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October 17, 2007

It's House History time again

Have you ever been curious about the story that your house has to tell? Whether you are a new house owner, or you've been living in your house for 30 years, the Central Library wants to help you discover your house's history, and the House History program is the perfect place to start.

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The program is being held at the Central Library on Saturday, November 3, 2007 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Sign in starts at 9:15 a.m. in the First Floor Meeting Room. From there, you will tour the resources that the Central Library has to offer. You will learn how to use the Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases, how to wrap your head around the many intricacies of the tax rolls, how to convert an address, and learn about the many other resources your library has to offer.

The House History program is best for Milwaukee residents, as the resources focus mainly on Milwaukee.

To sign up, contact the Humanities Department at (414) 286-3061.

October 19, 2007

Is your family tree short a few branches?

Fill in some of those gaps on your family tree at the open lab for using Ancestry Library Edition, a powerful tool for genealogists.

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(Waldburg family tree)

The open labs take place on the following Saturdays: October 27, November 17, and December 15, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. This is a free service and it requires no advance registration. Simply go to the Central Library's computer lab, on the 2nd floor, and prepare to delve deeply into your family's history. A staff member will be on hand to answer questions about using this powerful database which gives you access to billions of names in almost as many different types of records.

Milwaukee Public Library also offers access to other Genealogy tools online. Additional questions may be answered by calling the dedicated staff at the Humanities desk at (414) 286-3061.

December 21, 2007

Your weekly reference question

How long did the Orphan train run?

The Orphan Train Movement lasted from 1854 through 1929. In that time, approximately 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, or homeless children were put on the so-called "Orphan Train" and were relocated to the American West. The Children's Aid Society thought that in this way, these children might gain new families while helping out the pioneers who were settling the frontiers.

The train stopped in 47 states and in Canada. At each stop, townspeople who were interested would gather to inspect the children, and take home those they thought to be likely candidates. After the children had successfully completed a brief trial period, they would become indentured to their host families.

While this program is widely thought of as the beginning of documented foster care, it was not without controversy. Interestingly enough, the controversy came from both sides of the abolitionist movement. Many abolitionists believed that the children were ending up being slaves to their host families, while those who advocated slavery saw it as an outgrowth of the abolitionist movement. After all, who would need slaves when these children provided labor that made slaves unnecessary?

Because there were a large number of children who went west on the Orphan Trains, some genealogists have had problems tracing the ancestry of their relatives who may have hailed from the Orphan Train Movement. There are some resources available for those who are attempting to follow the ancestry of those children. Since so many of them came originally from New York City, many of these resources are from the city.

October 9, 2008

Wisconsin Genealogy and Local History Sites

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Did you know that genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States? With the advent of the Internet age, family research has become even more exciting with worldwide opportunities, The Milwaukee Public Library's Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room has a resource area for genealogists with many finding aids and tools for conducting research. In addition, the Milwaukee County Genealogical Society meets regularly at the Central Library.
For a useful site on genealogical resources of interest to Wisconsinites, the WIGLHR Genealogy and Local History Sites has a wealth of links. For other online resources, check out the Genealogy Category in the Recommended Links section of the MPL home page.

July 7, 2009

Research in Milwaukee's German Newspapers

Gary Rebholz, the editor and researcher behind Milwaukee's German newspapers : an index of death notices and related items will be giving a presentation about his work at the Salzmann Library on the St. Francis de Sales Seminary Campus.

His work indexing death notices pulled from the early German newspapers of the City of Milwaukee has allowed him to create this invaluable genealogy resource. Currently a four volume resource, Gary continues to work on it. The four volumes include two volumes arranged alphabetically by last name, and two volumes arranged chronologically by year.

Gary's talk will focus on what the average researcher can find and how they can use local German newspapers without a prior knowledge of the German language. He will also discuss the different resources available at the Milwaukee Public Library and the Salzmann Library.

His talk will be Saturday, July 18th; starting at 1:00 p.m. Reservations are suggested. Call the Salzmann Library at (414) 747-6479, or email milwaukeegermannewspapeers@yahoogroups.com.


