Top 10 Genealogy FAQs
Introduction
Genealogy has become a popular pastime in the United States. For some it becomes a lifelong passion while for others it falls into the category of "just curious." The popularity of the "Who Do You Think You Are?" televsion show has spurred the interest of many. The following tips may prove helpful to you whether you are just beginning the trek or are well on your way to discovering your roots.
1. How Do I Begin to Trace My Family?
Start with yourself and work backwards through the generations, recording each person's major life events on ancestor charts. Organize from the start! Keep a research log of your efforts and consider placing your charts in a three-ring binder or recording the information into a genealogy software program. Try to involve family members and be sure to interview your oldest relatives. Search for clues in scrapbooks, family Bibles, photograph albums, samplers, diaries, letters, school records, baby books, etc. Next, direct your attention to community, state, and national resources. Also, consider joining a genealogical society and taking a beginning genealogy course. Most important, keep realistic goals! What you learn about your heritage is more important than how far back you can trace it.
Suggested Genealogy How-to Books
Croom, Emily Ann. Unpuzzling Your Past: The Best Selling Basic Guide to Genealogy, 4th ed. Whitehall, Va.: Betterway Publications, 2001.
Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy, 3rd ed. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., c2000. (Widely recognized as the definitive encyclopedic work on genealogy; may be overwhelming to a beginner.)
Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, editors. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, 2006.
2. Where Is the Book on My Family?
Many people ask this question hoping to begin and end their search in one trip to the public library! While this rarely happens, the question is a good one. Both published and unpublished family history information can be found at public libraries, special libraries, or historical societies. At your local library, search the catalog under your family name, "local history" and "genealogy." Also, visit or write to the public libraries where your relatives once lived. When writing, always enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope, and make no more than three specific requests. Other sources of family books or genealogical research include historical societies, genealogical libraries, family organizations, etc. Review all published genealogies with a watchful eye as most contain some inaccuracies.
3. Do You Have Local History Information?
Every public library with a telephone book has local history information! Many libraries have extensive collections. Read your library's introductory brochure; search the catalog under "genealogy" and "local history"; and ask your reference librarian for assistance. Be sure to check thoroughly for sources such as city directories, local history books, newspapers, school yearbooks, plat maps, church histories, gazetteers, military records, and cemetery records. Other local history resources include historical societies, state archives, Family History Centers (LDS Church), and the Library of Congress, which has one of the largest collections of U.S. city directories.
4. Where Can I Find Birth, Marriage, Divorce, and Death Vital Records?
Vital records are those birth, marriage, divorce, and death records which all states have been required to maintain since around 1900. Contemporary with their event, vital records are valuable as "primary sources." You can find them at state, county, and city agencies.
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. The Genealogist's Address Book, 6th ed. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2009.
Kemp, Thomas J. International Vital Records Handbook, 5th ed. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2009.
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. County Courthouse Book, 3rd ed. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2009.
Where to Write for Vital Records: Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorces. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004.
5. Where Can I Find Church and Cemetery Records?
You will find most church records filed in their church offices. If the church no longer exists, write to the denominational headquarters. Those can be found in the standard reference source, Encyclopedia of Associations. In addition, you may find church record abstracts and indexes at public libraries, and historical and genealogical societies, or published in books and periodicals. Search library catalogs for "church records." Sources for cemetery records include cemetery management offices, local public libraries, and historical and genealogical societies, and periodicals. If the cemetery has disappeared, seek information at the local public library, and historical or genealogical societies, which often have gravestone inscriptions recorded by community and DAR chapter volunteers. Finally, local, county, or state governments may have burial certificates.
6. Where Can I Find Census Records?
By far the most well-known and popular records are federal censuses, which can provide a wealth of information. These records are available on microfilm at many major research facilities, including the National Archives and its branches; Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, Missouri; and the LDS Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. You may also find portions of colonial, territorial, state, and local censuses at these locations. Directions for ordering census microfilm from the National Archives are in a free brochure: Using Records in the National Archives for Genealogical Research. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, rev. 1990. (Request an introductory genealogy packet from the National Archives, NNUA Branch, 7th & Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20408). Finally, many public and state libraries, as well as historical and genealogical societies, have state and local census records.
7. How Do I Use Census Records?
Federal census records from 1790-1930 are available to the public. Start your search with the most recent available, indexed census; the more recent the census, the more information contained. Most states have an alphabetical index for their 1790-1860 census records. The 1880-1930 federal censuses are indexed using the Soundex coding system, which lets you search for a last name by sound, rather than by its spelling (Warning: not all states are indexed for all years). To learn more about this system and the use of census records, consult a genealogy how-to book. Some titles are suggested under Question #1. Also, request free census brochures from the National Archives and Records Administration. Finally, always use census records with caution as they may contain inaccuracies!
8. Where Can I Find Military Records?
There are three major types of military information--service records, pension records, and unit histories. Service and pension records are at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and other major research facilities across the country.
The Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives, 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 2000,
Military Service Records in the National Archives, rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: NARA, 2007.
Neagles, James C. U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry. 1994.
Military service data may also be found in local and state libraries, archives, and historical and genealogical societies, which typically maintain records of individuals who served from the area or lived in the region. Published unit histories may be found in large genealogy collections such as the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the DAR Library in Washington, D.C., and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition, genealogy how-to books suggest government, private, and printed sources for military records. Always remember to check for records in the state, county, and hometown of the person you are researching.
9. Where Can I Find Immigration and Passenger List Information?
In the process of leaving the Old World and in immigrating to and settling down in America, each new citizen generated many records. Today, passenger lists and immigration and naturalization records are collected at every major genealogy research center.
For microfilm copies of passenger lists and other immigration and naturalization records, check the catalog at libraries, archives, and historical societies. The National Archives and its branches have many passenger lists for U.S. ports and some naturalization records. Further research tips can be found in any of the genealogy how-to books suggested in Question #1.
Filby, P. William. Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliography, 1538-1900, 2nd ed. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1988.
Filby, P. William. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1981- . Volumes issued annually.
Newman, John J. American Naturalization Records, 1790-1990: What They Are and How to Use Them. North Salt Lake, Utah: HeritageQuest, 1998.
10. How Can I Get Information from Other Libraries and Historical Societies?
Check your local public library for up-to-date genealogy how-to books and the reference books listed below. From these resources, choose libraries and historical societies to visit or write. Most will respond to letters that include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and no more than three short, specific questions. Request information on their collections and services.
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. The Genealogist's Address Book, 6th ed. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2009.
Meyer, Mary Keyser. Meyer's Directory of Genealogical Societies in the U.S.A. and Canada. Mt. Airy, Md.: Libra Productions, 1996.
American Association for State and Local History, ed. Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada, 15th ed. Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: AltaMira Press, 2001.
Research Summary
The "Top Ten Genealogy Questions Asked in Public Libraries" were established by Juanita C. Smith in a 1990 library science graduate research project at the University of Maryland. The four public libraries with the largest genealogy collections in each state were asked to list the "ten most frequently asked genealogy questions" in their libraries. The public libraries were chosen from the Directory of American Libraries with Genealogy or Local History Collections, compiled by P. William Filby (Scholarly Resources, 1988) Seventy-nine of the 200 surveyed libraries responded. The results represent 36.5% of the 200 libraries surveyed. (2/1997)
Revised by Mid-Continent Public Library Staff, November 2002
