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Wally Huskonen is available to speak at your daytime or evening meeting on the following topics:
Research Grandpa's Neighborhood Using Sanborn Maps
Fire insurance maps were produced by several companies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Collections of
these maps preserved on microfilm and in online databases show public, commercial, and industrial buildings
and dwellings with their street addresses in cities and towns over nearly 100 years. The maps can serve as
finding aids for genealogists and as learning aids for family historians. From a fire insurance map, a genealogist
can find churches, schools, and public places, and locate work places such as factories, stores, and other places
of business. A family historian can learn about a family’s dwelling, and by comparing maps from different years,
about changes in a neighborhood.
Using Maps to Track Down Your Ancestors
Using maps to find your ancestors. What maps can tell you about the life and times of your ancestors. How to
read a map. Using historical maps, plats and deed maps, gazetteers, topographical maps, and on-line mapping
services. Why maps of foreign countries are important. Where to find maps.
Interviewing Cousins and Other Relatives
Why you should collect oral histories. Preparing for an interview. Setting reasonable goals. The questions you
ask will make a difference. Taking notes. Recording the interview with audio tape recorder or video camera. Uses
for an interview recording. Transcribing an interview.
Planning Your Next Research Trip—Tips for Success
The better you prepare for your trip, the more success you’ll have. Setting goals. How to find out about
research resources at your destination and when they are open? Locating cemeteries ahead of time. Using the
Internet to visit courthouse and local genealogical society websites. Post queries on surname, local, and regional
mail lists. Why you should prepare a Research Book to take with you.
Secrets for Success in Searching the SSDI
Brief history of the Social Security Administration. What the Social Security Death Index is—and isn’t.
Requesting copies of social security applications. Information you’ll learn from an application. Delayed birth
certificates. Studies of given names. SSA on the Internet.
Collecting Death Certificates—Payoffs and Pitfalls
Why you should collect death certificates. How early deaths were recorded. The advent of statewide recording of
vital statistics. Records from local or county records offices versus state vital statistics offices. Information you'll
find on death certificates. Should you trust the informant? Certified copies versus genealogical copies.
Photocopies versus transcriptions. On-line state death indexes.
All presentations are accompanied by audio-visual support and handouts are provided for audience members.
To schedule a presentation to your group, contact Wally by telephone, e-mail, or letter:
Wallace D. Huskonen
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