Genealogy: The WPA Era - Free Records Boon from the Government (Hybrid Event: Virtual and In Person) 

About

Join the Dakota County Historical Society and Certified Genealogist Paula Stuart-Warren for "The WPA Era: Free Records Boon from the Government."

Please note, this event is hybrid. When registering, please select whether you plan to attend in person, or virtual. Virtual attendees will receive a Zoom link as the presentation date approaches. Light refreshments will be served during in-person programs.

During tough economic times in the 1930s and 1940s, government programs put many to work. The Works Progress / Projects Administration and the Historical Records Survey created a goldmine of records that are useful for today's genealogists. WPA record transcriptions, courthouse and manuscript inventories, indexes, city / county histories, and histories of businesses and families may exist for your ancestral locale. We will discuss many of those WPA creations, some of which you already use regularly, and where others may be found today. We will also discuss the online explosion of WPA materials.

Paula is an internationally recognized genealogical educator, researcher, and consultant focusing on unusual resources, manuscripts, methodology, and analyzing records. She also specializes in railroads, the WPA, and Native American records. She has spent extensive research time at libraries, courthouses, state archives, historical societies, and at various locations of the U.S. National Archives. She is currently a coordinator and instructor for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, has presented courses for several institutes and academies, and continues to present virtual seminars and webinars across the U.S. and in Canada. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Minnesota Genealogical Society, and the Association of Professional Genealogists. She currently has her own educational website and blog at http://genealogybypaula.com and is enthusiastic about sharing knowledge and continuing education.

Registration is required for this event, though walk-ins are allowed for the in-person program. Register at https://dakotahistory.org/events/952-sep-21-genealogy-the-wpa-era-free-records-boon-from-the-governm...