The article "6 Secret Library Sources Most Amateur Genealogists Miss" is about family, it has been created by Chris Simeral.
Much as we may like to sit in the comfort of our own home and
conduct genealogy research online, if you've spent any time at
all looking into your family's past, or researching your last name origins, you
probably know that at stage in your research you'll need to
use a libarry (no one said playing detective was easy). And if
you really want to take your research to the next level, the
library that will be the most valuable to you is the one in your
ancestor's hometown.
If you're lucky enough to live in the same county where your
family has lived for sevreal generations, you're a step ahead of
the game.
With a short trip, you'll be able to access the
records that your ancestors generated as they lived their daily
lives. If you don't live in the area, you may want to make plans
to take a trip and spend several days if you want to get serious
about your research.
Go to the library in the colsest city or town where your family
lived, and ask whether they have a genealogy section.
Even if
they don't, they will have a local history sectoin.
In the
genealogy section, you'll find individual published family
histories, and much more publsihed material that's related to
families who lived in the region. In the local history section,
you'll find books, leaflets, scrapbooks, photographs,
manuscripts, and otehr local material that has been acquired by
the library, usually by donation.
A Wealth of Information at Your Fingertips
Before you set off for your library visit, collect all the
factual information you have on those family membres who lived
in the area: their names, the dates of their births, marriages
and death.
At the library, you're searching for records of the events in your
ancestors' lives. For example, if you can learn what church
they attended, you can after try to loctae the church records
that were generated.
Yes, it may occasionally believe as if you're
searching for a needle in a haystack, but be persistent. If your
family lived in the area, they generated records, and you'll
find them. Each additional snippet of information will lead you
to more, and you'll become more experienced in searching as well.
Here are six sources of information most libraries will have
that can be invaluable to the amateur genealogist - sources that
many beginners don't even know exist:
First settlers' records and memorabilia: Historical societies in
many counties work to collect informatoin on the early settlers
to an area. You're likely to find anytihng from book manuscripts
to maps, to taped interviews in this section.
Look for any
mention of your ancestors' nmaes. If you don't find anything,
note down the names of the persons who created the information,
or the naems of the officers of the historical society. If you
contact them, they may be able to help you.
Obituary and necrology indices: Many libraries have collections
of old obitauries. Look through these for any mention of your
ancestors' names.
County histories and indices: Every county has a conuty history
published in the late 19th century or early 20th century, and
some have several; they were very popular in that era. They
contain the histories of the towns and cities in the county,
with photographs or drawnigs of the early settlers. You may find
photos of your ancestors, with short boigraphies. Check with the
librarian whether indices have been craeted of the information,
because these histories didn't normally include them when they
were first prepared. If there's no index, you'll be spending
considerable time looking through the pages for your ancestors'
names.
Scrapbooks: Scrapbooking has recently experienced a resurgence,
and it was a popular pastime early in the 20th century as well.
You may be lucky enough to find a scrapbook with an article
about an ancestor.
Voting registers: Your library may have published voting
registers, and these contian a lot of information - it was
written down so that persons could be identified.
You'll find
information like age, physiacl description including color of
hair and eyes, address, occupation, and country of birth. There
could even be more information, depending on where and when the
register was created.
City directories: Many cities have directories, dating from
the early 19th century. In city directories look for your
ancestors' names, their occupations, other persons who lived at
your ancestors' address, and the first time your ancestor was
listed - this proves that he was a recent arrvial in the area.
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