Those of you who have any interest in genealogy know that you never know what you will find when you shake that family tree. In my tree I have Mary Perkins Bradbury, who was one of those poor souls convicted of being a witch in Salem but was somehow able to escape execution. I also have Meta Howard, a female physician from the late 1880s who helped establish a badly needed hospital/school for females in Korea. There are countless others who helped create states and maybe some mischief….depending on your views and I have loved learning about each and every one of them.
I decided to make a list of some of the best resources for genealogical research for those of you who may have wanted to learn more about your family but have no idea where to start. This is by no means a complete list, sometimes you just have to set out and see where you end up.
One of the first things you should do is to talk to family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, even older cousins can be the best resource. I heard some of the greatest stories just listening to people talk about the past. I wish I had asked more questions though, my grandparents are all done and all that information is lost. Also look through old bibles, people used to write all significant family events in their bibles. While on the subject of bibles, you should also check out the local churches in the area. Most churches will have baptisms, marriages, death and burial records. You may have to make an appointment to search through the records but be prepared to be told the records are not available to the public. If that happens, ask if it would be possible for someone from the church to do the search, even if you have to pay a small fee. In some areas, it is also possible to search court records. Check with your individual court system to find out where they store these records and the possibility of being able to come in and search.
Most towns and counties have some form of historical library. They will usually have land records, wills and in some cases old journals and letters that families have donated. You would be amazed at the information you can get from old letters. If your town does not have a place like this, look to your state library. They will have the above mentioned records along with most of the newspapers from the state. This is a time consuming way to search but newspapers can provide a treasure trove of information on what happened to people in their day to day lives.
If you decide to make a trip to one of these libraries, you have to be prepared. First make sure to find out the hours of the library and when is the very latest you can enter and request records. Some libraries also restrict what can be taken inside the research area. Also make sure you wear the most comfortable clothes and shoes you can find. Take plenty of pencils, pens and notebooks and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a good supply of change so you can make copies of whatever records you find. It is always better to have a hard copy of the original record instead of relying on your memory or hurried handwriting for the information at a later date.
Some states will let you send off for a copy of an ancestor’s birth, marriage or death record. Each state has different regulations as to what years are available and the price they charge. You can go to your state’s website and get all the information needed.
On the subject of the internet, there are unlimited resources on the web in which to find genealogical records. Some sites are free but many charge a small fee. One of the biggest and best known is ancestory.com. They have a huge supply of just about every type of record you would ever need and the ability to chart your ancestors in a tree that is extremely easy to add, subtract and search There is the ability to attach all the records you find to the person they pertain to so the organization is a plus. There is a charge for the service but I think you will find it is well worth the cost. There is also a service called GENweb.org. This is a volunteer based service with no charge. Each state has a separate section and is worth checking out. Check out cyndislist.com for a list of obscure records that you may not be able to find anywhere else. There is also a HUGE searchable database run by the Mormon Church called familysearch.org. You would be amazed at what can be found there.
There is also a large group of sites on social networking such as Facebook. There are groups centered in certain areas or even certain ethnic groups and religions. Most of the people I have come across are extremely helpful and have knowledge beyond belief. Just punch in what you need in the search engine and hopefully there are groups to help you.
Once you have gone through the large, nation-wide sites, make sure to check out some of the individual state sites. I am doing a lot of research in Michigan and have found some great sites for records specific to that state. I even found one that has the actual death certificates from 1867-1897. So be open to thinking outside the box…you will never get anywhere if you aren’t willing to be creative.
One of the main things to remember while researching your family tree is to trust nothing at first glance. Often dates and area are wrong and names can have multiple spellings. One thing that is frustrating for me is the habit of naming multiple generations of people with the same name. This makes it difficult to keep people straight at times so having accurate dates and organization is most important. So if at all possible, make sure you verify every piece of information you find.
I hope this has helped even a little. If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot me a comment. I am by no means an expert but I will gladly help when I can.
The Casco Voice 