Genealogy online

MINNESOTA DEATH, BIRTH CERTIFICATES ONLINE

Minnesota has one of the best online searchable sites for death and birth certificates. There are a few mistakes in spellings, but the counties are correct for all of them. Not all years are included, but from 1901 to 1904, and from 1908 to 2001 are fairly complete. There are a few death cards from before 1901 also.

The birthcertificate entries are from the years 1900 to 1934, with about 2,700 birth cards from before 1900. Not all births in Minnesota are included in the index.

Try the following website:

http://people.mnhs.org/dci/search.cfm?bhcp=1

OK, I may be going into this challenge a little more confidently than I should, but I want to see if there is someone I CANNOT help with their genealogy query. To give an idea of what questions you may send me, I’ll give a short rundown of a few I’ve solved in past years.

First, a woman in her 30s in Fargo didn’t know if her biological father was dead or alive. She had his name, birth year and places he may have about 20 years ago. I found and confirmed his death information within about two hours, and actually gave her his obituary within a few days - with his picture. Also, I found out that the woman had two half-siblings. I don’t know if they have made contact with one another, but I gave her their phone numbers.

Another time I had a request from a woman in Norway who was seeking distant relatives in the area where her great-uncle, a butcher, settled in South Dakota. I placed a small classified ad in the nearest South Dakota newspaper, describing what I knew of the man (his name, when he lived there, occupation, etc.). Within two weeks I had received seven letters in the mail, including one from the butcher’s granddaughter in Illinois. I put the Norwegian woman and the Illinois woman in contact and apparently there was an overseas visit to Norway within a few months.

And on to my brother-in-law. I wanted to make a book for him of his ancestry for a Christmas present one year. I had gathered some history from him, so the present wasn’t going to be a real secret – but more of a surprise as to how much information I could gather. Well, after four hours I had his ancestry traced on one line back 1,000 years – and spent the next couple of weeks filling in the gaps.

Dozens of other times I just randomly pick people’s "dead end" requests on Internet queries and send them what they are seeking – just for fun. Their reactions are really worth the work.

But sometimes I am the recipient.

One other time I had placed an Internet query about my great-great grandfather, including his full name, country of birth, and approximate birthdate. Approximately a year later a woman from Oklahoma sent me a message which included information proving my ancestor was a brother to her ancestor – and she had a list of nine siblings in the family, as well as their ancestry traced back to the 1500s. WOW! I finally found out how nice it was get have someone help me – very rewarding.

So, if you may want to have me give your question a try, I’ll be waiting.

Dan

One of the best, yet not very well-known, Web sites for doing genealogical research in Minnesota is the death and birth certificate online search. Minnesota has one of the best Web sites of all the states, far outpacing what is searchable online for North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa or Wisconsin.

The Web site is as follows:

http://people.mnhs.org/dci/search.cfm?bhcp=1

You may search index death cards from 1904 to 1907, and death certificates from 1908 to 2001 for people who died in Minnesota. You may search by surname, year of death, by mother’s maiden name, by county, or any combination therein. Awesome tool!

Then, you can move up to the birth certificate index in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage. This database includes babies born between the years 1900 and 1934 in Minnesota. There are approximately 2,700 individuals as listed "born before 1900," so you may take a shot in the dark there. Again, you may search newborns by surname, first name, birth year, county, mother’s maiden name, and any combination of the above.

You must keep in mind that these databases do not guarantee perfect information, and a good portion of people born in Minnesota during this period of time may not be included for one reason or another.

Happy hunting! Please, don’t hesitate to attempt to stump me with your "dead ends." I’ll take a crack at ‘em.

Warm regards, Dan

It may seem like a somewhat morbid way of looking at genealogy research, but really, a paper or electronic trail is what you need to get started. The basics of beginning a genealogical search include the following:

• Collect or write down as much as you know about a person you are seeking. Do not accept ANYTHING as fact unless you can document it, preferably twice or three times. The general items to begin a search include: full name, birth date, birth place, obituaries, death certificates, written or oral family histories, and whatever else can be found.
• After you have everything laid out in front of you, then you need to know a few Web sites to begin your search. I know dozens of great sites, for broad searches or for a narrow, focused search. One obvious site to begin a search is www.google.com. I usually just type a person’s name, in full, into google and see what pops up. If you type in "John Smith" you won’t have a focused search, so you may not have much luck with google. On the other hand, if your individual has a fairly uncommon surname, google may work great.
• Other sites to begin your search may include: www.cyndislist.com, www.ancestry.com, www.rootsweb.com, or www.familysearch.org. These sites are great starting places for a broad search, but beware that sometimes www.ancestry.com tries to get you to spend money for their information. Links off www.cyndislist.com also have pay sites.
• Another great site for finding people who have died more recently would be the Social Security Death Index. This database is fairly complete for the past 20 years, and less so in years previous – and it includes errors. I have found people in the database born in 1800 and died within the past 20 years, making them nearly 200 years old. So, just be careful with it. But, in my estimation, more than 99 percent of the information in here is correct and useable. It’s best site is: http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com. It is updated usually within two or three months of the present day, so very up-to-date.
• Another direction you may need to take your search is into different languages. You may think it’s necessary to find a human translator for your documents, but again, the Internet is a vast storage house of free help. I sometimes go to www.freetranslation.com for the more common languages. If that site doesn’t have what I’m looking for, I’ll go back to google and type in the language I’m seeking, plus the words "online translation." It will then direct me to a site that will roughly translate my text from one language to another for free. It’s nor perfect, but usually understandable.

