January 4, 2009
TRACING OUR
ROOTS
Are you Stumped? Here is what to do
by Brenda Kellow, B.A.
Many
questions and problems arise when searching for our family history that prevents
us from breaking through the brick wall or extending our family lines. Stumped?
Ask
for help. There is always a librarian on duty during the hours our library is
open. Likewise, most days there is a library helper on duty. You have a choice
of asking the reference librarian or the library helper to help give you
guidance so you can continue with your research.
If you
decide to give it one more try before asking for help, then check out the
various genealogy reference books available to you on the library’s reference
shelves. There are books for finding government and municipal addresses, how to
books where you can find how to abstract or extract information from vital
records, deed records, and the benefit of searching the census for everyone in
the generation instead of just your bloodline descent. There are several how-to
books on the census. One of these books is sure to be on the shelves, if not all
of them: Kemp’s American Census Handbook;
Hinkley’s Guide to the Federal Census;
and surely all libraries have copies of Dollarhide’s many books on federal and
state census guides.
If you
just want to read what another genealogist suggests for various problems, then
the Researchers Guide to American
Genealogy by Val D. Greenwood is one that many like me consider a tome for
information and problem solving. I would be remiss if I did not mention
Ancestry’s The Source and
The Redbook,
Land and Property Research in the United
States, and Printed Sources.
Maybe you are searching for ideas on setting up a filing system. In that case,
every library has a copy of William Dollarhide’s filing system guide and
possibly 30 Seconds: A Guide to
Organizing Your Genealogy Files by Robert Langman and Jimmy Parker.
Newspapers have many
benefits for the researcher; however, I feel they are not used to the fullest.
An online search is beneficial as is a pursuit on microfilm. An online guide to
using newspapers is at www.barbsnow.net/Newspapers.htm. It suggests how to use
newspapers and where to find various genealogy subjects in newspapers. While I
was looking for other sites regarding newspaper research, I found a site listing
genealogy search engines. I bookmarked it on my computer. It is
www.searchengineguide.com/pages/Society/Families/Genealogy/index.html. Want to
know how to search and obtain old newspapers, go to http://genealogy.about.com/cs/newspapers/a/news_research_2.htm.
There are how-to books on
just about everything and most of them are probably in the library. Here are a
few topics: antiquated medicines; diseases; finding colonial women; family DNA
and genealogy; historical societies; organizing a search; personal filing
systems; specific libraries and archives; understanding legal terms; and most
anything else you can imagine.
Do yourself a favor. Search
for the entire family not just the bloodline ancestors. I made that mistake
early on, but quickly corrected it after I was having trouble finding all the
answers to my questions.
NON-POPULATION CENSUS:
The McKinney Library, 101 E. Hunt Street, scheduled Brenda
Kellow to speak at the library on Saturday, January 24, 2009. The topic is,
Non-Population Census. The time is
10:30 in the morning and there is no fee. You need to pre-register to guarantee
a seat. Call Tracy Luscombe to register at 972-547-7343. Her email is
tluscombe@mckinneytexas.org. The meeting room is to the right after entering the
front door.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history,
teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s
histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a
Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunions announcements, books to review,
and genealogy queries to: TraceRts@verizon.net.