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July 23, 2009

Wanted : Dead or Alive

Patrons often call the reference desk to find out if a celebrity is alive or deceased. People also regularly search for obituaries and death notices for friends and loved ones. There are several databases which can help tremendously when searching for this type of information. The Dead People Server is a good choice for birthdates, death dates, and cause of death of famous people. Find A Grave allows users to search 21 million grave records and to find information on more than 250,000 cemeteries. In addition, The Who's Alive and Who's Dead site helps you keep track of who's living and who's deceased. Celebrities are grouped by TV show, film, band and sport.

America's Obituaries & Death Notices contains over 180 U.S. newspapers, most of which date back to the late 1990's and includes everything from front page news articles to paid death announcements. This is a paid database and can be accessed remotely by City of Milwaukee residents. Residents of surrounding communities are welcome to visit and Milwaukee Public Libraries in person to search this database.

For additional databases and links on the subject of People, check out the People Category from the Recommended Links section of the Milwaukee Public Library home page.

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September 18, 2009

African-American Family History

African American woman from Library of Congress photo archivesGenealogy can be challenging under the best of circumstances. However, few areas of American genealogical research pose as much of a challenge as the search for African-American families.

Joe Williams, President of the Milwaukee African-American Genealogical Society, looks to help out with that issue by exploring strategies for discovering your African-American ancestors in various periods of history.

He will cover topics such as where and how to begin, how to interview family and family friends and what to look for in your home, how to search the census, death records, indexes, how to search transition records from slavery to freedom, how to search records for slaves, and other indexes and records that will be useful to the search.

Registration is encouraged. Please call 414-286-3098 to do so.

This session is being offered at Martin Luther King Library on Saturdays, October 3 & 24, November 7 & 28, December 5 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.


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December 8, 2009

Early German newspapers available in NewspaperArchive

Some of the earliest German newspapers that are part of the Milwaukee's German Newspapers; an index of death notices and related items at MPL are available online through MPL / Badgerlink subscription to NewspaperArchive.

The local German papers that are listed there include: Atlas (weekly edition), Atlas Tagliche Ausgabe (daily edition), Das Tagliche Banner (Daily Banner), Taglicher Volksfreund, (Daily People's Friend), Wisconsin Banner, Wisconsin-Banner und Volksfreund. The years covered range from 1844 through about 1860 with some gaps.

If there is an indexed entry found in Milwaukee's German newspapers : an index of death notices and related items for these years and these papers, it was likely found by reading through this entire online collection.

These papers offer the rarest research information for researchers since these editions were published well before vital records were routinely maintained. While there are few death notices or obituaries found in these early papers, there are other items that can be just as helpful for research purposes: probate notices (in English), "Wo ist..." (where is ...) notices for family members (usually listing German origins), marriage announcements - sometimes posted with a poem, and other brief news articles that indicate some biographical information.

Submitted by Gary Rebholz, author of Milwaukee's German newspapers : an index of death notices and related items.


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January 19, 2010

German newspaper sample and translation

If you have any interest in genealogy and haven't already checked out Milwaukee's German Newspapers: an index of death notices and related items, you are in for a treat. This resource indexes many of Milwaukee's German Newspapers for items of genealogical interest.

Below is an image of a clipping, with the translation of the text below, from the Wisconsin Banner, one of the German newspapers that is indexed in Milwaukee's German Newspapers.

German newspaper clipping
Milwaukee's German newspapers: Rühl family inheritance, Nov 1853

Summons!
1. Philipp Rühl
2. Reinhardt Rühl
3. George Rühl
4. Anne Margaretha, born Rühl, wife of Christoph Müller
5. Louise, born Rühl, wife of Philipp Baum, and
6. Christiane Margaretha, born Rühl, wife of Philipp Schneider, born in Massenheim, Hochheim, Duchy of Nassau; now living in the vicinity of Milwaukee, are requested to come into the office of the undersigned, where they will hear news about an inheritance.
Milwaukee, 1 November 1853
Wm. Finkler, Office: East Water Street, Nr. 215

Translated from the "Wisconsin Banner" (Milwaukee, Wis. weekly ed.), 09 Nov 1853, Special adverts., pg 3 col 3; indexed at the Milwaukee Public Library


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February 10, 2010

Alex Haley and Roots

Alex Haley Coast Guard.pngOn February 10, 1992, American author Alex Haley died at the age of 70. Haley was best known for Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which, combining fact and fiction, described the history of his family beginning in mid-18th century Africa. Haley's fame grew after an eight-part dramatization of the book appeared on television in 1977. That same year, he received the Spingarn Medal, awarded annually by the NAACP for the highest achievement by an American of African descent. If you're inspired to research your own family tree, the Milwaukee Public Library has many books, as well as websites highlighted under Genealogy at the MPL home page's Recommended Links.

