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WVC
Genealogy Home Page Survey of Primary Sources LDS Family History Library Catalog - do a PLACE search to see what books and records have been filmed. If your research is in New England do both a town search and county search - in most states search by county Check out the Outstanding U.S. Sources page for new and wonderful state resources more and more states are now putting wonderful records online at their state archives site and remember that your "previous research" sites like WorldConnect or message boards etc. often have documentation, sources, abstracts, transcriptions within their information If you are sending for film, using indexes and original records, REMEMBER to have made your timeline and have your list of allied families. Pull entries for those families from the index as well because the chances are high that your ancestor is at their estate sale, witnesses their will, is mentioned in their deed etc. |
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| Birth Census Military Tax Court Records Marriage Land Migration / Immigration Death |
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| BIRTH RECORDS | |
| Baptisms & Christenings | Aside from dates
these records sometimes show sponsors or other names that point to family
members. Denominations like Anglican, Lutheran, Dutch Reformed
kept detailed records. "New" protestant denominations
such as Baptist did not believe in infant baptism so check for the rules
of your ancestor's religion. Search Google with terms like "church records" Groton Connecticut. "baptisms" Groton Connecticut. In the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by town - then look for church records |
| Birth Registries | Some states
kept some sorts of registries peculiar to their area. For instance
Kentucky kept some registries starting about 1852 to the Civil War era,
then sporadically after that. Many mid-western states started
registries in the 1880s. In the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then look for vital records to see if something like that existed for the time and place and has been filmed |
| Newspaper Notices | In early newspapers
births were not reported. In the post-Civil War era you start
to see them occasionally - often in the "about town" kinds
of columns where they say something like "The Harvey's newest member
was welcomed today". Regular birth notices do not seem to
start till well in 20th century. Newspapers are more difficult to come by. Ancestry keeps adding scanned images but their collection is not large at this time. Search Google with terms like newspapers microfilm illinois loan Libraries and archives will usually appear who will loan their film. These include directories to what paper was published when. If you find what you want print it out and take it to your public library so they can order the film for you. |
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Town Records (New England) |
Appear similar
to a Bible entry - they sometimes show parents or family groups but
sometimes simply wrote "John Adams b 4 Sep 1742" Search Google with terms like "vital records" Groton Connecticut. Many libraries (such as Seattle Public) have large collections of town records in book form and you can at find out if they are there by searching their catalog. In the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by town - then look for vital records |
| Bible Records | In the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then look for Bible records |
| See Also: Death Records | because births were so often recorded at time of death ie death certificates or cemetery records |
| CENSUS RECORDS | |
| see Census page | |
| MILITARY RECORDS | |
| see Military page | |
| TAX RECORDS | |
| In most lists
men appear by name when they reach 21. Try to find the rules for
the state where you are working if the lists don't explain themselves
well. Search Google with terms like Loudoun Virginia "tax list" In the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then look for tax records. Some states have excellent resources (like KY & GA) that cover many years showing not just their names but how many acres they owned and where as well as livestock and other items. Many tax lists have also been published in journals and books and are sometimes very inexpensive to purchase. |
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| MARRIAGE RECORDS | |
| When searching
for marriages the thing to remember is that sometimes a marriage generated
MANY different kinds of records and if you settle for the entry in an
database or you only see the license you may be missing out on the record
that had the most information. A good place to start seeing what
might exist is the LDS Family History Catalog. Do
PLACE search and view the vital records. MOST in existence
have been filmed except for many western states which seem to have been
