Prairie Roots Genealogy

10/03/2026

You might notice going forward that folks on Meta platforms like Facebook are not including links when they post. The reason for this is that has decided that unless you pay for a membership, you are only allowed to share 2 links a month as a page. So while I like to share links directly to my new blog posts, links to interesting articles relevant to genealogists, etc., I won't be able to do that anymore. It's frustrating to encounter as a small business, but if you are ever looking for something I've shared, feel free to go to the Prairie Roots Genealogy website (which is just the company name followed by dot com) and you'll be able to find it on the blog or elsewhere on the site, depending on what it is. Your patience is appreciated!

09/23/2026

One of the record types that intermediate to advanced genealogists use but that might seem daunting to beginners is probate. Probate records are created whenever someone dies and they leave an estate that must be settled, regardless of if they left a will or not. Probate files can be a rich source of genealogical information, but they're also just interesting to look through! Above, you'll see some of the information you can find in a probate file, and for a deeper dive into this valuable record type, head to the Prairie Roots Genealogy blog.

09/22/2026

What an incredible resource for everyone researching this history!

Exclusive: Collection’s 300,000 pages record lives of enslaved people in countries including the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Mauritius, South Africa and Trinidad

09/15/2026

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!)

09/12/2026

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

08/08/2026

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?

08/05/2026

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!)

07/16/2026

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

07/15/2026

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/

07/01/2026

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.