Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook
Discover the best genealogy records! This ebook features guides to finding and using the most essential genealogy records, from census returns to passenger lists to birth, marriage and death records. Inside, you’ll find details on the most useful resources for each kind of record, plus how you can read records, interpret them and apply the information you find in them to your family tree.
Who Should Get This eBook
You’ll love the Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook if…
- You’ve just begun your ancestry search and need pointers on where to start looking
- You want to pull more information from genealogy records you’ve found
- You want to make the most of your research time and of the documents you find
What’s Inside
The Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook features:
- Detailed guides to finding and using various genealogy records, both online and by contacting archives
- Samples records to help you know what to look for, plus strategies for using the records you’ve already found to discover more resources
- Key genealogy websites and resources for finding records, plus links to additional articles that will aid your search
Excerpt: Sample Tips
Here are some tips you’ll find in the Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook:
- Use records in combination with each other. You can use data from multiple record types to cross-reference and validate information as well as track down new records. For example, use the year of immigration from a census return to narrow down your passenger list and naturalization document searches, or use a person’s street address from a city directory to find him in the most recent census.
- Track down the original record. You’ll often find birth, marriage and death information in indexes, particularly on the large free genealogy websites. The information you find in indexes is often helpful, but you should always try to find the original record, as the original document may contain more-complete (and even more-accurate) information. The website with the index should provide details on where to find the source data.
- Look for the census dates. The ages and number of people in a household you see in census returns are recorded as of the official census date, which varied from year to year. Find out what census date was in place for the returns you’re looking at, as these dates may explain why family members are absent from a census.
Contents of the Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook:
Family History’s Top 10: These 10 go-to genealogy records probably name your ancestors—and we’ll help you find a way.
A Trail of Clues: How do you get from a single old record to a fleshed-out family profile? By following the signs along your ancestor’s trail. We’ll lead the way.
Part 1: Vital Records
-
Through the Maze: Wildly varying access rules and availability make a tangled maze
of your ancestors’ state-level vital records. Let us guide you through. - 12 Steps to the Altar: Seeking records about your ancestors’ marriages? Follow these 12 tips and your search will end happily ever after.
- Surprise, Surprise: It’s your lucky day! If carefully reviewed, birth, marriage and death records can contain a wealth of information. Here are some unexpected details you may fi nd in vital records.
Part 2: Census Records
- Enumeration Nation: Your forebears answered a surprising number of questions every 10 years. And buried in those census columns may be the key to an ancestral mystery.
- The Great Comet of 1950: It’s the bee’s knees, daddy-O! The 1950 US census has arrived, bringing good genealogical tidings. Here’s what you’ll fi nd in it.
- Cracking the Census Code: Discover important family history clues hidden in the US census. We won’t let you miss—or misinterpret—your ancestors’ entries.
Part 3: Immigration Records
- First Generation: Make these three kinds of records your first stop when researching immigrant ancestors.
- Immigration Nation: Our guide to finding passenger lists will help you retrace your ancestors’ first footsteps on American soil.
- Behind the Golden Door: Millions of our ancestors arrived at Ellis Island with everything they owned and their hopes for a better life. Our photo tour lets you follow in their footsteps.
- The Great Unknowns: Search beyond basic records with these six little-known sources to discover your immigrant ancestors’ hometowns and life details.
Part 4: Other Records
- Pomp and Circumstance: Hit the books—yearbooks, that is—with this guide to finding school records online.
- In Memoriam: Learn about your ancestor’s life and legacy with this guide to finding and using obituaries and death notices.
- Security Measures: Cash in on the genealogical benefits of your relatives’ Social Security documents.
- No Stone Unturned: Tombstones aren’t the only records available in the graveyard. Bring your ancestors’ deaths (and lives) to light with these seven cemetery resources.
- Let Freedom Ring: Records of the infl uential Freedmen’s Bureau are more accessible now than ever before. Learn what you can uncover in them.
The Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook (112 pages) comes in PDF format and can be printed out or viewed on your tablet, laptop or desktop computer for easy reference while working with your family memories. Portions of this eBook were originally published in Family Tree Magazine.