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September 1, 2010

Two new digital collections

The Milwaukee Public Library proudly presents its two latest digital collections: the Horace Seaman Wisconsin Infantry collection and the Milwaukee County Marriage Certificates.4th Wisconsin Infantry Officers
The Horace Seaman Wisconsin Infantry collection is comprised of 127 images from Colonel Horace M. Seaman. Most of the photos are of the 3rd and 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry units that served in the Spanish-American War. A number of the photos are from Colonel Seaman's service in the Wisconsin National Guard. A few personal photos of Colonel Seaman's father are also included.

A Milwaukee County marriage certificate
Milwaukee County Marriage Certificates is a collection of 20,000 marriage records and certificates from Milwaukee for the years 1822 through 1876. The records were discovered in the 1960s in a box at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. The box also included some miscellaneous documents pertaining to the marriage such as permission to marry slips, authorizations, and land deeds. Many of these documents were not in very good condition. Research by the Milwaukee County Genealogical Society (MCGS) indicates that most of these certificates are not recorded at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Some of the records appear in the Wisconsin Pre-1907 Marriage Index and some do not, as such these records are a significant addition to Milwaukee genealogy resources.

In 1999 the MCGS arranged to have the records refilmed, adding location citations. In 2000 MCGS volunteers created alphabetical indexes for bride and for groom. Roger Cobb with Lois Molitor acted as project coordinators. Over 42,000 names were put into the database that produced the indexes. Unfortunately, the original copies that were filmed in 1966 have vanished. In 2009 the microfilm copy of the marriage certificates was digitized. The digital images of the certificated were combined with the index created by the MCGS to produce this digital collection.


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September 6, 2011

Introduction to Genealogy at Washington Park Library

branch_washington.jpgJoe Williams of the African American Genealogical Society of Milwaukee will present a program on the basics of genealogy and how to get started doing genealogical research. This general introduction will be applicable to people of all nationalities and backgrounds. Everyone is welcome!

Saturday, September 10, 2011
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Washington Park Library, 2121 N. Sherman Blvd.

Explore strategies for discovering your ancestors and hear how to:

• Begin your search
• Interview family and family friends and learn what to look for in your home
• Search the census, death records, and indexes
• Discover other useful records and indexes to search


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February 14, 2012

Come to the Central Library to Explore Your Family Tree

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Investigate your family history with help from Humanities librarians and a brief introduction to library resources available for beginning genealogists. Held in the 2nd floor Krikelas Room. Reservations are not required.

Location: Central Library Conference Room 2A (Paul Gottfried Krikelas)
Date: Monday, February 20th, 2012
Time: 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM


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April 10, 2012

See the Treasures of the Great Lakes Marine Collection

William H Donner receiving cargo in Milwaukee.jpgLearn about a different aspect of the Milwaukee Public Library's Great Lakes Marine Collection each month. Of special interest to divers and genealogists, the program is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about Great Lakes history. There is no registration required. Please call Ready Reference at 414.286.3011 with any questions.

Location: Central Library's Krikelas Rm. (Conference Room 2A)
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Time: 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM


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January 15, 2013

Start Researching Your Family Tree @ The Library

Ahnentafel_Herzog_Ludwig.jpgInvestigate your family history with help from Humanities librarians and a brief introduction to library resources available for beginning genealogists. This hour long class will be held in the 2nd floor Krikelas Room. Reservations are not required, but you can call the Humanities desk at (414)286-3061 if you have any questions about the program.

Location: Central Library Krikelas Room
Date: Thursday, January 17, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM


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April 11, 2013

Researching Your Family Tree

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Investigate your family history with help from Humanities librarians and a brief introduction to library resources available for beginning genealogists. Held in the 2nd floor Krikelas Room on Thursday, April 18th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Reservations are not required. Please call Ready Reference at (414) 286-3011 with any questions.

Researching Your Family Tree
Date: Thursday, 4/18/2013
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: Conference Room 2A (Paul Gottfried Krikelas) / Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave


About Genealogy

This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Now @ MPL... in the Genealogy category. They are listed from oldest to newest.

Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library is the previous category.

Government is the next category.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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