The Grand Marais Public Library is set to host Christopher Welter, Archivist at the Iron Range Research Center, on Wednesday, January 24 at 6 p.m. Welter will speak on “Leaves from the family tree: Resources & Services at the Iron Range Research Center.” Those with an interest in genealogy are invited to attend this free event where they may learn about the vast array of resources available to the public in Research Center collections, and how to access the incredible indexes that have been created in that facility.
For nearly four decades, the IRRC staff has assisted patrons in documenting the life and times of their ancestors. In this presentation, archivist Christopher Welter will (a) give a brief history of the IRRC, (b) muse upon genealogy as something more than a trifling hobby, and (c) summarize the IRRC’s resources—both online and onsite—and explain the staff’s value added research services.
Christopher Welter joined the IRRC staff in 2012. As its archivist, it is his duty to encourage the study of Iron Range history by identifying, collecting, processing, cataloging, preserving, displaying, and making easily accessible the historically significant written, oral, and visual records of Minnesota’s Iron Ranges. Previously, he worked in the Minnesota Historical Society’s reference and collections departments in St. Paul. He is also an avid learner and researcher and, as such, has been published in Minnesota History magazine twice (Minnesota’s connections to RMS Titanic passengers; Northfield’s 1948 invitation to a Jesse James impostor).
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