Genealogy Help & Advice

KINDS OF RECORDS
AND
MORE SEARCHABLE RECORD SITES

Now that you’ve become familiar with the Federal Census it’s time to move on to other types of records. First we need to look at the different records in order of importance. The most important class or records are PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS.

PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS are those that are completed at the time of the event either by a county, state, town or church official or by your ancestor. These may be either the actual, original document or photo copies, microfilm copies or digital copies of original documents. This type of record carries the most weight in proving your ancestors. Examples of primary source documents are:

* BIRTH RECORDS
* CENSUS RECORDS
(beware-name spellings, dates and places of Birth may be incorrect)
* MARRIAGE RECORDS
* DEEDS
* TAX RECORDS
* MILITARY & MILITARY PENSION RECORDS
* DEATH RECORDS
(beware- dates and places of Birth may be Incorrect since they are provided by a friend or relative at a stressful time)
* MISCELANEOUS COURT RECORDS
* FAMILY BIBLES
* OBITUARIES

The next in order of importance are SECONDARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS. These records were NOT completed at the time of the event. These records are copied or transcribed by a third party which opens the door for human interpretation and error. Examples of secondary source records are:

* TRANSCRIBED COPIES OF RECORDS
* ABSTRACTS OF RECORDS

The last in order of importance is TERTIARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS. This type of document allows for 2 levels of third-party interpretation and more human error. Examples of tertiary source records are:

* BOOKS OR MAGAZINES CONTAINING TRANSCRIPTS OR ABSTRACTS
* MANUSCRIPTS
* FAMILY TREES COMPILED BY OTHERS

Now that you know WHAT kinds of records you need to find, you need to know WHERE you can find them.
There are two types of record sites on the internet: free and subscription.

FREE INTERNET GENEALOGY SITES

* FAMILY SEARCH.ORG contains primary and secondary source records. Organized by country then state and finally county. Some record groups are searchable and others are not. This is the LDS (Mormon) Church site. It is free, but requires you to register.
* U.S. GENWEB SITE contains mostly secondary source records organized by state then county.
* U.S. GENWEB ARCHIVES SITE contains secondary source records organized by state then county.
* BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT contains land patents of vacant public lands (a primary source document)
* ROOTS WEB a clearing house-site for secondary and tertiary records
* WORLD CONNECT SITE a searchable database of family trees
* FIND A GRAVE a searchable database of 138 million graves
* NATIONAL PARKS CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS AND SAILORS DATABASE a searchable database of Civil War soldiers, sailors, Battle Units, Cemeteries, Battles, Prisoners, Medals of Honor awardees and Monuments
* ELLIS ISLAND DATABASE a database of immigrants who entered through Ellis Island
* SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX
* 1840 CENSUS OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSIONERS
* GENEALOGY.COM’S FAMILY TREE MAKER DATABASE OF TREES
* GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH
* STATES’ ARCHIVES this is a web page with links to all 50 states’ archive, most with searchable databases
* LIST OF THE TOP 100 GENEALOGY SITE

SUBSCRIPTION INTERNET GENEALOGY SITES
(I am only mentioning 2 sites that all serious genealogist should use)

* ANCESTRY.COM The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical and historical record websites focused on the United States and nine foreign countries, develops and markets genealogical software, and offers a wide array of genealogical related services As of June 2014, the company provided access to approximately 16 billion historical records ranging from primary records through tertiary records.
* FOLD3.COM a subscription-based website specializing in historical military records primarily from the United States. It also has a large collection of documents dealing with the United States, city directories, and newspapers. Some record sets are free but the majority are accessible only by paid subscription.

OFF-LINE SEARCH SITES

* LIBRARIES (another list of LIBRARIES) The main branch of your local library is a good place to go. Most libraries participate in the Inter Library Loan System.
* STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETIES & GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES
* LDS CHURCH FAMILY HISTORY CENTERS
* COUNTY ARCHIVES &/or COUNTY COURT HOUSES
* STATE ARCHIVES for records NOT on line

DON'T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS YOU FIND. Save them to a thumb drive, NOT your computer's hard drive (your computer WILL crash some day and if your documents are on the hard drive you will lose them).

Tomorrow: How to use circumstantial evidence to "prove" an ancestral relationship