Overview
People are interested in genealogy for their own varied reasons, whether out of curiosity, research into family stories, for medical reasons or to prove heritage. They are looking for "life stories and interesting details," and they'll need "corroborating documents." Types of tasks patrons are looking to do are to assemble a family tree or lineage, find specific documents, such as marriage licenses, prove their ethnic and racial heritage, or tie an ancestor to an historic event.
Getting Started
This kind of research takes a lot of work! It is time consuming. As a librarian, I shouldn't be made to feel like I have to do the work for the patron. Instead it is my job to guide them through the process and direct them to appropriate resources. (Just like everything else.) I should be aware of the following:
- Good Self Help Guides such as bibliographies, how-to manuals, and (online) instructional videos
- Logical Approaches - during the reference interview, think about what the patron is asking for and then tie it to the forms of data that would support it. For instance, in my patron's request about looking for documentation about her grandfather donating land to Fort Hood, looking at property related resources would be helpful.)
- Know how to locate local sources of help whether a historical society or (history/genealogy) department that has expertise.
- Assist with ILL and referrals to other libraries, ie. consult WorldCat.
- subject headings for genealogy research
- when looking for info on the genealogy process trying "Genealogy" will produce subheadings like "Genealogy--Library resources--Handbooks, manuals, etc"
- when looking for research resources for a geographic location or time, try the format "Geographic place--Genealogy--
Recommended handbooks for beginning research - General Handbooks:
- Handybook for Genealogists by Everton (929.1 HAN 1999) Probably the book the Red Book (below) is based on, this one lists the institutions to consult when tracking down records at the Federal, State and County levels of the US. It also includes an European section, that while not as detailed, will give researchers a starting point for tracing family across the Atlantic (Spain is not included. How can Spain not be included?!?) Migration routes and county maps included.
- Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best-Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy by Croom (929.1 CRO 2001) - the "hold your hand" book when you don't have a person to tell you how to get started. I find it at just 230 pages still a little wordy, but if comes full of examples to illustrate the point. Filled with lots of charts to make organizing easy, including space to note the sources of the information. Because this is a beginner guide, it is filled with general statements like, "consult county records." I'd like to see it point to a source such as Ancestry's Red Book (below) as a resource to tell beginners where county records are held (surprisingly, not all county records are maintained within the county).
- The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy: A Complete Resource For Using the Web to Trace Your Family History by Powell (929.1028 POW 2011) - another hold your hand type book, with emphasis on research online (versus microfilm?). No forms are included as the book assumes you are using software to track your lineage, but it does talk about how to document your process.
- The Researcher's Guide American Genealogy by Greenwood (929.1 GRE 2000 SGB)
- Evidence! [does this not beg to be highlighted?] Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Mills
- The BCG (Board for Certification of Genealogists) Genealogical Standards Manual by the BCG
- Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources edited by Eichholz (929.1072 RED 2004) - describes the type of resources collected by each U.S. state, who collected them during which time periods and where those resources are currently located. For instance, in my example about the woman who wanted to know about her great grandfather's land that was donated to Fort Hood, The Red Book says that property tax records are kept at the Texas State Library for the dates 1836-1976 and are available on microfilm. This book is an amazing resource. I will definitely be consulting it in the future!
- The Source : a Guidebook to American Genealogy - Szucs, Loretto Dennis (929.107 SOU 2006) - seems to detail how records were created to build an understanding of the type of information you'll find in the various offices, agencies and institutions. I didn't find the Land Records section helpful, not even the detailing of it for Texas as it focused on the land owned by the state and how it was granted out to private individuals, but didn't include how to find ownership after deeding to private parties. There is a great section on understand how to research majority-minority ethnic groups in the U.S. to include African American, colonial Spanish, Hispanic, Jewish, and Native American peoples. This is a good book for understanding the why military records could be of importance, etc.
- International vital records handbook - Kemp, Thomas Jay (929.1 KEM 2009) - picks up where the out of date Handybook (see above) leaves off, though perhaps not as in-depth for U.S. state and county offices, this resource adds copies of application forms for the various types of records, giving the researcher an idea of what they'll need to supply in order to obtain records. The international section is worldwide, which is a nice acknowledgement that we live in a global community.
- Genealogist's Address Book : State and Local Resources: With Special Resources Including Religious Organizations - Bentley, Elizabeth Petty (929.1025 BEN) - similar to the Red Book (see above) in geographical scope, but more a directory of organizations to contact. This is the source to consult when a web search doesn't reveal anything regarding a historical society for a small town.
- Locating Lost Family Members & Friends : modern genealogical research techniques for locating the people of your past and present - Hinckley, Kathleen W., 1948-(929.1 HIN) - introduces the same types of resources such as vital records, military records, etc, however it gives good descriptions on those types of records with examples. Not overly detailed and not a directory though.
