushed body was found by his sister. The farmer had been driving cattle into her farmyard.
For family history researchers, other data fields on a death certificate provide the information they’re most interested in. COD, place of death and date of death are provided by the coroner; a source and information you can trust. Place of death and date of death can lead you to an obituary, which may give you additional information that will be discussed in a later blog.
Often, the name of the cemetery or the name of the town where the burial took place is also on the death certificate. Again, information you can usually trust. Check findagrave.com to see if a photo of the deceased’s gravesite is on the website, or if any other family members are buried in the same cemetery. Sometimes county websites will include local cemetery maps and burial listings, in case you’re interested in visiting or taking a photo of your ancestor’s gravesite.
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
For family history researchers, other data fields on a death certificate provide the information they’re most interested in. COD, place of death and date of death are provided by the coroner; a source and information you can trust. Place of death and date of death can lead you to an obituary, which may give you additional information that will be discussed in a later blog.
Often, the name of the cemetery or the name of the town where the burial took place is also on the death certificate. Again, information you can usually trust. Check findagrave.com to see if a photo of the deceased’s gravesite is on the website, or if any other family members are buried in the same cemetery. Sometimes county websites will include local cemetery maps and burial listings, in case you’re interested in visiting or taking a photo of your ancestor’s gravesite.
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
1Cannon Falls Beacon; “Florence Township Resident Killed by a Bull”; Nov. 7, 1941; Front page.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Validation: Using Birthplaces to Qualify Ancestors in the Census
“The Farmington Telegraph, in June (1869) said:
IMMIGRANTS.—Regularly, twice each day, a car load, and often two, of immigrants from the various countries of Europe, pass through this village on the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. A few stop here, but the larger portion are bound for the northern part of the State. Full ninety per cent of these immigrants are Scandinavians, the remainder Germans and Irish.”1
Was the ancestor you’re searching for born in the U.S. or in a foreign country?
“Pre-statehood residents of Minnesota were primarily American Indians and French and British immigrants. After 1858 settlers in Minnesota generally came from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New York. After 1860 thousands of immigrants came from Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Denmark.”2
The 1860 Census was the first to ask where each person listed in the census was born (state, territory or country). Beginning with the 1880 Census, people were not only asked where they were born, but where their mother and father were born. Don’t be surprised if there are discrepancies in this response, too.
“Pre-statehood residents of Minnesota were primarily American Indians and French and British immigrants. After 1858 settlers in Minnesota generally came from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New York. After 1860 thousands of immigrants came from Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Denmark.”2
The 1860 Census was the first to ask where each person listed in the census was born (state, territory or country). Beginning with the 1880 Census, people were not only asked where they were born, but where their mother and father were born. Don’t be surprised if there are discrepancies in this response, too.
My great-grandfather, Ormel Lawrence, said his father was born in New York in the 1880 Census, in Maine in the 1900 Census, and in England in the Wisconsin 1905 State Census. His father, Thomas B. Lawrence, was born in New York according to his death certificate and every census where he is listed as head of household.
The 1895 and 1905 Minnesota State Censuses list one client’s great-grandmother as being born in Norway. The 1900, 1910 and 1920 Censuses list her as being born in Sweden. According to her death certificate, obituary and church baptismal records, she was born in Norway. Her husband was born in Sweden.
Tracking birthplaces for individuals or families listed in the census is another important step in validating whether or not they are part of your family. As demonstrated above, errors can happen, and other sources, such as death certificates, obituaries, and naturalization papers, should also be used to validate that information.
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
Discover your roots and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com
For more information on my Family History Research services, visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on “Family History Research.”
1McClung, J.W.; Minnesota as it is in 1870; page 288; 1870; St. Paul, MN.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=lhbum&fileName=01092/lhbum01092.db&recNum=287&itemLink=r?ammem/lhbum:@field(DOCID+@lit(lhbum01092div96)):%2301092288&linkText=1
2https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Minnesota_Emigration_and_Immigration
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=lhbum&fileName=01092/lhbum01092.db&recNum=287&itemLink=r?ammem/lhbum:@field(DOCID+@lit(lhbum01092div96)):%2301092288&linkText=1
2https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Minnesota_Emigration_and_Immigration
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