Family History 101
Welcome to Family History 101. We are currently working on many aspects of this site and will be adding new pages daily. Please feel free to view and use the tools we have now.
Who were your ancestors? Where did they live? What choices made by these men and women over the generations have influenced the way you live and think? In many ways, the ancestors we can never meet have affected our lives and molded our destinies. Although we are not clones of our ancestors, their blood runs in our veins, and we have inherited pieces of their genetic makeup. Their physical traits, values, and attitudes have been transmitted from generation to generation, showing up in the way we look, think, and act. Our ancestors amount to more than just a string of lifeless names on a chart. They made a difference in our world. They still do. But it is strange how little most of us know about them or the times in which they lived.
Delving into your family history can be one of the most intellectually stimulating, absorbing, and satisfying ways you will ever find to spend your time.
There is no specific formula that can be used to trace any family history. Every family is unique, having a different assortment of people who lived in different places under different circumstances. While I cannot provide detailed information on all sources available to family historians, Family History 101 covers the basic tools and provides essential instructions. My intention is to suggest some of the easiest ways to find, document, and preserve your family history.
This site is an introduction to the wide and rich variety of materials that you can use to build a bridge for your personal journey back in time.
Research in Census Records
Research in Census Records
What is the name, age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of each person residing in this house? Which of these individuals attended school or was married within the year? Who among them is deaf and dumb, blind, insane, “idiotic,” a pauper, or a convict? Is there anyone in the household over twenty years of age who cannot read and write? What is the name of the slave owner? How many slaves belong to the owner? What is the tribe of this Indian? What were the places of birth of the person’s parents? In what year did this person immigrate to the United States and, if naturalized, what was the year of naturalization? For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to census records......
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Research in Land Records
Research in Land Records
Land records provide two types of important evidence for the genealogist. Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. Most beginning genealogists underestimate the importance of using land records to pin persons to specific locales. In the South, which has far fewer vital records than New England, the land records are even more crucial to genealogical success. For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to Land records......
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Research in Court Records
Research in Court Records
In the course of research, many genealogists limit their searches to probate court records for wills, administrations, and guardianships, or turn to court records for naturalizations. However, there are other court records that should not be overlooked. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, and they often provide occupations, descriptions of individuals, and other excellent family history information. Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session. It was a civic duty—and they could be fined if they did not attend.
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Research in Probate Records
Research in Probate Records
Probate cases are distinctive enough to be discussed separately from civil, criminal, and equity proceedings. The records they generate are among the most valuable genealogical materials we have in America. They are also among the most complicated, filled with pitfalls for the unwary. The probate process transfers the legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title to heirs from the deceased to an executor/executrix (where there is a will), to an administrator/administratix (if the person dies intestate-without a will), or to a guardian/conservator if there are heirs under the age of twenty-one years or in cases where a person has become incompetent through disease or disability.
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Research in Tax Records
Research in Tax Records
Things taxed have included carriages and watches, windows and whiskey, land and slaves. Taxes on documents and tea helped start a war. Arkansas Territory’s sudden tax on bounty lands in the 1820s was enacted and due before the news had time to reach out-of-state owners, permitting the quick seizure and sale of “delinquent” lands. As this variety suggests, name lists of such taxes must be used with a cautious understanding of who should be on the list and who should not. For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to Tax records......
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Research in Vital Records
Research in Vital Records
Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century.......
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Research in Military Records
Research in Military Records
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest.......
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Research in State Histories
Research in State Histories
Breif History of each State.......
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- States Covered Are:
- Alabama , Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersy, New Nexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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