Category: Resources Page 9 of 17

Preparing for Genealogy Vacations

On 14 April 2015

Going along with yesterday’s theme, I’m going to show you how I prepare to visit my ancestor’s hometowns. Everyone is different, I realize, so obviously adjust this to your needs or come up with something new altogether!

First, I have a constant list going. Once I discover a town where ancestors probably left records, I start to create a list for records that I can’t find online (so, nearly all of them in most cases). I include the ancestor’s name, their life span, the information I want, what documents would have that information, and where those documents are located. Sometimes, depending on the ancestor and the place, it’s best to do a city list instead of a county list. It depends on how far the county seat is from the city and where the majority of the records are held. At the top of my list, I also include vital record information. Here is an example of what I mean:

To create the list, I need to know several things:

When were vital records kept (most of this information can be found on the county’s website or FamilySearch.org’s wiki on the county)
Where records are kept for specific items – for example, the Lutheran church records I want are held in the historical society, not at the church.
What records are kept at the county level vs. city level
What records have been destroyed
What records the library holds

Of course, there is a lot of legwork I do before I even get to the city I’m visiting. For example, the will I want I have read on FamilySearch.org but it only included the will, not the rest of the probate documents. There is information on FamilySearch.org for me to write down so I know what box/book/file, etc. the rest of the records are held in. I also contact the county to be sure the records are there and not in say the state library or archives. Sometimes some information can also be obtained by email. So, I email say the historical society, to be sure the church records they have are for the dates I’m looking for and they can sometimes email me a copy of the information I want. This may lead me to other information I would want and I can focus on other records while I am in town.

As most of you know, most records lead to more questions, more records, and more family members. I try to keep focused though and be sure to get what I can on the ancestors on my list, changing it as need be with the information I get. However, I do continue making my list while researching and add in the new people and the information I want on them. Then, if I can, I’ll tackle those new people with what I can find.

I love to travel and see new places and have a tendency to get ADD when it comes to my genealogy research! I’ll start after the new people I find and then never finish what I came all that way for! To prevent that, I need to PLAN as much as I possibly can and then focus on my list, editing as need be, to finish what I started. Since these trips are time-constrained, I do try to pack in as much as I can and this list helps me to focus and answer some of my genealogy questions (and doing some sight-seeing).

By Jayu from Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A. (Hummelstown, Pennsylvania) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What do you all do to prepare for your genealogy-related trips? Put any suggestions you have in the comments!

Happy hunting!

10 Tips on Successfully Researching in an Archive

By Nichelle Barra

On 13 April 2015

In Research, Resources

It’s almost summer! Which means travel! Genealogists will travel all over exploring where their ancestors may have left records. That means exploring cemeteries, county records, local libraries, and, specifically, archives.

So what are archives and what could you find in them? Archives hold many published and unpublished records that tend to be very unique. You’ll find items like diaries, letters, books, manuscripts, etc that tend to be from the area, although not always. Some places, like universities, may gather items that they know will be used by staff and students research specialties. All of these items though are very one-of-a-kind type of records that can be a great find for any genealogist.

These records are available to people, but you normally can’t just walk in on any day and peruse the shelves like at a library. Because of the nature of these unique records and their age, most archives keep their records in controlled rooms and restrict their access to prevent wear and tear. These restrictions make researching in an archive a very unique experience as well as one that some genealogists find intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be.

With that in mind, here are ten tips for successfully researching in an archive:

By Tony Webster (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Know your research questions. Because of the restrictive nature of archives, this is not a place for you to have a vague idea of what you want answered. Be sure you know exactly what you are looking for to get the most out of your research.
Know what types of records the archives will have. Many places have a certain focus for their record collection, especially in universities. For example, I live near the University of Notre Dame and their university archives have items about the Catholic Church in America among other items. This helps you to understand what archives you should visit depending on your research question(s).
Know the collections in the archives. Once you know what archive you want to visit, then you’ll want to know what collections they have. Many places have websites that will list their collections and records so you can do some research before you go.
Know what records you’d like to see. Write down the information on specific items in the collections you want to look at. When you contact the archives, you’ll then have a list of items you can tell them you’re interested in and they’ll let you know if the records are available or not.
Know the hours and open days. Not all archives have regular business hours. Some you may have to set up an actual appointment to get to see what you want. Also be sure you know about parking – where you can park and what it will cost – before you show up so you won’t be late for an appointment.
Know the restrictions. Some places you can bring in a laptop, others you cannot. Some allow only pencils and paper. Some have lockers for your items, some do not. Some allow cell phones/cameras/etc., some do not. Some require archival gloves, some do not. Check out the website to see what is or isn’t allowed in their reading room.
Know their copying rules. Some may allow you to make your own copies on their machines. Some may have you ask a worker to make a copy (this is more common for larger and more fragile documents). Some may have a copy card system or use only USB drives. Be sure you also know fees and if they only accept cash, card, or both. Also, some items may not be allowed to be copied so you’ll want to know that so you can prepare to transcribe them instead.
Contact the archives. This can be done by email, phone, or letter (email is probably the preferred method now but each archive will differ). Let them know when you plan on visiting to set up an appointment if need be and let them know what records you will want to see as mentioned in #4.
Bring ID and come early. Many archives require some form of ID before you can research. Some also have you fill out some information and they’ll issue you a researcher’s card (this link is to NARA’s information on theirs). This can take 15-20 minutes so be sure to arrive early for your appointment.
Take good and thorough notes. That way your steps can be retraced if necessary and if you need more information after you return home, you can email/call them and be very specific on what you need more information on. And, as always, cite your sources!