- Finding Answers in U.S. Census Records by Szucs & Wright
- A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Female Ancestors by Carmack (929.1082 CAR 1998 - GENR)
- Land and Property Research in the United States by Hone
- They Came in Ships: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record by Colletta (929.1072 COL 1989 - GENF)
For beginners looking for direction on where to start, best place is with the fam. Sit down, have coffee or tea and a light snack, perhaps have a tape recorder or notepad handy and begin asking all they remember. Then do the same with other family members. Corroborate facts. Get dates and locations and spellings of legal names.
There do already exist compiled genealogies of families. (W.O.W!) But libraries don't readily lend these puppies out, so researchers may have to make a trip or purchase the published list. You could consult the Genealogies in the Library of Congress bibliography, which is actually a book edited by Kaminkow (2001) and not a bib list online.
Local resources: Academic Libraries' history departments, or that of a larger institution, public or private. Or a genealogy department of a library; History/ Genealogical societies; the local Latter Day Saints Family History Centers which are mini centers of the Utah resource.
Finally, the most important thing for beginners to remember is to document their sources and keep the train of knowledge written down, so that you don't have to retrace your steps.. That book Evidence! is probably a good place to learn how.
Internet Resources
Online is a good place to go for assistance with specialized tasks such as tracking down "specific nationalities, countries and ethnic groups", especially if you know of good starting points. The two that the mini-course emphasize is the Library of Congress's Local History and Genealogy Reading Room and Cindi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Web. The first is the authoritative source of all things library. The second is a specialized directory to point researchers in the direction they need to go online.
Other Websites
- Family Search - familysearch.org
- Family History Library - https://familysearch.org/locations/saltlakecity-library
- National Genealogical Society - ngsgenealogy.org
- Ancestors: Glossary of Terms - byub.org/ancestors/records/glossary
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Resources for Genealogists - http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/index.html
- Rootsweb - rootsweb.com
- USGenWeb - usgenweb.com
- California Genealogy - cagenweb.com
- Specialized Sites:
- Jewish Gen - jewishgen.org
- AfriGeneas - afrigeneas.com
- Ellis Island - ellisisland.org
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System - www.itd.nps.gov/cwss - because everybody's family must have fought at one point, ya know? Except those of us whose lineage comes from other countries.
Looking for official records can vary from state to state. The Family Tree Magazine has a 2011 article title Best State Websites with listings included for their ability to search by name, browse indexes, and even view digitized documents. Family Tree Magazine also provides a list of states and the years they officially began keeping vital records (birth, death, marriage, etc).
"Real" Obits are written by news staff. Most obits of regular people are death notices placed by the family in the newspaper. Important: these may appear days after the person's actual death. Tracking down these articles may require referral to larger library, contacting a newspaper's archives (& paying a fee) or request the microfilm.
Death Index(es)
Typically you search by name and can retrieve SSN, Surname, Given name, DOD, DOB, Last known residence, date & place of issuance, birthplace, death place, age and mother's maiden name. The SSDI (SS Death Index) is a commercial product and requires a subscription (see your local library!). Be aware that the death index only includes those whose death was reported to the Social Security Administration. So older deaths may not be included. (My grandma is listed!) Look to see if other countries have similar death indexes.
Military Records
Official repository for discharged military records is the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)'s Veteran's Service Records.
Lineages
Search WorldCat to see if a family history has been published. An example is "Family history. Kentucky genealogies #1, 1700s-1800s" which has the following subject headings: Registers of births, etc. -- Kentucky. Kentucky -- Genealogy -- Sources. See also
- National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution - dar.org
- General Society of Mayflower Descendants - www.themayflowersociety.com
- Jamestowne Society - jamestowne.org
- Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory
- Index to the Applications Submitted for the Eastern Cherokee Roll of 1909 (Guion Miller Roll) - this is currently at http://research.archives.gov/description/300330; Great, but once I have this info, how and for what do I use it?
Heraldry & Coat of Arms
Is there royalty in the family? How many times removed are you? Search subject headings for "heraldry." See also:
- Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2007 by Kidd & Williamson
We don't have this title, but we do have Debrett's Texas Peerage by Best, Hugh. (920 BES 1983 GEN) - Debrett's Guide to Heraldry and Regalia by Williamson & Cole
- Heraldry: For the Local Historian and Genealogist by Friar
- Introduction to Heraldry by Oliver
- Heraldry on the Internet - www.digiserve.com/heraldry
- College of Arms - college-of-arms.gov.uk
- Medieval English Genealogy: Links and Bibliography for Heraldry - http://medievalgenealogy.org.uk/links/herrefs.shtml
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