Prairie Roots Genealogy

Tomorrow! Join me and the Ontario Genealogical Society's Irish Special Interest Group (SIG) for my presentation "Irish Migrations to Canada." If you have Irish ancestors in North America, even if you aren't aware of a Canadian connection, you may be surprised at just how many Irish immigrants arrived and settled there. We'll talk about the waves of migration from Ireland to Canada, why immigrants chose to travel to Canadian ports vs. U.S. ports, and more! This event is free and open to all, you just have to register on Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/TMPx_bsVT52e4c9MBXvWBw

(Link will also be on the Prairie Roots Genealogy website!)

If you live in the Fox Valley, I hope you will join us at the Appleton Public Library today at 2pm for my talk "Crafting a Compelling Family Narrative - Tips and Tricks for Improving Your Genealogical Writing."

It will only be live if you attend in person, and you can find the details at the link below. I hope to see you there!

https://appleton-wi.whofi.com/calendar/event/1278394

Happy from the Prairie Roots interns: Skittles (19, brown and white), Bishop (8, tuxie in a sunbeam), Veronica (8, black), and Dipper (4, tuxie in doll bed). These four dedicate a lot of time to my genealogical research, mostly by napping by me while I work. Do you have cat helpers for your genealogy?

Looking back on where I started as a genealogist, there are so many things I wish someone had told me early on.

As a professional, I’ve learned that building an accurate family tree isn't just about collecting names—it's about how you analyze the evidence, organize your records, and look beyond searchable databases.

Here are 7 lessons I wish I knew before starting my family history journey:

1️⃣ Facts without sources are just clues

2️⃣ Preserve high-resolution scans of documents early

3️⃣ Verify family stories with original records

4️⃣ Conduct family oral history interviews before it’s too late

5️⃣ Establish consistent naming and filing standards from day one

6️⃣ Look beyond searchable online databases

7️⃣ Genealogists analyze evidence—move from gathering to solving

What’s one lesson you wish you had learned earlier in your research? Drop it in the comments below!

🔗 Read the full blog post for deep dives and practical tips: https://www.prairierootsgenealogy.com/blog/what-i-wish-i-knew-before-starting-genealogy-7-lessons-from-a-professional (or link in bio!)

Today! Join us on the Lee Rayburn Show today to talk about the changes to Canadian citizenship law:

https://www.wpr.org/shows/the-lee-rayburn-show

My great grandfather Joseph Asselin had a head for business, including using ads like this one to promote his meat market and grocery store in Calumet, Michigan. This ad ran right next to a competitor's, which is probably the reason for the punchy copy aimed at drawing the eye. Let's be honest that these prices, even adjusted for inflation (which would make it $6.03 for prime beef roast), would certainly cheer us up today!

In a bittersweet twist, this page also featured the news of the first local casualty of World War I, the war that would also kill Joseph's son Emile (who I posted about recently) four years later.

Advertisement: The Calumet News, Friday, 25 September 1914, page 8, column 7: https://www.newspapers.com/image/174329662/

If you needed a reminder of the value of alllllll the records that aren't digitized that are out there for your genealogy research, consider this it.

Recently, I wanted to learn more about a newspaper story where my great uncle Emile Asselin (who died in France during World War I) returned home to Calumet, Michigan from a "military academy" in De Pere, Wisconsin. After some research and some help from local historical resources like the Brown County Historical Society and the Diocese of Green Bay Archives, I narrowed it down to most likely being the preparatory high school that had once been part of St. Norbert College in De Pere. (Side note: let this also be your reminder to accept nothing at face value, as this wasn't a military academy at all!)

Today, I got an email FULL of information from the friendly local archivist at St. Norbert College, which included yearbooks, information about attendance, and minutes from a literary society... for not just my great uncle Emile, but also his brothers Albert and Donat and his cousin Belus! I had no idea there were other Asselins who attended this school, but the breadcrumbs of that newspaper article about Emile led me to a rich pile of information about the teen years of four different family members. Wonderfully, this included this photo from 1908 of a group of students from Upper Michigan, in which my great uncle Albert is seated second from left in the back and my great uncle Donat is seated on the far right.

Local archives, college archives, county archives -- these are all places chock full of records that you can only access either by going in person or by reaching out to find something specific, but they are so worthwhile and can offer so much richness to your research.

Some food for thought for us as genealogists and humans.

From ONE DROP by Bliss Broyard, chapter 26.

Family Tree Magazine has a great writeup about what you should know about AI as a family historian, linked below. I appreciate their clear acknowledgment of not just the benefits but also the dangers of AI. I too often see genealogical discussions of AI usage focusing on only the positives, but there are some major concerns from copyright issues to environmental impact to false information. If you are going to use AI, I encourage you to read this and make sure you understand the full picture.

A Genealogist's Guide to Artificial Intelligence - Family Tree Magazine This article explores what artificial intelligence (AI) is and how it may affect the world of genealogy. Plus, find tips for using AI for genealogy projects.

Are you attending the Ontario Ancestors 2026 Virtual Conference "From Steamships to Microchips"? If you have connections to Canada or are simply interested in technology and immigration, you should be! The conference started yesterday, but you can still register and view recordings later.

I will be presenting "Michiganders and Canadians: History, Connections, and Immigration" tomorrow morning at 9:15am CDT / 10:15am EDT as part of the conference. There's so much interconnection between Michigan and Canada, and I'm a direct result of that! This is a topic I love talking about, so I hope to see you there. Register at the link below.

https://ogs.on.ca/virtual-conference-2026/