So, for now I’ll close with the expectation of specific questions for me. I never charge for helping people and I have more than 20 years of experience with this great avocation.

Warm regards, Dan

Hello again!

I found myself scrolling down my long list of favorites this evening and somehow "forgot" that I used to write a blog. I last posted one about the time I was studying for my health/life insurance licenses last April. I have been immersed in the world of insurance for the past year, and am finally gaining a foothold in the company.

So much to know, so little time to earn commissions.

Getting back to the world of politics, I have become more of a back-of-the-church observer to national and regional politics in the past six months. But I have been listening.

The incessant polling and debating has become white noise to me now. There can be a sensory overdose when it comes to who said what today, who reacted to it, and who it will affect tomorrow. Certainly it is important who becomes the president in 2009, but the current system of endless fundraising and one-upsmanship is so juvenile.

I see faults in them all, and see some likeable characteristics also.

If I could elect my perfect president next November, I would take some pieces of the current candidates and mix them together with former politicians and leaders of the past. The following pieces may or may not be taken seriously. Maybe just something to wish for.

My perfect president would:

1. Have a global understanding of the world and nation, not one that ends at the tip of the nose. He or she would have to take a geography test before getting on any ballot, and must also know the names of at least 20 world leaders. And must know that Mexicans do not speak "Latin."

2. Develop the ability to change course when the course changes. Simply proclaiming the the sky is brown does not make it so. True strength is not staying the course at all costs – true strength is adapting to the conditions and coming out with the best outcome possible. Like a running back in football, the best way to the goal is not always straight ahead.

3. Use political diplomacy before using physical force. And being able to continue to use political diplomacy after the point of being forced into battle.

4. Not choke on pretzels.

5. Make it to at least the third round on "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"

6. Not pick a vice president who maintains employment ties to corporations, and receives deferred income in the form of stock shares while in office. And who knows that the leader of Peru is not Hugo Chavez. And who doesn’t shoot old men in the face.

7. Believe that the Geneva Conventions were not just written by liberal peaceniks, but by intellectuals and world leaders weary of war crimes – with the hope that human dignity comes above all else during times of conflict. No matter how undignified the enemy behaves.

8. Not lie to start a war. Or to simply "save" his political ass. Sometimes the masses can handle the truth a lot better than a president might think.

9. Not place unqualified friends or family in political offices just because he’s familiar with them. Just because I like my college roommate Guido doesn’t mean he should be the attorney general. It’s a ridiculous as, say, putting an Arabian horse expert in charge of FEMA.

10. Have the ability to work with Congress as an equal branch of government, as opposed to a theocracy of "conservative Christianity." I’m sure Jesus would bomb first, and ask questions later. But whatever.

11. Not underfund No Child Left Behind, while leaving no billionaire behind when it comes to tax time.

I’m not proclaiming that the above list is all I am looking for. But I certainly am looking forward to a changing of the guard. The past seven years have been pure misery and the commander-in-chief’s performance has been worse than miserable. Making mistakes is human – even normal – but refusing to acknowledge them and refusing to listen to anyone but the family dog is insane.

In the immortal words of Susan Powter, "STOP THE INSANITY."

Hello again!

I found myself scrolling down my long list of favorites this evening and somehow "forgot" that I used to write a blog. I last posted one about the time I was studying for my health/life insurance licenses in April. I have been immersed in the world of insurance for the past half year, and am finally gaining a foothold in the company.

So much to know, so little time to earn commissions.

Getting back to the world of politics, I have become more of a back-of-the-church observer to national and regional politics in the past six months. But I have been listening.

The incessant polling and debating has become white noise to me now. There can be a sensory overdose when it comes to who said what today, who reacted to it, and who it will affect tomorrow. Certainly it is important who becomes the president in 2009, but the current system of endless fundraising and one-upsmanship is so juvenile.

I see faults in them all, and see some likeable characteristics also.

If I could elect my perfect president next November, I would take some pieces of the current candidates and mix them together with former politicians and leaders of the past. The following pieces may or may not be taken seriously. Maybe just something to wish for.

My perfect president would:

1. Have a global understanding of the world and nation, not one that ends at the tip of the nose. He or she would have to take a geography test before getting on any ballot, and must also know the names of at least 20 world leaders. And must know that Mexicans do not speak "Latin."

