There is still time to sign up for these genealogy classes being held the weekend of June 14th and 15th. It's Father's Day Weekend - treat Dad, Grandpa, your Uncle or yourself to a genealogy class or two! If you mail your registration and payment by this coming Monday, June 9th, we should have it in hand for the classes. Please feel free to call us later next week if you haven't made up your mind in time to mail it. Genealogy Weekend! Warren Research Classes at the Minnesota History Center, St. Paul - Call 651-503-4802 for information. These one-session classes on family history and genealogy meet in the MacMillan Education Center on the second level of the Minnesota History Center. For directions to the History Center, call 651-296-1430. Instructors Jim and Paula Stuart Warren are nationally recognized genealogical researchers, lecturers and writers. All classes include handout material with Internet information. HOW TO REGISTER: Advance registration by mail is recommended. List the chosen class(es), your address, phone, and MHS membership number. Mail that information with the registration fees listed below (check payable to Warren Research) to: Warren Research, 1869 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104-5938. Refunds will be given when canceling in writing at least 10 days before class. Registration is taken at the door is space is available. For more information on these classes, call Warren Research at 651-503-4802 or e-mail [email protected] Ancestors Hanging On Your Family Tree: Using Court and Institutional Records Saturday, June 14, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Your ancestral families experienced some hard times; every family does. From the illness of a poor farmer to the prison years of a convicted criminal, court and institutional records document a wide range of ancestral situations. You may find a wealth of personal details and genealogical connections contained in these records. Do you have family stories concerning a family dispute, medical problems, criminal activity, or a mysterious disappearance? (Or ancestors the family won't talk about?) Sooner or later, every family historian encounters ancestors or ancestral cousins who had health, money, or legal problems. This session introduces a variety of court and institutional record examples, with suggestions for locating and fully using such records, and dealing with their contents. It will demonstrate how you can deepen your understanding and appreciation of your family's history by using these rich sources. Fee: $9; $7 for MHS members. Solve Genealogical Problems Like a Pro Saturday, June 14, 12:30 - 3:00 p.m. NOTE: Due to requests after we held this class earlier we have expanded the time for this to allow for additional discussion! Hear and see working examples of the tools, techniques, and methodology professional researchers use to solve all kinds of genealogical problems. This class uses real research problems and situations to help you learn to evaluate evidence, think through problems, search for appropriate resources, and move your own research forward. This is a hands-on workshop, so come prepared to learn by being involved! Several real research problems will be presented, to be discussed and analyzed by the instructors and the class. Class registrants are welcome to e-mail the instructors a one-page discussion of a genealogical problem; we will choose some of those as a basis for the handouts, examples, and discussions in the session. Note: This is not a beginner-level session but can be valuable for almost anyone with some research experience. The handout will contain both reminders of the techniques and examples of excellent research methodology articles. Fee: $16; $12 for MHS members. Resources of the National Archives Sunday, June 15, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Researchers often use federal census, military and pension records, and passenger arrival records. These are significant sources, but only a fraction of the genealogically useful records in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This session introduces researchers to NARA's nationwide system, its rich collections, and ways to access its holdings via on-site visits, e-mail, mail, and Family History Library microfilms. A wide range of record examples, finding aids, online sources, access options, and research tips will be discussed. Records related to your ancestors might contain birthplaces, parents' names, marriage dates, bible pages, photographs, and other helpful details. The lecture includes up-to-date information on exciting changes at NARA's Archives I building in Washington, D.C. and to NARA's Website. Fee: $9; $7 for MHS members. The WPA Era: What It Created for Genealogical Research Sunday, June 15, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. During tough economic times in the 1930s and 1940s, government programs put many people to work. The Works Progress/Projects Administration yielded a goldmine of records for today's genealogists. You may have used some of the WPA creations, including the census Soundex indexes and indexes to passenger arrival records. Learn about other WPA record transcriptions, courthouse and manuscript inventories, record indexes, newspaper clippings/indexes, and histories that may exist for your ancestral locales. We will discuss many of those WPA creations, and where they may be found today, including the wealth to be found at MHS for Minnesota and many other states. The session will also detail other places to find extensive collections of WPA creations and the tools to find them. Fee: $9; $7 for MHS members. Paula Stuart Warren, CGRS James W. Warren Authors of Your Guide to the Family History Library: How to Access the World's Largest Genealogy Resource (Includes recent updates on the library and Salt Lake City!) Warren Research and Publishing 1869 Laurel Ave. St. Paul, MN 55104-5938 e-mail: [email protected] phone: 651-503-4802 Web site: www.warrenresearch.com fax: 651-644-0883