November 2018 - Rookie Genealogy

For most budding genealogy enthusiasts the first place they turn to for research is Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com is a great place for doing introductory research from the comfort of your home or library. As great as Ancestry is, you will not find all the information you need. You will also not find all the sources you need by sitting behind a computer. Doing the leg work is crucial to discovering your roots.

The following locations can provide a wealth of information if you do a little investigating and ask for help. I would suggest calling ahead or look online to be sure that the location has the records that you are looking for and to check their hours of operation.

7 Locations Worth Checking in Your Genealogy Research

1. Cemeteries

Cemeteries can be a great place for information. Yes, you can find headstones and see birth and death dates but there can be so much more. Many larger cemeteries have an office you can go to and ask for records. This can be hit or miss. In my hometown a good chunk of my relatives are buried in a large cemetery and there is an office. However, they do have any records outside of plot location and death/burial dates. They were able tell me where to go to get the information I needed. My husband on the other hand has many relatives buried in a massive cemetery in Cincinnati and was able to retrieve more detailed records from the cemetery office.

Some cemeteries may have more detailed records like this one.

Also, look around the area where a relative is buried. Often family members were buried close to each other. When I first started out 20 years ago (back when the internet was brand new and I couldn’t find the information online) I went to my grandmother’s grave site and after looking around realized her sister was buried in the next plot over.

2. Schools

Schools can also be great resources if you know where to look. Yearbooks often can provide hints into the lives of your relatives. They may even provide a photo for you. You can find out what activities they participated in and confirm when or if they graduated. Yearbooks can be found at the school itself, the local library, or even asking around the area your relative went to school to see if anyone has a copy of the year(s) you need.

Picture located through a church that includes my great uncle.

If your relative went to college you can also possibly retrieve school records. Find out if they belonged to a sorority or fraternity. Alumni Associations could also be a great source of information.

3. Museums

Most people would think of looking at museums only for contextual references- such as what life was like during a period in which your family lived. This is not always the case. Call ahead and find out what holdings the museum has, their fees, and hours. Museums may have resources specifically for genealogists. They may also have records of the local area that could include your relatives.

A story of my 2nd great grand aunt- assistant to the lighthouse keeper

I went to a lighthouse museum in my hometown a few years ago while visiting. In all the years I lived there I never went. As we toured the facility we came across a binder of pictures and stories of the lighthouse. I flipped through it and to my surprise came across the name of my great great grandfather’s sister, Stella. Turned out she was the assistant to the first female lighthouse keeper. I found a story of Stella once helping the lighthouse keeper during a storm out on the pier. There was also a picture of Stella. Let’s just say I was giddy. I grew up there and never knew an aunt had worked at the lighthouse in the 19th century.

Museums will take some investigating and keeping your eyes open. Ask for help and keep searching. You never know what you may find.

4. Fraternal organizations and clubs

How involved were your ancestors? Kiwanis, Lions Club, Knights of Columbus? Clubs and organizations can also provide a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. Some of my relatives belonged to the St. Joseph Young Men’s Society (Polish American Civil and Social Club). Through that I was able to find pictures and see what they did for the community.

Do some research on organizations present in the area where your relatives lived. Often upon immigration people of the same culture banded together in their new country. Finding social or civic clubs related to the heritage of your ancestors may lead to findings.

5. Family History Centers of the LDS

The Church of Latter Day Saints have research centers all over the world for anyone to come in and do research. The hours are limited so call ahead. They also run www.familysearch.org and you can go there to find a location near you. Volunteers can help answer questions and also help you order microfiche in order for you to view it at their center.

6. Church Records

Church records are probably one of the most beneficial ways to get valuable information. Not all church records are online and this is where leg work comes into play. First step is to find out where church records are stored and what is the easiest way to retrieve them. For me, many of the records I need are on microfiche at the library in the same town as the churches of my ancestors.

Call ahead or look online to find out where the church records are located for the church you need. It is best to have an idea of what you are looking for before diving into church records. Knowing a date range can save time and frustration.

A church record found on microfiche at nearby library. It required translation, but I could pick out the names.

7. State and Local Libraries

The last important locality is libraries. This might seem obvious but for many they underestimate the wealth of information available at libraries. Also, many do not think of state libraries.

