My biggest discovery was probably AncestryLibrary. I was aware of it but had never used it before. After a very disappointing start trying to find myself, I found some wonderful old family documents and can certainly see how one could get lost in the past with this resource.
In my position, World Book is probably the most useful. It is the resource with which I am most familiar and I have referred my young patrons to it. Just knowing more about what is available electronically through the South Dakota State Library will make it easier to promote them to patrons. It was difficult to find the time to work through all the lessons, and I wish I could have invested more time to more thoroughly explore the resources, but it was a very worthwhile and beneficial experience. Thank you!
Monday, April 8, 2013
Lesson 9 - History and Genealogy Resources
1. I could not find myself in Ancestry.com, but I did find my husband. He was first in a results list of over four and a half million. His birthday was off by a couple years, but they did have our address. He's lived there since 1976 and it said since 1985.
2. This search was much more fun! I put in my grandmother's name and that she had lived in Vermillion. She was second on the results list and there was a link to an image of her marriage license from 1918. I also found her birthdate of April, 1894 on the 1900 Census for Clay County. I also looked up my grandpa on Dad's side and found the 1940 Census, when he was 46. It listed his wife and 10 of their 13 children, including my dad who was 11 at the time. There was also a map showing where their farm was located in Tripp County.
3. What a great feature! From the "Pictures" listings, I chose "U.S. Panoramic Photos" and found a wonderful picture of the South Dakota State House Grounds from 1913. I was trying to figure out where my house would eventually be. I lived about a block and a half from the Capitol.
4. I started out looking for information about Gregory and Tripp Counties in South Dakota, but didn't find anything. This search lead me to the book section where I found an interesting family history, The Ancestors of Charles Wesley Clabaugh and Louise Zimmerman Clabaugh and their Descendants. It appears to be a very thoroughly researched genealogy of a family from Illinois. I skimmed the early pages looking for a branch of the family tree that may have made it to South Dakota, but didn't find any.
5. I had a little trouble navigating the maps once I got them big enough to read. I chose Yankton in 1883 and was surprised to learn how many businesses there were at the time. There was a drug store, a book store, a jewelry store, a hardware story, a feed mill, and a cigar factory. And that was all in a four block area! There was a public school on Walnut Street just a couple blocks south of where the old middle school still stands. It is apartments now. Very interesting!
2. This search was much more fun! I put in my grandmother's name and that she had lived in Vermillion. She was second on the results list and there was a link to an image of her marriage license from 1918. I also found her birthdate of April, 1894 on the 1900 Census for Clay County. I also looked up my grandpa on Dad's side and found the 1940 Census, when he was 46. It listed his wife and 10 of their 13 children, including my dad who was 11 at the time. There was also a map showing where their farm was located in Tripp County.
3. What a great feature! From the "Pictures" listings, I chose "U.S. Panoramic Photos" and found a wonderful picture of the South Dakota State House Grounds from 1913. I was trying to figure out where my house would eventually be. I lived about a block and a half from the Capitol.
4. I started out looking for information about Gregory and Tripp Counties in South Dakota, but didn't find anything. This search lead me to the book section where I found an interesting family history, The Ancestors of Charles Wesley Clabaugh and Louise Zimmerman Clabaugh and their Descendants. It appears to be a very thoroughly researched genealogy of a family from Illinois. I skimmed the early pages looking for a branch of the family tree that may have made it to South Dakota, but didn't find any.
5. I had a little trouble navigating the maps once I got them big enough to read. I chose Yankton in 1883 and was surprised to learn how many businesses there were at the time. There was a drug store, a book store, a jewelry store, a hardware story, a feed mill, and a cigar factory. And that was all in a four block area! There was a public school on Walnut Street just a couple blocks south of where the old middle school still stands. It is apartments now. Very interesting!