BONUS: ALWAYS check out the archives website for the best information on how to research in their facility specifically.

Happy hunting and travels!

Tuesday’s Tip: DNA webinars from FTDNA

By Nichelle Barra

On 7 April 2015

In Personal, Resources

Yesterday I posted about the FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) tests I sent to my grandparents. I was able to transfer my AncestryDNA to FTDNA and I’m anxiously waiting for that to finish up. While I’m waiting, I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the tools that FTDNA has to offer by going through their webinars. Specifically those on the FamilyFinder, the tests I sent to my grandparents and the one I transferred.

The videos are about an hour and a half long a piece and I’m taking as many notes as I can while I’m watching. I also have a list of books I plan on getting from the library on DNA too! GRIP is having a DNA course this summer (still open by the way!) and although I can’t quite manage the cost this year, I looked at the course and noted the pre-reading recommended for the course:

Genetic Genealogy: The Basics and Beyond by Emily D. Aulicino

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill

DNA and Social Networking: A Guide to Genealogy in the Twenty-First Century by Debbie Kennett

Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner

I Have the Results of My Genetic Genealogy Test, Now What? by Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD and Matt Dexter (the link is to the PDF version)

So those are now on my to-read list.

So those books, along with the webinars I mentioned should help make me better at interpreting the DNA tests once my grandparents send them in! If you’re interested in learning about using DNA in your genealogy, I highly recommend checking out the free webinars on FTDNA and checking out as many books as you can on the subject! Lucky for me, this was my favorite topic in science so I hope that I will be just as interested now as I was then. 🙂

Any other suggestions for learning about DNA (cost effective is always a plus!)? Leave a comment below!

Happy hunting!

USCIS Genealogy Program

By Nichelle Barra

On 30 March 2015

In Research, Resources

The USCIS Genealogy Program was brought to my attention a while ago from one of EOGN’s articles about the service. I had also seen it mentioned in a webinar I attended about naturalization records. The USCIS is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and they have a page dedicated to genealogy research, and for that, I love them. Their record series are:

27 Sept. 1906 – 31 March 1956 – Certificate Files – Self-explanatory really but these are basically the certificates of naturalization. Click the link for a more thorough explanation of what they can hold.
1940-1944 – Alien Registration Forms on Microfilm – Also called AR-2’s – These are documents from World War II that made a record of aliens living in the U.S. during that time. Click the link for more information.
1 July 1924 – 31 March 1944 – Visa Files – These are official files on the arrival records of immigrants that came to the U.S. permanently. Click the link for more information (these records can include pictures!)
2 March 1929 – 31 March 1944 – Registry Files – These records are for those who came into the U.S. before 1 July 1924 and did not have an arrival record or one that could be found. Click the link for more information.
A-Files Numbered Below 8 Million – Also called A-Files – These are individual files identified by an A-Number (Alien Registration Number). Click the link for more information.

The USCIS program was brought to my attention again today (thanks to Facebook!). I haven’t used this program before this because the majority of my ancestors came before their records. Except for a few of course. Namely, John Michael Stalmacher, whom I talked about here. So I decided to give this a go and send out for a genealogy index search request. I have searched before for naturalization records to see if I could find a record number (then I could skip the index search request step) but I have had no luck.

So I filled out the index search request form found here and then today I’ll send it out with my money order. It could take about 90 days to get a response, which is fine for the patient researcher, but really, are there such things as patient researchers?

I’ll be anxiously checking my mailbox/email for the next few weeks!

Have any of you used this service? What were your results?

Happy hunting!