Dusty Nelms has spent years researching her family history, amassing a wealth of information about her ancestors. Shown here is Moose Valley School in Hovland, where her grandpa, his siblings and cousins all attended. | SUBMITTED
Dusty Nelms has been able to collect lots of old family photos. Show here is a photo of Mary Sundquist, Nelms’ great-grandma. | SUBMITTED
Stories, old photos and new connections
The journey of genealogy HOVLAND—The desire to know and understand where we come from has been part of the human experience for as long as human history. Today, starting the journey into genealogy has never been easier. Dusty Nelms, of Hovland, has spent years researching her family history, witnessing the changes in information and technology over the years and amassing a wealth of information about her ancestors. For Nelms, it was a middle school classroom assignment that sparked her interest in genealogy: the theme was autobiographies, and for the assignment Nelms did research on her family tree. That research was the beginning of a lifelong interest that she has been pursuing ever since. “Family has always been an important part of my life,” Nelms said. “There is always more to learn, and once you get started it can be hard to stop.” Nelms’ great-grandparents came over from various countries, with some of her ancestors arriving at the Hovland Dock on the America. Early on, her work involved talking with family members about past stories and collecting hand-written letters. She has also been able to collect family photos, including all four sets of her great-grandparents’ wedding photos.
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“I’m really thankful that I saved letters from people who are now gone. And it’s always fun to be able to see pictures since they add so much to the story,” Nelms said. Now, technology has introduced incredible resources for those wishing to learn about their family history, including sites like familysearch.com, ancestry.com, and the Minnesota Historical Society. Some sites like Ancestry require a subscription, but offer lots of information as well as the ability to meet and connect with others who are researching the same family line. (Nelms said to always verify information found online, as sometimes it can be incorrect.) Those interested in learning about their family trees, including when certain ancestors moved to a specific area, can also look into state marriage records, land records through county recorder offices, or census records. “Different census years contain different information,” Nelms said. “Some list occupations, some have whether residents rented or owned their land, some include current ages, and by piecing together different years you can start to paint a clearer picture. Newspaper obituaries are also great if you can get ahold of those, as they will often list the names of siblings and children.”
NORTHERN WILDS
Farming at the Moose Valley school in the Hovland area. | SUBMITTED To keep track of all of this information, Nelms creates a separate binder for each relative, where she keeps relevant photographs and information learned from various sources. She has also created books for her family members with the information she has
collected over the years. No matter one’s preferred organizational method, Nelms recommends that those getting started in genealogy always keep a record of where they learned their information. Sometimes she has found conflicting information from