Lesson 8: ArchiveGrid and CAMIO
Exercise 1: ArchiveGrid
1. I learned that Sitting Bull died while resisting arrest. He was being arrested for his unwillingness to give up the traditional Ghost Dance. I followed the link to Cornell University where his autograph card can be found in the Rare and Manuscript Collection. He had very nice penmanship! I found it interesting that he sold the autograph cards while touring with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
2. I entered "Roger Williams" in the search box in ArchiveGrid. From the results, I chose a letter from Roger Williams dated August 20, 1647. The link took me to the Library of Congress. I was unsuccessful at finding the letter there, but I did find The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, for cause of Conscience, discussed in a Conference between Truth and Peace... by Roger Williams dated 1644, in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. It's pretty amazing what is out there which can be accessed electronically!
Exercise 2: CAMIO
1. I knew from my American history lessons that Paul Revere was a silversmith, but I had no idea he did such fancy work! I found images of teaspoons, sugar bowls, tankards, goblets, platters, and a wine quart. My favorite is the Federal Style Tea Service and I was surprised to learn it is in Minneapolis at the Institute of Arts. I might have to go see it next time I'm in the cities to visit family.
2. The CAMIO search for "Sioux" gives me another good reason to visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Many of the 63 items shown can be found there. I was a little disappointed that none of the items shown can be found in South Dakota. The image collection includes many intricately beaded articles of clothing, a quilt, pipes, drawings, paintings (many by George Catlin), and a photograph of a Sioux mother and child. There were no paintings by Oscar Howe included and a separate search for him provided 0 results.
3. I was a little surprised that Georgia O'Keefe, Harvey Dunn, and Oscar Howe yielded no results. I thought maybe they were too contemporary. So I searched some other contemporary artists and found many images for Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol, and Ansel Adams. I searched for Vincent Van Gogh and that resulted in 48 of his paintings, including familiar ones like his self portrait and Sunflowers, but not my favorite of his, Starry Night.
4. I think CAMIO would be of value to art students at the University and history buffs. I was completely unaware of this resource and found it fascinating. I love that you can locate an artifact and find out where it is currently being housed so easily.
5. I searched for "Children Reading" and found many wonderful old images. I chose 4 and played around with them a little. It's a nice feature to be able to create a slideshow from images found on CAMIO.
1. I learned that Sitting Bull died while resisting arrest. He was being arrested for his unwillingness to give up the traditional Ghost Dance. I followed the link to Cornell University where his autograph card can be found in the Rare and Manuscript Collection. He had very nice penmanship! I found it interesting that he sold the autograph cards while touring with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
2. I entered "Roger Williams" in the search box in ArchiveGrid. From the results, I chose a letter from Roger Williams dated August 20, 1647. The link took me to the Library of Congress. I was unsuccessful at finding the letter there, but I did find The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, for cause of Conscience, discussed in a Conference between Truth and Peace... by Roger Williams dated 1644, in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. It's pretty amazing what is out there which can be accessed electronically!
Exercise 2: CAMIO
1. I knew from my American history lessons that Paul Revere was a silversmith, but I had no idea he did such fancy work! I found images of teaspoons, sugar bowls, tankards, goblets, platters, and a wine quart. My favorite is the Federal Style Tea Service and I was surprised to learn it is in Minneapolis at the Institute of Arts. I might have to go see it next time I'm in the cities to visit family.
2. The CAMIO search for "Sioux" gives me another good reason to visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Many of the 63 items shown can be found there. I was a little disappointed that none of the items shown can be found in South Dakota. The image collection includes many intricately beaded articles of clothing, a quilt, pipes, drawings, paintings (many by George Catlin), and a photograph of a Sioux mother and child. There were no paintings by Oscar Howe included and a separate search for him provided 0 results.
3. I was a little surprised that Georgia O'Keefe, Harvey Dunn, and Oscar Howe yielded no results. I thought maybe they were too contemporary. So I searched some other contemporary artists and found many images for Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol, and Ansel Adams. I searched for Vincent Van Gogh and that resulted in 48 of his paintings, including familiar ones like his self portrait and Sunflowers, but not my favorite of his, Starry Night.
4. I think CAMIO would be of value to art students at the University and history buffs. I was completely unaware of this resource and found it fascinating. I love that you can locate an artifact and find out where it is currently being housed so easily.
5. I searched for "Children Reading" and found many wonderful old images. I chose 4 and played around with them a little. It's a nice feature to be able to create a slideshow from images found on CAMIO.
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