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Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy - Chapter 11 SL Book Club Slides
1. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood
Presented by Serena Snowfield
2. Types of Compiled Sources
• Family histories and genealogies
• Local histories
• Compiled lists (dictionaries, directories,
etc.)
• Biographical works
• Genealogical and historical periodicals
• Compendium genealogies
• Special manuscript collections
3. Family Histories & Genealogies
• Bring together valuable data from many
different sources.
• Need to verify stated “facts” with primary
sources.
• Even inferior works might have helpful
clues.
4. Family Histories & Genealogies
Kaminkow, Marion J., Genealogies in the
Library of Congress: A Bibliography With
Supplements and the Complement to
Genealogies in the Library of Congress
(Genealogical Publishing Co., 2001).
Also available as a Google eBook
Library of Congress Local History &
Genealogy Reading Room: The
Collections
http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/lhgcoll.html
5. Local Histories
• Include town, county, and regional
histories.
• Important feature: the biographical
section (also called “mug books”).
• Can’t find your ancestor? You might find
an in-law or descendant instead.
• Contain useful information about an
area’s history.
6. Local Histories
“No genealogist knows all he should
about research in any given area
until he knows something of that
area’s history.”
Greenwood, p. 187
7. Local Histories
Filby, P. William, A Bibliography of
American County Histories (Genealogical
Publishing Co., 1985)
Also available as a Google eBook.
Library of Congress: Resources for Local
History and Genealogy by State
http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/states/states_intro
.html
Online County Histories, Biographies &
Indexes
http://www.genealogybranches.com/countyhistories.html
8. Compiled Lists
• Types include dictionaries, directories,
lists, registers, etc.
• Compiled from several (usually original)
sources.
• Considered reliable, though not always
complete.
9. Biographical Works
• Found in almost every library.
• Usually deal with people who achieved
some degree of prominence.
• Don’t pass up because your ancestors
were “common folks.”
• Most of the data are provided by the
subjects themselves and are reliable.
10. Biographical Works
Slocum, Robert B., Biographical
dictionaries and related works: an
international bibliography of collective
biographies, bio-bibliographies, collections
of epitaphs (Detroit : Gale Research Co.,
1967, with supplements, and vol. 2, 1986).
11. Genealogical & Historical
Periodicals
• Range from scholarly journals to low-
budget family publications.
• Many are published on a restricted basis.
• Don’t overlook “general circulation”
magazines that are not genealogical in
nature.
12. Genealogical & Historical
Periodicals
PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)
Available online at Ancestry.com ($) and Heritage Quest;
hard copies in some libraries.
Library of Congress – Genealogical
Periodicals: A Guide for Research :
Periodical Indexes
http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/genperioperi.html
Jacobus, Donald Lines, Index to
Genealogical Periodicals
Genealogical Publishing Co., 2010 – reprint 3 vols
14. Compendium Genealogies
• Usually comprehensive treatises with
abstracts of information.
• Notoriously inaccurate; data usually not
from original sources.
“…to compress the lineages contained
in thousands of individual family
genealogies into a single volume.”
Greenwood, p. 196
15. Special Manuscript Collections
• Unpublished materials found in libraries,
historical societies, and archives.
• Often difficult to locate.
• Some are microfilmed.
• Search the NUCMC under “genealogy,”
as well as surnames of interest,
localities, lawyer’s papers (esp. in
“burned” counties), military commanding
officers’ papers.
16. Special Manuscript Collections
Library of Congress: National Union
Catalog of Manuscript Collections
(NUCMC)
http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc
NUCMC List of Participating Repositories:
Fiscal Years 1959-present (replaces the
geographical guide)
http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/repositorieslist.html
DAR Library: Special Collections
http://www.dar.org/library/speccol.cfm
17. Newspapers
• Useful source from the geographical
area where your ancestor lived.
• Did not always report “the facts,”
especially older newspapers.
• Details are sometimes sketchy.
• Current newspapers are helpful for
finding living relatives in locations where
your ancestors lived.
18. Newspapers
Types of information to look for:
– Obituaries
– Birth announcements
– Marriage/engagement announcements
– Legal/probate notices
– Notes of thanks
– “Who is visiting” notices
– Other news items
19. Newspapers
Brigham, Clarence Saunders, History and
bibliography of American newspapers,
1690-1820 : including additions and
corrections, 1961 (Archon Books, 1962)
Rowell's & Ayer's American Newspaper
Directory PDF's
http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/news_research_tools/ayersdirect
ory.html
Google
http://www.google.com
20. Newspapers
Chronicling America (26 states)
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
Online Historical Newspapers (by Miriam J. Robbins)
https://sites.google.com/site/onlinenewspapersite
ProQuest (connect through some libraries)
http://www.proquest.com/en-US
GenealogyBank
http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk
NewspaperArchive (free for SCGS members)
http://www.newspaperarchive.com
21. Limitations of Compiled Sources
• Accessibility and availability – limited
publication and lack of indexes make
items difficult to find.
• Reliability – scientific research methods
seldom used; clerical errors in copied
materials.
• Completeness – Compiled without
thorough research.
• Documentation – Sources missing or
from other compiled sources.
22. Additional Resources
FamilySearch Wiki: A Checklist of
Compiled Sources & Where to Find Them
https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/A_Checklist_of_
Compiled_Sources_%26_Where_to_Find_Them
Library of Congress: Local History &
Genealogy Reading Room
http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/
WorldCat: The world’s largest network of
library content and services
http://www.worldcat.org
23. Additional Resources
FamilySearch: Family History Archives
http://lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.php
Allen County Public Library Genealogy
Center Catalog
http://smartcat.acpl.lib.in.us/?skin=genealogy
NGS Book Loan Collection at the St. Louis
County Library
http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/library_book_loan_collectio
n
24. Additional Resources
Meyerink, Kory L., Printed Sources: A
Guide to Published Genealogical Records
(Ancestry Publishing, 1998).
Pfeiffer, Laura Szucs, Hidden Sources:
Family History in Unlikely Places (Ancestry
Publishing, 2000).
Google Books
http://books.google.com/books