passed over. Search Google with terms like marriages blount tennessee |
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| Banns | The marriage custom used by the Congregationalists (Puritans), Anglicans, Catholics and others . Banns were read in church in the weeks ahead of the marriage to announce the forthcoming nuptials. This allowed a time period where any objections could be made, the congregation could pray for the couple and gave the green light to the marriage. Certificates and notices were written stating the banns had been published |
| Bonds | Most common in the southern states where they were required by law |
| Town Records | vital records recorded in New England towns (see explanation under birth records) |
| Licenses | As the 1800s moved along different places began requiring marriage licenses. What they put on them seems to depend on what kind of form they published. By the Civil War era most have fairly detailed information about age, occupation, birthplace etc. and by the 1880s often include parents. It varied from state to state. |
| Returns | As licenses became more standard the minister's return was usually just an extension of the license but in many states in early days he was supposed to come to the courthouse every so often and "return" a list of couples he married and the date he did it. |
| Consents | In most marriages if the bride or groom were under a certain age consent was given by parents. Brides usually had consent if they were under 21 - the rules varied more for the men. Sometimes it is simply a notation "bride's father gave consent" but sometimes the note is still there that the father wrote "Lizzie has my permission..." and filed with the original marriage bonds, licenses etc. |
| Marriage Registers | Many counties simply kept a book and each time a couple was married they entered them into that book. Some registers are simply bride, groom and minister. Some record consent and other information. |
| Marriage Databases | Ancestry has many of these and the local genealogy society has many marriage cds. The major caution is that when they say "Marriage of Ohio" they may not include your county or they may only include 5 years of your county. |
| Church Records | In some states like Pennsylvania or New York (where no official record of marriages was kept till very late) the only marriage record found is in church records. Some have been published. Some are in archives. Some have been filmed by Salt Lake. Many Quaker marriages are found at Ancestry. |
| MIGRATION/IMMIGRATION RECORDS | |
| Immigration | Coming from
across the ocean to become and American generated a lot of paperwork: when they left home they sometimes were reported in the newspaper passenger lists ports of entry along the way port of arrival newspaper at point of arrival intent to naturalize naturalization Remember that Ellis Island being the center of immigration really didn't happen until the late 1800s. In earlier times places like Baltimore or Boston was the choice. The Scots Irish and many Germans always preferred Philadelphia. Ancestry has a growing collection of immigration records including digital copies of passenger lists. The Wenatche Area Genealogical Society has Filby's Index to passenger lists (a multi-volume set of books). The LDS Family History Library has filmed thousands of rolls of passenger lists and indexes to ports. Check the immigration page for more links |
| Migration | It is rare that they ever traveled alone in pre-railroad days. Extended family came together to a new place. |
| LAND RECORDS | |
| The BLM
site if fabulous for states that sold land to individuals (which includes
the states in the midwest & west). It has been offline for
some time and is well worth the look when it returns as it will give
exact coordinates of your ancestor's land and in most cases a copy of
his original warrant. Search Google with terms like "land records" Loudoun Virginia deeds Loudoun Virginia land warrants Loudoun Virignia also a search like understanding Maryland Land Records will usually get you to a state archives that gives an overview of how things were done in your state - here is an example from the Maryland State archives In the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then go to Land & Property. MOST deed books have been filmed and most have an index. |
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| Warrants, Surveys, Patents | All have to do with when your ancestor got land that had never been owned by another person before him. It was granted by a colony or the state by purchase or for military service or for some other promotion that gave people land. |
| Deeds | The backbone
of land records. They will give you a buyer, a seller, usually
witnesses and in most states the wife will appear because she had to
release her dower right. They sometimes detail family relationships
(naming son Benjamin or the land I got from my grandfather Richard).
