Official blog of Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries. Be sure to follow us on Facebook. Send news to newsletter@genealogyfriends.org.
Reclaim The Records is a non-profit activist group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and open government advocates. They identify important genealogical record sets that are wrongly restricted by government archives, libraries, and agencies. They file Freedom of Information and Open Data requests to get the public data released. If the government doesn't comply they take them to court. The records are digitized and put online for free.
Thanks to their efforts here are a few of the records that are now available:
New Jersey Marriage Index 1901-2016
Missouri Death Index, 1968-2015
New York State Marriages (Outside of New York City) 1881-2017
New York State Death Index 1880-2017
The BIRLS (Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem) Database
Wyoming Marriage, Death, and Divorce Indices, 1900-1965
Maryland State Archives Collection
Visit their website for a full list https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/
Sign up for their newsletter https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/#newsletter
Kelli Bergheimer founded a DNA group Genetics, Genealogy and You. They meet on the 3rd Sundays from 5-7 pm EST online. The meeting are 30 minutes of updates followed by a 60 minute presentation and Q&A.
They have a DNA Day Event coming up on April 26th that is free to join.
Topic: DNA Day event
Time: Apr 26, 2026 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83306692927?pwd= N3mb0IhvX0fOjOFYR4cxQhyRPBRGap .1
Meeting ID: 833 0669 2927
Passcode: 584298
Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046358384221#
I remember the date of April 15 in two different ways - first, as my grandmother's birthday and, of course, filing my taxes over the years.
If you'd like to explore tax records from 1791-1996, check NARA Record Group 58 at:
https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/058.html
For easier perusing, try Cyndi's List using the Taxes category:
https://www.cyndislist.com/taxes/general/
Someone in our GenFriends group said "I don't have any inventors in my family". Come listen to Judy on Saturday. I thought the same thing until last year when I found a family member involved as a contractor in the farming community.
I know of one distant cousin who applied for a patent shown below:
J. T. WELLS. TRUSS FOR BUILDINGS OR BRIDGES. No. 401,870.
Patented Apr. 23, 1889.
"Be it known that 1, JOHN TALCOTT Wants, of Scottsville, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Truss for Buildings or Bridges.
The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved truss for buildings for simplicity with great strength, and at the same time dispensing with metallic braces, thus making it a very cheap structure.
The invention consists of two parallel arches formed of bent boards or any material used in building and connected with each other by posts and braces."
Accompanying drawings, specifications, and letters of reference apparently were also included in the application.
Want to see what the barns look like? Check this website - https://www.wellsbarnhistory.com/introduction/
Add to comments on this post with any patent and/or inventor discoveries you find!
U.S. Census Records currently are available from 1790 to 1950.
How time has flown! The 1950 Census was released on April 1, 2022 - four years ago.
Come to Research at the Library on 4/11/26 to ask and/or share your Census insights from your family research. See 1880 Agricultural Schedule for what I learned about my family in Scriba, Oswego, NY.
After this month's Research at the Library, we'll continue learning about Other Censuses at a future session.
Don't forget that you also can learn about the Census more at:
https://www.census.gov/en.html
The 250th anniversary of the United States (July 4, 2026) is officially known as the Semiquincentennial. It marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. There is a focus on resources to research ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War on both sides. Here are a few that might help:
