One resource that should be used more by family history researchers is genealogy books. There are hundreds of thousands of local history, family history, and genealogy books that have been published. A large percentage have been digitized, and even more, are on library shelves and can be borrowed – either from a local library, a […]
Category: QuickSheets
As genealogists and historians, we strive to know more about our ancestors and other subject people. It is imperative, especially as family historians that we research and understand the locales, surroundings, and events that occurred during their lifetimes. While we constantly look for new records, we must also research history, including local history. There are […]
The Library of Congress’s Digital Collections are large and growing. Currently, there are 525 different collections. You should definitely incorporate this massive set of collections into your genealogy research. They are divided into 15 different topics, Click on a link for more information about a topic. African American History [23]American History [218]Art & Architecture [57]Geography & Places [33]Government, […]
Some great places to start researching genealogy records are in genealogical and historical societies. Many national ones span multiple states, and each state has them. Each society has collections and records available that will aid in your research. Some are accessible for non-members and even more are accessible for those who have purchased a membership. […]
Full disclosure: I love the FamilySearch Catalog! For those collections that are available online, and the books that have been digitized, there are tens of thousands to choose from. For the online collections and books, I can use my PC at home to scroll through digitized page after digitized page, just as if I had […]
Just the word “Probate” causes people to freak out, primarily because it is a legal process, different in every state; it is combined with the loss of a loved one and requires cooperation between family members, many of whom do not wish to cooperate. But for genealogy purposes, they are incredibly valuable sources of terrific […]
If you are looking for birth records, including certificates, you need to know the timing of each state’s requirements. Each state in the U.S. started requiring birth registrations in different years. Generally, some types of records were created before the official state laws, either at the county, city, or town levels. But state records weren’t […]
If you are looking for death certificates, you need to know the timing of each state’s requirements. Each state in the U.S. started requiring death registrations in different years. Usually, some types of records were created prior to the official state laws, either at the county, city, or town levels. But state records weren’t required […]
When I first started my ancestor research, after I had gotten over the initial excitement of reviewing census records and interviewing my living relatives, I almost immediately began trying to find my immigrant ancestors and how they got to America. Through free repositories such as Ellis Island and Castle Garden and other sites, as well […]
Another type of genealogy record that provides tremendous value is criminal records. Some of our ancestors, unfortunately, got in trouble with the law. And records were kept from arrests through court cases to prison documents. Now, more and more of these records are being digitized or transcribed and are being made available online. Here is […]