Researching family history using local and virtual resources
Will Craig and Laura Ericksen discuss how they research family history using local and virtual resources. Recording below.
Researching family history using local and virtual resources
Wed, Mar 5, 2025, 10am
You are invited to the March 5 meeting via Zoom of the Family History Interest Group (FHIG) for presentations by Will Craig and Laura Ericksen on researching family history using local and virtual resources.
Will Craig shared the story of his great-grandfather George Swift, a drummer boy in the Civil War, in a 2021 FHIG presentation on Civil War Ancestors. Since then, Will has learned even more using local resources, including city directories, the Minnesota and Robbinsdale historical societies, old newspapers, high school yearbooks, Hennepin County land records, and the U of M Archives. This presentation will focus on the range and value of the local sources available to us all.
Have you heard about the RootsTech annual conference? Laura Ericksen's presentation will discuss attending “the world’s largest family discovery event” virtually. She will also give an overview of the types of sessions offered to assist you in your genealogy research, along with some fun extras from last year’s conference.
Contact Craig Swan at [email protected] or Lynn Anderson at [email protected] to get the link to join the FHIG Zoom meeting from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 5.
Upcoming Events
Meeting to plan books for next year.
There has been a lot in the news recently about the University of Minnesota Medical School, University of Minnesota Physicians, and Fairview Health Services. Please join us at breakfast on January 8 for a respectful and engaging discussion of their relationship.
The theme for January is great MN views.
52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust by William Alexander will be the selection for discussion when the UMRA Book Club gathers via Zoom for its first monthly meeting of 2026.
Developing a sense of identity is a central psychological task of the lifespan. Memories and stories from our personal past, as well as cultural memories and stories in society play key roles in how we develop our identities. This presentation will discuss psychological theory and research on how memories and stories make us who we are.
When you are of Icelandic descent you can trace your ancestors back to around 1200 and sometimes further.
Bleak House by Charles Dickens.
Here’s another great opportunity to buy discounted tickets and join your UMRA friends to cheer for the Gophers when the Women’s Basketball team hosts the Purdue Boilermakers at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on February 1.
Join fellow UMRA members for a morning hike in Theodore Wirth Park to celebrate Groundhog Day on Monday, February 2.
UMRA’s special event for this winter will again be a celebration of brighter days and the approaching end of winter. We’ll have food, fellowship, and music provided by Urban Sound, one of the University’s premier student a cappella ensembles.
Family history with Jim Kurle. A tale of Swedish emigration to Dunn County, North Dakota, including my grandfather whose unusual relationship to several churches and religion in general was one of the reasons for his emigrating.
UMRA’s Cabinets of Curiosity tour on Thursday, February 12, will offer an inside look into the rich resources of the University Libraries Borchert Map Library. Map Librarian Ryan Mattke will showcase the treasures and innovations of one of the largest map libraries in the U.S.
Growing Up by Russell Baker.