Fellowship of Rotarian Genealogists

08/30/2026

It's Day 4 at the Minnesota State Fair! Stop by the Education Building and say hello to our volunteers and learn more about what you can do at MGS!

08/27/2026

Here is a twist on gravestones

It's part cookbook, part love letter to the people who left their favorite recipes behind. Readers call it "ingenious," "uplifting," and "unlike anything I've ever read."

08/24/2026

Have you ever searched Ancestry® for an ancestor you know should be there... only to come up empty? https://youtu.be/eYzJKp-jnFI&list=UULFcvpi8XvOScBogIxmarmADw

The problem may not be your ancestor—it may be how you're searching.
In this video, I'll walk you through 10 practical search strategies I use when Ancestry isn't finding the records I know should exist. These are the same evidence-based techniques I use in my own professional genealogy research to uncover hidden records, work around indexing errors, and find ancestors who seem to have disappeared.

In this video you'll learn how to:
• Search with purpose instead of searching broadly
• Use the "less is more" approach to improve search results
• Take advantage of the Card Catalog like professional genealogists
• Search the FAN Club (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors)
• Find records despite spelling and indexing errors
• Search using only first or last names when needed
• Understand record collections before concluding a record doesn't exist
• Use AI tools to help transcribe and translate historical records
• Preserve records you find outside of Ancestry
• Master my favorite technique—the Side Panel Trick—to browse records page by page when search fails

Sometimes the fastest way to break through a brick wall is to stop relying on search and start thinking like the records were created.
If this video helps you, please subscribe for more evidence-based genealogy education to help you go further, faster, and factually with your family history research.

08/24/2026

https://genealogybargains.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/CHEAT+SHEET+Huguenot+Genealogy.pdf

08/19/2026

08/15/2026

This is part of a newsletter from Geneanet. They have lots of good genealogy information. Not an endorsement but worth checking out.

08/14/2026

WSGS always has good speakers

Registration is now available for our Fall Conference in Mineral Point, WI

Register online: https://wsgs.getrecur.com/events/view/RU1BSUw6JlNPVVJDRTpXZWJzaXRlQnVpbGRlciZTVUJDUklCRVJJRDotMSZHVUlEOmIyYmM0MmM5LWUwNWUtNDUyOC04YTBmLTlmNTBkZmZiNWMwZQ%3D%3D

You can download, print and mail in the registrations here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2fre6dwe8tr4mpri1x7ue/Fall-Conference-Full-Registration-and-Talks-1.pdf?rlkey=rwvnn0acvjk8em1nn4k77y7d6&dl=0

2026 WSGS Fall Conference!
“When Genealogy Yields Painful Family Secrets”
October 9-10, 2026 at Quality Inn, Mineral Point, WI
Host Society: Lafayette Historical and Genealogy Society

Friday’s Speakers and Presenters
Jeanette Bowman Borich has written historical fiction short stories and non-fiction based upon her genealogy research. She is the author of “From Sonvilier to Canada to Illinois: A Remarkable Swiss Emigration Story.” The South Dakota State Historical Society awarded her a 2025 grant to research Jefferson, South Dakota’s French Settlement.
Bethany Brander is the site manager for Pendarvis and First Capitol historic sites in Mineral Point and Belmont, WI.
Shan Thomas is the archivist at the Mineral Point Library Archives. In 2025 the Archives was awarded the Governor’s Award for Archival Excellence.
Saturday’s Speaker
Kate Penney Howard is a genetic genealogist and speaker specializing in endogamy and breaking down challenging research barriers with DNA. Her speaking engagements include RootsTech, Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies, East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference, the International Congress on Medieval Studies, the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe, the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, and the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium, in addition to many state and county level organizations. Learn more at https://katepenneyhoward.com/

Saturday Lunch $20
Cornish Pasty Meal from Walker House
• Walker House Salad with spring greens, tomatoes, diced apples, raisins, craisins, fiesta cheese
• Saffron Buns from our Bakery
• Cornish Beef Pasty with House sauce on the side (award-winning from the Food Network!)
o Chicken, vegetarian, and gluten-free beef pasties also available.
• Desert: Sweet Surprises from our Bakery

Schedule
October 9, 2026: Friday Pre-Conference
11:30 a.m. Registration Opens
1:00 p.m. Session 1: Jeanette Bowman Borich, “Shullsburg’s Lead mine, French Canadian and Swiss Immigration and Emigration in the early- to mid-1800s”
2:00 p.m. Break
2:15 p.m. Session 2: Bethany Brander, “200 Years of ‘Pointers’”
3:30 p.m. Two optional tours to choose from!
Free Tour of Mineral Point Old Pioneer Cemetery with Shan Thomas, Archivist (weather permitting)
OR
Pendarvis tour ($11.00) with Bethany Brander https://pendarvis.wisconsinhistory.org/plan/

October 10, 2026: Saturday Conference
8:00 a.m. Registration and Vendors Open
9:00 a.m. Welcome: John Fassbender, WSGS President; Presentation of Wisconsin Historical Society/WSGS Family History/Genealogy Book Award
9:30 a.m. Session 1: Kate Penney Howard, “Using Artificial Intelligence to Amplify your Genealogical Work”
10:30 a.m. Break/Vendor Exhibits
10:45 a.m. Session 2: Kate Penney Howard, “When Family History Hurts: A Trauma-informed Approach”
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Session 3: Kate Penney Howard, “Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt: Using DNA to Affirm Documentary Evidence”
2:30 p.m. Break, Last chance to check out vendors!
3:00 p.m. Session 4: Kate Penney Howard, “Murder in the Mountains: Solving a Paternity Case with DNA and Court Records”
4:30 p.m. WSGS Board Meeting
Hotel Information
The WSGS Fall Conference will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 9-10, 2026 at the Quality Inn in Mineral Point, WI. Room block options include 1 King bed or 2 Queen beds, $120 for single and double occupancy. Extra occupants $10.
Reserve a room by September 9 by calling the hotel directly: (608) 987-4747
https://www.choicehotels.com/wisconsin/mineral-point/quality-inn%20hotels/wi083?mc=llgoxxpx