Anyone familiar w/ the Minnesota Historical Society Library - Family research question (Minneapolis: transfer)

[Klhbrown]

Has anyone ever done family history research at the Historical Societies library? I'm curious as to how it works. Are there employees or volunteers there to assist you? I wouldn't know where to begin!

I'm looking for an adoption record for my grandmother from 1909. Adoption records are sealed for 100 years, so hers should be open as of 2009. She was supposedly found in Loring Park in MPLS and taken to a orphanage where she was adopted the same year by folks from Underwood (by Fergus Falls).

It's a long shot, but is anyone familiar with this? What orphanages in MPLS existed during that period and would serve the Loring Park area? Would it even be logical for someone in 1909 to travel 175 miles to adopt a child or would they do it locally? Would it be possible she was found in Loring Park but transfered to an orphanage 175 miles away? It just doesn't make much sense considering the transportation options available then.

Thanks for any help you can give!

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Klhbrown

Has anyone ever done family history research at the Historical Societies library? I'm curious as to how it works. Are there employees of volunteers there to assist you? I wouldn't know where to begin!

I'm looking for an adoption record for my grandmother from 1909. Adoption records are sealed for 100 years, so hers should be open as of 2009. She was supposedly found in Loring Park in MPLS and taken to a orphanage where she was adopted the same year by folks from Underwood (by Fergus Falls).

It's a long shot, but is anyone familiar with this? What orphanages in MPLS existed during that period and would serve the Loring Park area? Would it even be logical for someone in 1909 to travel 175 miles to adopt a child or would they do it locally? Would it be possible she was found in Loring Park but transfered to an orphanage 175 miles away? It just doesn't make much sense considering the transportation options available then.

Thanks for any help you can give!

I did go over one afternoon (7-8 years ago) to the Minneapolis branch to research the history of the block/neighborhood that our downtown office building sat on and the amount of documentation was to say the least, staggering. The "librarians" are more than willing to provide assistance and most of the info was on microfiche but easy to access and comprehend. They have everything from newspaper articles, to tax records to census forms, etc. A lot of the good info we got was building permits filed for the addresses around our block. They even had receipts for the construction incidentals for a building that was built in the early 20th century.

I would imagine the further you get away from downtown/metro neighborhoods, the more limited information you will find. Howeve, the guy I was working on the project with, had family up in NW Minnesota and on a whim I looked up his (not-to-common) last name and found a newspaper clipping of one of his ancestor's death that occurred from a lumber-jack accident near the turn of the century. He of course knew of the accident but had never seen the newspaper account.

We also went to the St Paul building and while we didn't spend as much time there they had as much, if not more documentation and tended to have more in the way of photos and images.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by Klhbrown

Has anyone ever done family history research at the Historical Societies library? I'm curious as to how it works. Are there employees of volunteers there to assist you? I wouldn't know where to begin!

I'm looking for an adoption record for my grandmother from 1909. Adoption records are sealed for 100 years, so hers should be open as of 2009. She was supposedly found in Loring Park in MPLS and taken to a orphanage where she was adopted the same year by folks from Underwood (by Fergus Falls).

It's a long shot, but is anyone familiar with this? What orphanages in MPLS existed during that period and would serve the Loring Park area? Would it even be logical for someone in 1909 to travel 175 miles to adopt a child or would they do it locally? Would it be possible she was found in Loring Park but transfered to an orphanage 175 miles away? It just doesn't make much sense considering the transportation options available then.

Thanks for any help you can give!

I'd start by contacting the Minneapolis Collection at the downtown Minneapolis library (part of the Hennepin County system). Their staff is REALLY good and extremely helpful. I find it much more user-friendly than the Minnesota Historical Society, at least for initial research. Hennepin History Museum is another very useful resource; you can email their archivist. They are also located in Minneapolis and have extensive Minneapolis-specific resources. After checking in with those places, I'd visit MHS over in St. Paul. You can also search some of their records online; many of their photos, for example, are all online these days (as are many photos in the Minneapolis Collection). Their staff is also very good (and can help point you to the right resources), and their resources state-wide, but it's a busy place and a bit more intense as a first stop.

If you don't find research fun or can't visit in person, MHS has a list of independent researchers who can help you. You work out the fees directly with them; they're not affiliated with MHS.

As far as transportation goes, people moved around quite a bit then, even if it wasn't as easy as hopping into a car and speeding along on a freeway. There's been quite a bit of research on orphanages in the Minneapolis area, so perhaps one of the archivists will know if there was any kind of formalized movement of kids from Minneapolis to Fergus Falls.

There are also many historic newspapers available online; they may not give you the answers that you need, but you may be able to find all sorts of other relevant, interesting information. Check the database section of your local library website, at least as a starting point (you need to have a library card, but you can search from home.). Some of these papers have excellent key word searches.

Good luck! Archivists are generally a very friendly lot, and they are there to help you.

ETA: bring paper and pencils (no pen), and in the case of MHS, some quarters to put your purse/bag into a locker. You'll probably want to bring change with you to the library, too, in case you want to make copies (HHM as of last time I was there had you pay the front desk attendant directly). You will typically have to fill out some registration forms when you first visit, and in the case of MHS they'll then give you a formal researcher card that is updated annually. It's free, but just build in a couple of extra minutes for the initial paperwork.