Local libraries are great for census records, often free access to Ancestry.com or other genealogical websites, church records, maps, family information folders, funeral home records and so much more. Look on the library website and find out what holdings they have before making a trip.

State libraries often get overlooked. I know that here in Indiana the state library offers one on one help, tours, webinars and videos, and records including tax lists, city directories, passport applications, military records and census records. Librarians are also very knowledgeable and can help you locate what you need.

I also like to check out issues of Family Tree Magazine from my local library.

Thinking outside of the box will often lead to exciting new finds. Investigate the culture to see what clubs or churches they may have belonged to, research places that would hold records for certain areas.

Lastly, do not be afraid to ask for help. Most are willing to help you put pieces of the family puzzle together.

Where was this found? Is it a newspaper? What year was it published? Cite your sources.

Your long lost cousin found you through Ancestry.com DNA match and is curious how you know that your common great great grandfather died in 1898. What do you tell him/her? Do you just say, ‘I don’t know?’ or can you point your cousin straight to the source? Citing your genealogy sources is critical for proper research in order to save yourself headaches in the future, to be able to prove your findings, and to have the ability to help others and preserve your family history.

Primary and Secondary Genealogy Sources

Genealogists base research in facts. Genealogy facts are discovered through primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are recorded near the time of the event. These sources can include birth, death, and marriage certificates, oral histories recorded close to time they occurred, military records, deeds, tax records, etc. Secondary sources are recorded after some significant time has passed between the event and the recording but could still be reliable if paired with primary sources. Secondary sources include oral histories by witnesses that were recorded well after the event or even information on death certificates such as birth dates that are simply recalled and relied upon by the informant.

To be a genuine genealogist or family historian you have to use facts based mostly on primary sources. Errors may have been made here and there on documents, but you have to take all of your information after exhausting all efforts of finding more clues and come to the best conclusion based on all facts.

I will admit that I am guilty of not citing my sources from to time to time. I often get wrapped up in my research and will print something up or save it to my computer without making a note of the source. Not citing my sources in the past has caused headaches when I try and go back and find it again. I also end up looking in the same place for documents when I have already checked those places, but because I did not cite my sources I then spend extra time going back over resources.

Examples of Citing Sources

The picture of this document is not obvious. Not only is it not in English but it is also not a common source such as a census record or court issued death certificate. Not having this document properly cited could lead to big frustration in the future.

Should I need this document again or tell a relative about it, I need to know exactly where to go to retrieve it.

This document is a marriage record from a Catholic church. I found it on microfiche at a library in the county where the church is located. This is not found online and required a microfiche to copy it. Therefore, recording the source would be crucial to prove my findings. In my files I noted the name of the church, the year, and page number (if available). I also included in the source the place I found it and media used: microfiche. I also included the title that is printed on the microfiche box itself.

The image above was taken from a book about the history of Crawford County, Illinois. I found several biographies referring to my relatives. Although I did not make paper copies of the pages I needed in the book (only took pictures), I still made citations. The files in my computer state the author, name of the book, publication year, and page number(s).

Citing sources also saves time in the future. Knowing where you have already looked for information saves wasted time, money, and possibly even travel. If you are solely researching for your own personal knowledge, I do not believe that it matters how you document. Simply document in a way that details as much information for future reference.

Many family tree software programs out there have spots for noting sources. I use FamilyTree Maker and with each bit of information such as birth, marriage, death, burial, etc. I can enter click on ‘source’ and type in the information I have for citing.

If I print hard copies of documents I always write directly on the paper-either on the front in a corner or on the back. I have had relatives flip through my binders and ask where I found a certain document and I am able to simply look in the corner of the paper or the back and instantly tell them.

I did not cite my sources when I first began my research. It wasn’t a big deal in the beginning, but as time went on it got frustrating. I started going over the same sources again and again and then realizing I had already poured over those two years earlier. I just wasted time.

In the beginning I also thought it didn’t matter because the information I gathered was for myself. After many years I started sharing my research and others wanted me to prove my information. I quickly knew I had to keep up with my citations in order to prove my years worth of hard work.

Keep good records, cite your sources, and keep track of the places you have researched and your journey will be much smoother.