The Road to Research:
Sources and Resources
by Colleen A. Pustola

 
"Okay," you say, "I've filled out the forms, made a mess of my home digging out evidence, stuck everything in folders of some kind, and asked everyone who used to love me every question I can think of till now, nobody wants to be around me anymore! What am I supposed to do next?"

You're now ready to begin walking the path of dedicated research. There is an abundance of material awaiting you.

But, before you begin ---

There is a Cardinal Rule in genealogy you should now learn and commit to the center of your memory:

BELIEVE NONE OF WHAT YOU HEAR, ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU READ.
PROVE EVERYTHING!!

It is critical to your research that you follow this rule. Aunt Sadie, bless her soul, spent twenty years working on the family history. When she found out you were interested in it, she passed all her work on to you. The problem is, Aunt Sadie is human -- prone to bad days -- and prone to making errors like the rest of us. Now that you have this wealth of family research, you, the dedicated student of research [well, you ARE, aren't you?] need only to remember the CARDINAL RULE and prove Aunt Sadie's work.

On the other hand, most of us barely have data back to our grandparents to begin with. And so, we begin our road with letters, questionnaires, phone calls, and e-mails to relatives and old family friends. Any data we receive must also revert to the scrutiny of the Cardinal Rule and be proven.

In the end, when you have decided to share your knowledge, usually by publishing it, your ability as a genealogist will never be more critically judged. You must be able to prove your line of descent using as many original documents as necessary.

That leads us to the purpose of this page:

Tapping every resource possible...

A resource is a source of supply or support, a source of information or expertise. Several examples are:

 Finding just the right source ...

A source is a reference work. There are three types:

Some examples of sources are:

Many people find themselves facing stumbling blocks to their research very quickly because they either don't know or just don't realize the varied types of books, microfiche, microfilm, databases and web sites available to help them. Listed below are just some of those sources. When using secondary sources, the researcher is forewarned NOT to rely solely on 'the printed word' as human error is ever present, but to seek out original documents for confirmation. Use those printed tools as tracers and guides to the original data.

CATALOGS:

There are many book companies and supply centers to choose from. It is best to acquire catalogs from at least three different suppliers to be able to shop around for the best prices. Also, not all catalogs carry the same books. Listed below are only several of the larger ones geared toward the entire United States and other countries. The price of each catalog is listed after its address. To find more suppliers, you need only read Everton's The Genealogical Helper. You can probably find this periodical in your local community library's reading room.

TO RENT BOOKS:

TO BUY OR RENT MICROFILM:

TO BUY MICROFICHE:

TO BUY CD-ROMs:

LOCATING RECORDS

Events created records. Now, where are they located? That depends on the kind of record you're seeking. Several of the lesser-used helps are city directories which are available for most larger U.S. cities.

Follow a family over a span of years, and you can watch as each child appears. Also, if you're looking for occurrences of a particular surname, national and international phone listings are widely available on the Web or on CD-ROM where they can be viewed in many public libraries or even purchased. The more common sources, however, follow:

Vital records including birth, marriage, death and divorce:

For vital records from the 20th century, the U.S. government's publication Where to Write for Vital Records gives the address, cost and ordering information for each state's Bureau of Vital Statistics and indicates the years for which the records are available.

County Court Records

Most counties will provide limited amounts of information through correspondence. Do not expect them to do much searching and limit your request to a few items.

Cemetery Records

There are several types of cemeteries - church, public, family, state and national. Determine where your ancestors are buried from a death certificate, obituary, local index or family story. Some public, state, and national cemeteries will have lists of those buried. Also check the local cemetery office for information. Information from cemeteries can help with birth dates and often with information on other family members buried in the family plot.

U.S. Census Records [covered again more thoroughly on another page in this beginner section:

1850 to 1870 - Birthplace of person & province or country.

1880 - Birthplace of parents & province or county.

1900 to 1910 - Year of immigration & citizenship, if foreign born.

1920 - Also year of naturalization.

State Census Records

Ran every ten years in between U.S. censuses -- all years end with the number five.

Newspapers

Microfilmed copies of local newspapers are often found at the county library or archives, or they may be available on interlibrary loan from the state historical society. Several books can help you locate newspapers for specific locations and dates. These include:

American Newspapers 1821-1936
United States Newspaper Project - National Union List
Ancestry's Red Book

The following may be found in newspapers:

Ship's Passenger Lists

Church Records

For many areas and time periods church records are one of the best sources for genealogical information and for many areas they are the only available substitute for official records. Church records are generally accurate because the recording priest or minister was usually present at the time of the event. Several types of church records are valuable to genealogists, the most fundamental being birth, baptismal, marriage, death and burial records.

In order to use church data you must know the actual church or parish your ancestor attended. Check in the community in which they lived. Contact the library, historical society or genealogical society for the address of the oldest church of the suspected denomination. The National Directory of Churches, Synagogues, and Other Houses of Worship lists churches geographically and by denomination.

Military Records

Military service records are found at two levels of authority, state and national, and are located at either the State Archives or the National Archives. A very helpful publication for locating military records is U.S. Military Records: a Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present.

For veterans of earlier wars including Confederate records from the American Civil War, you will probably do well to start at a state level. Also, many states have published indexes or lists of veterans so you will want to check for any available indexes for the localities you are searching.

To locate addresses for individual state's archives check the AASLH Directory of Historical Societies.

The National Archives' Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives will introduce you to military Records and their indexes at the national level. The National Archives will search the register of enlistments or the compiled military service records of an individual soldier if you submit a request on GSA form.

American Revolution:

War of 1812, Indian Wars, Mexican War - Records available through National Archives, similar to Revolutionary War. Microfilm indexes available through LDS Family History Centers.

American Civil War:

World War I to present:

 

NEXT: Using the Internet

 

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