VIRGINIA HANSON, a South Dakota government records archivist, presents on reading historical documents during a genealogy workshop at the Karl E. Mundt Library on Monday. The workshop, hosted by the Lake County Museum, gave its guests tools to track their family lineage.
VIRGINIA HANSON, a South Dakota government records archivist, presents on reading historical documents during a genealogy workshop at the Karl E. Mundt Library on Monday. The workshop, hosted by the Lake County Museum, gave its guests tools to track their family lineage.
Virginia Hanson didn’t play with the other children at family picnics. She listened to her family’s stories.
This interest in her family history led Hanson to study her genealogy, or her family history and lineage. Now, Hanson is a South Dakota government records archivist who presents workshops on genealogy across the state.
The Lake County Museum hosted Hanson’s genealogy workshop, titled “Attics to Online: Finding and Recording Your Family History,” at the Karl E. Mundt Library on Monday. The event, which started at 6 p.m., gave attendees a chance to learn about free and low-cost genealogical resources and to ask Hanson questions about tracing their family trees.
“I did it [genealogy research] out of curiosity, and I learned that my family homesteaded. It made me realize I’m part of something bigger,” Hanson said. “You’re part of history.”
Hanson recommended people start researching their genealogy at their homes and the homes of their parents and grandparents. Old documents, family photos and oral histories can provide a wealth of information and provide a starting point.
She told attendees to document the information carefully and keep it organized. Writing down where, when and how one got information and making copies of documents can help a genealogy researcher retrace their steps and go back if he or she needs more details. A detailed family tree or pedigree can help people keep track of what they have already and what they need to research.
Once a researcher has a starting point, he or she can go to a public library or local newspaper to look for obituaries, marriages and birth announcements in archived newspapers. One can also look at county records, like wills, and national records like the census and naturalization document. Schools, churches and cemeteries could also have valuable information. The state archives in Pierre also hosts important documents which can be used in genealogical research.
Public libraries can help people access online genealogy resources, like Ancestry or Heritage Quest, for free. The South Dakota State Archives website, history.sd.gov/archives/, can help interested parties access cemetery records, newspaper indexes, naturalization records and more.
It can be a lot of work, but Hanson said knowing one’s family history can ground people and inspire them to make changes in their lives.
“To know that’s part of your history, that your ancestors worked so hard to become even moderately successful...can help a person mentally get out of a rut,” Hanson said.
Like Hanson’s childhood family picnics, the workshop gave the 17 attendees a chance to discuss their family history with others. Several, including Donna Mathison, shared stories with other attendees and learned about their relatives’ family connections and business dealings.
Mathison started researching her genealogy in 2020. She realized she knew little about her family tree, especially her dad’s side, and started going to the library to collect family members’ obituaries. Then, she went online to Ancestry to find marriage records. Since then, she has researched 33 generations on one side of her family.
“That is amazing. We’ve done a lot of work,” she said. “It’s just a wealth of information you find out.”
Originally, the event was planned for November 2022, but it had to be rescheduled due to illness and weather. It cost $10 to register.
Julie Breu, the Lake County Museum’s director, said the museum staff are “happy with the turnout” and hope to see people come to their upcoming events. About 1,600 people attended museum events and programs in 2022, she said.
“For a little museum, we’re really making some headway, especially, as like most museums, we took a big hit during COVID,” she said.
The museum’s next event, titled “Mighty Bison,” will give children a chance to learn about the animal’s history and cultural significance, as well as work on a craft. It will take place Feb. 23 from 3:30-5 p.m.