Well, I want to get some business out of the way first. Rootstech registration is opening September 24. The event itself is March 4-6, 2027. Great event with lots of speakers and topics for all levels of family historian. The online registration and event is typically free but I am not certain of that for this year. I just haven’t seen anything that says otherwise. You can, of course, attend in person in Salt Lake City, which isn’t free but it has the perks of the vendors, other family historians to visit with and, of course, the FamilySearch Library.

Ok, Thursday we heard about “Getting the Scoop on Digitized Historic Newspapers.” It was great. Lots of incredible information about the history of newspapers, where to find them, which are free and which cost, and how to use the online search tools in the major newspaper sites. The speaker, Eleanor Brinsko, had lots of great tips on what to do and what not to do when looking for information in historic newspapers. She suggested a book, The Family Tree Historical Newspaper Guide, for a great resource. Check out the HQRL bookstore as it may be on our shelf. If not it is on Amazon (what isn’t).

Eleanor suggested things to look for in newspapers besides just the names such as addressed, school and church information, advertisements, cooking tips and domestic advice columns, town gossip sections and local events. These things can help tell the story of life for you family when they were in the location as well as suggest links to look for to get more details. For example, an article might mention someone coming to dinner from out of town or attending a party. Names of people and locations they traveled from can give you hints for more research. I found my grandparents’ engagement and later their marriage information in the Portland, Oregon paper. They were from McMinnville, Oregon, 45min. away. Be open minded about where to look and look for information perhaps many year after they have passed. Their names may come up years later when an event is remembered in the community and/or paper. 

On another note, I have a holiday gift idea especially for those with young children. We have often talked about how to get young kids interested in their own family history. Here is a thought, children’s books from other countries. For my own curiosity (and possible early shopping ideas), I Googled “Children’s books from The Netherland” or “Dutch Children’s books.” I did the same thing form Irish, Scottish, German, Swiss, Northern Ireland, etc.  I got all sorts of titles and then looked to see if I could get them on Amazon (of course I could). There were the old standards like Hansel and Gretel, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Chronicles of Narnia, and Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates. I just learned this, did you know many of our standards came in variations in other countries? But there were also those familiar in the country they are from with characters like Miffy, Globi, Violet’s Voyages: Switzerland (includes a St. Bernard), and Our Wee Place. There were others probably from here about traveling other places like The ABCs of Amsterdam (England, etc) or Good Night England (Scotland, etc). You have to watch for the language it is written in and perhaps how scary it might be but there are tons of choices. And of course – HEIDI.

Shop and research to get your toddlers interested in their history!

Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.org