The Forest Lawn Cemetery is located at 1800 Edgerton Street, just south of Minnesota Hwy. 36 in Maplewood. It is relatively small, especially compared to the enormous Calvary and Oakland cemeteries, both in St. Paul. But in terms of beautiful tombstones, it's one of the nicest in the area. Established in 1893, there are about 15,000 burials, many of which have unique artistic Victorian-era stones.
On Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 1 p.m., the Maplewood Area Historical Society is sponsoring a guided walking tour, titled "Cemetery Symbols and Superstitions." Ever wondered about the use of anchors on stones in Minnesota, far from the ocean? Or why some are tree trunks and others stumps? Here's your chance! The beliefs and superstitions behind those symbols will be explained, and costumed characters reminiscing about their lives will appear.
Advance reservations are $6, and should be mailed directly to Forest Lawn Cemetery, 1800 Edgerton St., Maplewood, MN 55117. Registration the day of the tour will be $8. This is a fund raiser for the Society.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Using the MHS Territorial/State Census Index
As usual with on-line indexes, some creativity will help you be successful as you use the Minnesota Historical Society's new index for the Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses.
First, like their birth and death indexes, it has some very helpful options in searching both surnames and given names in the pull down menu. These are in addition to 'exact,' which is a letter-for-letter match:
Finally, continue to carefully analyze your results. Some of the censuses included in the index were taken before Minnesota became a state, and a place of birth may be listed as 'MT.' This is very common on the 1857 census, and stands for 'Minnesota Territory,' and NOT the state of Montana. And don't forget, county borders changed considerably between the 1849 census and the 1905 version.
There is some great information only available in the state census, like the residency questions in the latter versions -- "How long have you lived in the state? in the enumeration district?" can help answer those questions about your family's migration. It's a great tool!
Mary
First, like their birth and death indexes, it has some very helpful options in searching both surnames and given names in the pull down menu. These are in addition to 'exact,' which is a letter-for-letter match:
- 'contains' allows you to enter a sequence of letters that you are confident will be in the name, when a person may have a nickname or two versions of the name. For example, if Elizabeth was sometimes known as Liza, you could use "contains Liza" and get hits for Elizabeth and Eliza in addition to Liza. Or if the family sometimes was O'Leary and other times just Leary, entering 'contains Leary' will get you both possibilities. (This option is particularly useful for the death record index, where some names are entered with Mrs., Dr., Prof., etc.)
- 'starts with' allows you to enter the beginning sequence, or just one letter. For example, you only have initials from your other sources. You can enter just one letter, the county, and the year, and get a list of possibilities. Or the name is one that is sometimes translated and sometimes not -- Lorenz, Lawrence, for example.
- 'ends with' allows you to enter the ending sequence.
Finally, continue to carefully analyze your results. Some of the censuses included in the index were taken before Minnesota became a state, and a place of birth may be listed as 'MT.' This is very common on the 1857 census, and stands for 'Minnesota Territory,' and NOT the state of Montana. And don't forget, county borders changed considerably between the 1849 census and the 1905 version.
There is some great information only available in the state census, like the residency questions in the latter versions -- "How long have you lived in the state? in the enumeration district?" can help answer those questions about your family's migration. It's a great tool!
Mary
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