Deed books record more than land transactions - you might also find
in a deed book agreements for mortgages, apprenticeships, the "binding
out" of children, marriage agreements, emancipations and other
misc. records. Filmed deed indexes are sometimes done by "General Index" which indexes both buyer seller, sometimes indexed by the Grantor (the seller) or the Grantee (the buyer). Remember that many people can appear on the deed that won't be in the index. |
| Bounty Lands | Given in return
for military service until the Civil War era (after which the Homestead
Act took over) Search Google using terms like "Bounty Land" "War of 1812" or "Bounty Land" Ohio These are often found in published works or have been filmed but sometimes take some digging to find. If you search the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by COUNTY also
do place search by UNITED STATES and then look for these headings: |
| Homestead Papers | can be found at the courthouse where they were filed and the National Archives. The National Archives has good details here as well as a nice sample of a Homestead document |
| COURT RECORDS | |
| Most Americans
show up at some point in their life in court records. Finding them is
not always easy since most court records have never been fully indexed
unless published in book form. They take patience but can sometimes
give you a glimpse of your family's life you would never get anywhere
else. A nice guide to American Court records can be found here In the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then go court records |
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| Court Minutes / Court Orders | Abbreviated
entries for everything that took place in the county court. Here you
can find: law suits from one person to another for things like debt, assault etc. applications for licenses for ministers, tavern keepers, ferry men etc. orders for road crews odds and ends |
| DEATH RECORDS | |
| Many records
were generated at the time of an ancestor's death A simple search on Google using terms like Texas death records will usually pull up any online databases To find death registries in the the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then go to Vital Records To find cemetery records in the the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then go to Cemeteries To find probate (wills, accounts, sales, guardianships, inventories) in the the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then go to Probate |
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| Wills | If grandpa left a will he will usually name all heirs (but not always - sometimes he gave his portion to some children earlier in life and does not mention them in his will). Sometimes he simply refers to his children as "my heirs" etc. His wife (if living) is nearly always named as are grandchildren (especially if their parent was deceased and property that would have gone to him is now going to this children). |
| Inventories/Appraisals | In early America when a man died commissioners were appointed by the court to appraise his estate and appoint an administrator of the estate if he died without a will. An inventory is an itemized accounting of his possessions. |
| Accounts | records of who he owed money to at time of death or who owed money to him. They are USUALLY filed with Inventorys though some states kept separate books |
| Sales | After an estate was inventoried there was often a sale. These can be VERY useful as most of the buyers are family members and very close neighbors. It tells what they bought and for how much. If Grandpa died without a will and a large portion of the sales are by a woman she is usually the widow. This is because by law she was only entitled to her third so if she wanted more she had to buy it back. |
| Dower Division | usually took
place within a year of the death of her husband. After the commissioners
appraise the estate she is entitled to one third of all property both
real and personal (though the laws could change in different states).
If a LAND dower division is made you will find a document that names
the widows portion and then often parcels the remaining two thirds between
the heirs so a dower division (when there is no will) can give you the
names of the children. Dower divisions can be stuck in either
a will book or deed book depending on how the county did things.
Sometimes they must have been in loose papers because they never appear.
If the deceased left a will and the widow did not think it was fair (or if the estate was in great debt) she could reject the will and choose her dower right which was 1/3 off the top before any debts were paid. |
| Guardianship | Guardianship
in early America was a term to indicate guardianship of PROPERTY or
money that was due the heir. The court could appoint a guardian even
if the mother was still living to oversee these accounts even thought
the child/children continued to live with their mother. Guardianship records were usually kept in the will book or a separate guardian accounts book. Most have been filmed, many abstracts have been published. In most places the guardian had to come to court yearly and give a financial accounting so they might continue to generate records for years. At age 12 a child could choose his / her own guardian. If a child was mistreated there will usually be a note in the guardianship book or court orders appointing a new guardian. If children were poor, had no inheritance and a mother with no means of support they were usually bound out (indentured) until the age of 21. Exact ages are usually given in these documents and they may be found in court records or deed books. |
| Funeral Home Records | Post Civil War era. If you are after very early records try a local genealogical society to find out what has survived and who has them. If that doesn't work use Funeral Net and see if you can find someone in the town where they lived who knows who would have been in business then and if the records can be accessed |
| Cemetery Records | Many Genweb
sites are putting local cemetery records online. If they do not
have them they will usually have a list of published cemetery records
that can be purchased or a look-up volunteer who will hunt for someone
for you. Search Google using terms like Chelan Washington Cemetery Records or Wenatchee Cemetery Records or "Evergreen Cemetery" Brownsville Ohio To find death records in the the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then go to Cemetery Records |
| Death Indexes | Many states
or counties have death indexes - a nice list of these is here Search Google using terms like Washington Death Records To find death records in the the LDS catalog do a PLACE search by county - then go to Vital Records |