It's always worthwhile to review your complete family history file, to go back to the beginning and see if there might be a clue that escaped you.

When I started researching my husband's Irish ancestors, I had little more than the names of his paternal grandparents. Census records for 1870 and 1880 were initially more puzzling than helpful. Family lore indicated Hickey ancestors lived and worked in Minneapolis. When I found Hickey farm families in Waseca County in 1870 and 1880, I thought I'd tracked the wrong family, especially when I found the name Bartholomew Hickey among them. Certainly there were some of the usual first names--James, Michael, William, Patrick--but those were frequently found in Irish families of that period. Bartholomew Hickey seemed an unlikely relative.

One day at the Minnesota Historical Society Library, I stopped by the card catalog.  Looking under "Hickey", I again encountered the name "Bartholomew." The card referred to "MHS Scrapbook Vol. 11."  "Never mind," I said to myself, "I don't know what that means, but it doesn't matter. I don't think Bartholomew is part of our family." 

Months passed before I confirmed Bartholomew was, in fact, a brother of Patrick Hickey, my husband's great-grandfather. More months passed before I happened again on my note about the MHS Scrapbook. When I next visited the library, I asked about this resource and was told where to find the microfilmed records.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I found Bartholomew's obituary provided details about the Hickey's county of origin in Ireland (Tipperary) and where they settled before coming to Minnesota (Oneida County, NY, and Janesville, WI). I recently stopped to reconsider that important discovery. I contacted the MHS Library and learned a little more about their "scrapbooks." 

The Minnesota Historical Society collected newspaper clippings of obituaries and other news articles from 1861 to 1922. These clippings ultimately filled 83 volumes and were later converted to 27 reels of microfilm. In addition, there are two reels of indexes.  Library personnel told me the MHS Scrapbook microfilm, including the indexes, can also be requested through Inter-library loan.