2. Develop the ability to change course when the course changes. Simply proclaiming the the sky is brown does not make it so. True strength is not staying the course at all costs – true strength is adapting to the conditions and coming out with the best outcome possible. Like a running back in football, the best way to the goal is not always straight ahead.

3. Use political diplomacy before using physical force. And being able to continue to use political diplomacy after the point of being forced into battle.

4. Not choke on pretzels.

5. Make it to at least the third round on "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"

6. Not pick a vice president who maintains employment ties to corporations, and receives deferred income in the form of stock shares while in office. And who knows that the leader of Peru is not Hugo Chavez. And who doesn’t shoot old men in the face.

7. Believe that the Geneva Conventions were not just written by liberal peaceniks, but by intellectuals and world leaders weary of war crimes – with the hope that human dignity comes above all else during times of conflict. No matter how undignified the enemy behaves.

8. Not lie to start a war. Or to simply "save" his political ass. Sometimes the masses can handle the truth a lot better than a president might think.

9. Not place unqualified friends or family in political offices just because he’s familiar with them. Just because I like my college roommate Guido doesn’t mean he should be the attorney general. It’s a ridiculous as, say, putting an Arabian horse expert in charge of FEMA.

10. Have the ability to work with Congress as an equal branch of government, as opposed to a theocracy of "conservative Christianity." I’m sure Jesus would bomb first, and ask questions later. But whatever.

11. Not underfund No Child Left Behind, while leaving no billionaire behind when it comes to tax time.

I’m not proclaiming that the above list is all I am looking for. But I certainly am looking forward to a changing of the guard. The past seven years have been pure misery and the commander-in-chief’s performance has been worse than miserable. Making mistakes is human – even normal – but refusing to acknowledge them and refusing to listen to anyone but the family dog is insane.

In the immortal words of Susan Powter, "STOP THE INSANITY."

Pelosi, the first woman House speaker, said she had not discussed King Abdullah’s recent criticism of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, focusing instead on praise for the king’s Mideast peace initiative, and efforts to quell conflicts in Somalia and Darfur.

She met with the king Wednesday and with several members of the Shura Council, an unelected advisory assembly named by the king, on Thursday.

Asked if she had discussed the lack of women on the council, she told reporters, "The issue has been brought up in our discussions with the Saudis on this trip."

Pelosi arrived in Saudi Arabia from Syria, where she defied the White House’s Middle East policy by meeting with President Bashar Assad and saying "the road to Damascus is a road to peace." The Bush administration has rejected direct talks with Damascus and criticized Pelosi for her visit.

In an interview with ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney said Assad has "been isolated and cut off because of his bad behavior, and the unfortunate thing about the speaker’s visit is it sort of breaks down that barrier."

Pelosi was met at the Riyadh airport by officials including Abdul-Rahman al-Zamel, the head of the Saudi-American friendship committee at the Shura Council. He described the speaker’s visit as a "breakthrough" and praised the inclusion of the first Muslim member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., in her delegation.

Pelosi wore a lavender pantsuit instead of the long black robe, called an abaya, that women, Saudi and non-Saudi, have to wear in the kingdom.

Visiting women dignitaries are not expected to wear the robe, and other female U.S. government officials who have visited Saudi Arabia in the past few years, such as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, did not wear abayas when they met with Saudi officials.

Ihsan Abu-Holeiqa, a member of the council, said the meeting with Pelosi Thursday included discussion of the new difficulties Saudis have in getting U.S. visas, with some waiting four to five months. The lengthy process followed the Sept. 11 attacks carried out by 19 hijackers, 15 of them Saudis.

"We told her there should be some movement on the visa issue because, while we understand the security needs, the situation is unacceptable," said Abu-Holeiqa.

Al-Zamel also praised Pelosi’s visit to Syria, saying Syria "is part of this Arab world, part of the issues to be resolved, and to ignore people gets you nowhere."

Pelosi was the highest-ranking American politician to visit Syria since relations began to deteriorate in 2003. Then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell went to Damascus in May 2003.

Washington accuses Syria of backing Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups it deems terrorist organizations, and fueling Iraq’s violence by allowing Sunni insurgents to operate from its territory.

Pelosi’s visit heightened tensions between the Bush administration and congressional Democrats, who have stepped up their push for change in U.S. policy in the Mideast and the Iraq war.

But Democrats — and some Republicans — said the lack of dialogue had closed doors to possible progress in resolving Mideast crises.

Pelosi said she expressed to Assad "our concern about Syria’s connections to Hezbollah and Hamas" and militant fighters slipping across the Syrian border into Iraq.

"We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," said Pelosi, who met for three hours with Assad.

Assad has repeatedly said over the past year that Damascus is willing to negotiate with Israel, insisting the talks must lead to the return of the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War.

"He’s ready to engage in negotiations for peace with Israel," Pelosi said of the Syrian leader.

Sources: AP, AP correspondent Zeina Karam in Damascus, Syria