Author Archives: debbiemieszala

Advancing Your Education: RootsTech 2024 Virtual Attendance

RootsTech, billed as “the world’s largest family history conference,” runs 29 February to 2 March 2024. Many genealogists are in Salt Lake City for the event. There is a free virtual attendance option for those who could not make it … Continue reading

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Expanded Minnesota Original Birth Certificate Access Begins 1 July 2024

Paula Stuart-Warren is an expert on Minnesota genealogical research. She offers great insight on repositories and resources. Her blog, Genealogy by Paula, is an enjoyable read. In August 2023 she wrote about Minnesota’s move to open original birth certificate (OBC) … Continue reading

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Are We There Yet? Introducing Historic West Virginia Law

No ancestor on my pedigree chart hailed from West Virginia. I don’t have a state-related ancestral tale to tell, but there is always a story.

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“Pikers,” “Dead Heads,” and a Second as the First: Introducing the Historic Law Collection of Hawaii

As a second child, James Cairn McBride’s parents might not have expected him to grow into a man of firsts.[1] Under his alter-ego, J. C. “Bud” Mars, James threw Hawaii’s first flight-related tantrum.[2]  

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“He lays his trouble to a cigar,”: Introducing Historic California Law

Captain Thomas D. McBride was first believed dead in 1883.[1] Final reports of his demise, 17 years later, were accurate.[2]

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South Dakota Revises Law on Original Birth Certificate Access

South Dakota’s governor signed HB 1231 into law on 23 March 2023.[1] The law allows an adult adopted person (age 18) to obtain their original birth certificate upon written request and proof of identification.[2]

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Advancing Your Research: A Peek at a Pennsylvania Presbyterian Newspaper

Chances are an ancestor’s obituary was annoyingly absent from their local newspaper. If the search was limited to a hometown paper, research may have stopped too soon.

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