Historical Records

After years of using census records, genealogists may take for granted that they’re using them fully and correctly. But as they learn about genealogy standards and best practices, do they go back and re-think their census practices? What does it even mean to evaluate a census record? Let’s learn a bit more about the U.S. census and the specific ways that standards can help us to maximize its usefulness.

Join Bonnie Wade Mucia, Silver Books Director, as she delves into the invaluable resource of the Mayflower Families Silver Books published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. This presentation covers the history of the Silver Books project and provides you with the tools and knowledge to effectively use them in your genealogy work, particularly for researching the colonial period. These books trace the descendants of Mayflower passengers through multiple generations, offering a treasure trove of genealogy scholarship. Whether you’re a seasoned genealogist or just starting out, this presentation will equip you to unlock the full potential of the Mayflower Families Silver Books in your research, revealing lineages enriched by meticulous research and documented with original records and sources.

From the beginning of European settlement in North America, free and inexpensive land has been a tool for enticing settlers to migrate to new areas. The English and Spanish granted large tracts to individuals in return for bringing new people into areas with sparse European populations. Bounty land was granted to soldiers in America’s early wars. The end of the American Revolution led to a number of Federal plans to sell or grant vast acreages of public domain land. Homesteading opportunities attracted Americans and immigrants to the west after the Civil War. The availability of affordable land was a catalyst for the migration of many of our ancestors.

Although most American records do not specify immigrants’ exact places of origin, by doing a wholistic study of an entire family, it’s often possible to determine exactly from where they came. Learn about the different kinds of records that can help determine an immigrant’s exact place of birth, such as parish records, ship manifests, naturalization petitions, social security applications, alien registrations and more!

Janice loves researching scoundrels and black sheep – they leave behind such wonderful records! This webinar looks at seven types of records family historians rarely use: police records, criminal court records, jail records, coroner’s records, church disciplinary records, divorce records and juvenile reformatory records.

Digitized, shelved, and some in obscure places. Online indexes and searchable images. Genealogical and historical society periodicals remain as important tools. This session illustrates the kind of treasures in those periodicals that might not be found anywhere else. Decades upon decades of articles have covered culture, migration, ethnicity, military, churches, cemeteries, family connections, queries, and other aspects of town, city, county, and state ancestral research. Indexes and record explanations with hundreds of names that are not on major genealogy websites. The webinar demonstrates how those periodicals are useful and vital for research, how to access them, and special considerations for using them to benefit your research.

Many immigrants entered the US under the Displaced Persons Act. Based on specific criteria, eligible displaced persons (DPs) could be admitted to the US if they would not become a public charge and have safe and sanitary housing and employment without displacing some other person. The displaced person or refugee was the concern of the International Refugee Organization. The US created the Displaced Persons Commission to oversee the act’s enactment. Is your ancestor named in the record sets created? The presentation will discuss the History of the Act and the records created as a result of the Act.

An insight into the wealth of information that is available within newspapers including the British Newspaper Archive and The Gazette as well as hints and tips for getting more out of searching and finding useful articles within the newspapers.

Explore the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands to discover details of the Reconstruction lives of black freedmen and free people of color as well as white farmers and wealthy planters.