Discover the best genealogy records! This ebook features guides to finding and using the most essential genealogy records, from census returns to passenger lists to birth, marriage and death records. Inside, you’ll find details on the most useful resources for each kind of record, plus how you can read records, interpret them and apply the information you find in them to your family tree.
Who Should Get This eBook
You’ll love the Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook if…
- You’ve just begun your ancestry search and need pointers on where to start looking
- You want to pull more information from genealogy records you’ve found
- You want to make the most of your research time and of the documents you find
What’s Inside
The Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook features:
- Detailed guides to finding and using various genealogy records, both online and by contacting archives
- Samples records to help you know what to look for, plus strategies for using the records you’ve already found to discover more resources
- Key genealogy websites and resources for finding records, plus links to additional articles that will aid your search
Excerpt: Sample Tips
Here are some tips you’ll find in the Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook:
- Use records in combination with each other. You can use data from multiple record types to cross-reference and validate information as well as track down new records. For example, use the year of immigration from a census return to narrow down your passenger list and naturalization document searches, or use a person’s street address from a city directory to find him in the most recent census.
- Track down the original record. You’ll often find birth, marriage and death information in indexes, particularly on the large free genealogy websites. The information you find in indexes is often helpful, but you should always try to find the original record, as the original document may contain more-complete (and even more-accurate) information. The website with the index should provide details on where to find the source data.
- Look for the census dates. The ages and number of people in a household you see in census returns are recorded as of the official census date, which varied from year to year. Find out what census date was in place for the returns you’re looking at, as these dates may explain why family members are absent from a census.
Contents of the Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook:
Family History’s Top 10: These 10 go-to genealogy records probably name your ancestors—and we’ll help you find a way.
A Trail of Clues: How do you get from a single old record to a fleshed-out family profile? By following the signs along your ancestor’s trail. We’ll lead the way.
Part 1: Vital Records
-
Through the Maze: Wildly varying access rules and availability make a tangled maze
of your ancestors’ state-level vital records. Let us guide you through. - 12 Steps to the Altar: Seeking records about your ancestors’ marriages? Follow these 12 tips and your search will end happily ever after.
- Surprise, Surprise: It’s your lucky day! If carefully reviewed, birth, marriage and death records can contain a wealth of information. Here are some unexpected details you may fi nd in vital records.
Part 2: Census Records
- Enumeration Nation: Your forebears answered a surprising number of questions every 10 years. And buried in those census columns may be the key to an ancestral mystery.
- The Great Comet of 1950: It’s the bee’s knees, daddy-O! The 1950 US census has arrived, bringing good genealogical tidings. Here’s what you’ll fi nd in it.
- Cracking the Census Code: Discover important family history clues hidden in the US census. We won’t let you miss—or misinterpret—your ancestors’ entries.
Part 3: Immigration Records
- First Generation: Make these three kinds of records your first stop when researching immigrant ancestors.
- Immigration Nation: Our guide to finding passenger lists will help you retrace your ancestors’ first footsteps on American soil.
- Behind the Golden Door: Millions of our ancestors arrived at Ellis Island with everything they owned and their hopes for a better life. Our photo tour lets you follow in their footsteps.
- The Great Unknowns: Search beyond basic records with these six little-known sources to discover your immigrant ancestors’ hometowns and life details.
Part 4: Other Records
- Pomp and Circumstance: Hit the books—yearbooks, that is—with this guide to finding school records online.
- In Memoriam: Learn about your ancestor’s life and legacy with this guide to finding and using obituaries and death notices.
- Security Measures: Cash in on the genealogical benefits of your relatives’ Social Security documents.
- No Stone Unturned: Tombstones aren’t the only records available in the graveyard. Bring your ancestors’ deaths (and lives) to light with these seven cemetery resources.
- Let Freedom Ring: Records of the infl uential Freedmen’s Bureau are more accessible now than ever before. Learn what you can uncover in them.
The Ultimate Guide to Genealogy Records eBook (112 pages) comes in PDF format and can be printed out or viewed on your tablet, laptop or desktop computer for easy reference while working with your family memories. Portions of this eBook were originally published in Family Tree Magazine.