Category Archives: Genealogy

Just Shelved: Germans, Canadians, and Iowans–Oh, My!

We are now the proud owners of volume 25 and 26 of Kevin M. Hansen’s Map Guide to German Parish Registers.  These volumes primarily contain information on the Lutheran and Catholic parishes of the Kingdom of Saxony, but other churches are also … Continue reading

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Those Vital, Vital Records

To a genealogist, vital records are the mainstay of his or her research, the triumvirate of documentation.  Birth, marriage, and death records pin down a life from start to finish and connect an unbroken (one hopes) line from one generation … Continue reading

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An Invitation

Find all the leaves (and maybe a couple of nuts??) on your family tree at the Richardson-Sloane Special Collection Center’s Fall Genealogy Night. Spend this special evening with other genealogists and access the best collection of genealogy records and historic … Continue reading

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Ode to Oakdale

 One of the difficulties in locating death records in Iowa is that they did not exist prior to 1880.* This means that roughly fifty years worth of ancestors passed away in our state without leaving behind that vital (if you’ll pardon … Continue reading

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Researching the Records of England

If you were fortunate enough to attend the Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society meeting on the first of June, you learned all sorts of interesting things about early English records from Pam Langston.  One thing that really surprised me is … Continue reading

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New Old Stuff, Old New Stuff!

New to the Special Collections Center’s Iowa vital records microfilm cabinet is Lee County.  Thirty-five rolls of births, delayed births, deaths, marriages and even a few naturalizations are ready for use the next time you come in. Lee County is … Continue reading

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Just Shelved: Family Histories

Because our Center can’t purchase every family history available, and because some family histories are beyond the reach of the usual library selection resources, we rely on donations—and the Scott County Genealogy Society—to keep our collection of nine-twenty-nine-point twos*  thriving. … Continue reading

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Mission Accomplished: Census Mortality Schedules

A few weeks ago, we mentioned the addition of two new indexes to our collection of searchable databases.  One of these was the Mortality Schedules for Scott County, Iowa. Mortality Schedules are the section of each Federal Census that provides … Continue reading

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Guilty Pleasures: Genealogy Blogs

Blogging is huge right now, and genealogy blogs are booming. Although our little blog hasn’t made one of these lists yet, some very thought provoking ones have. So next time you have a few minutes, you may want to do … Continue reading

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In Defense of Ordinary Ancestors

“An Authority said not long ago that there are only 40 or 50 American families that are in any way entitled to the insignia of nobility, but you cannot get the average American who has made money to believe that.  … Continue reading

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