I am unable to do your personal
research. I do not live in Valencia county, and I do not have access to additional records. If
you do not see the information you are seeking in this site, I do not have it, as
everything I have is posted in this site.
Your Own Research
This is one of the most-common qestions
from anyone new to genealogy who is planning family research. Use this step-by-step
guide below.
1. Begin with yourself and work
backwards generation by generation.
2. Pedigree Chart - Your direct line of
ancestors.
Fill in with as much
information as possible, including places (counties).
A number of forms are
available from vendors.
Male line is always
first and is an even number.
Use birth⁄ maiden
name for female and always is an odd number.
3. Family Group Sheet - one marriage.
All known information
about one father, one mother, and all their children.
List children in
birth order if known.
Forms available in a
variety of designs from vendors.
Record source of
information.
4. Dates - use a consistent date format
(mm⁄dd⁄yyyy) or (dd⁄mm⁄year)
5. Research Log.
Record your research
to avoid duplication and to make the best use of time.
Document each source
of information (titles, pages, publication dates, etc.)
6. Computer Data Bases
There are a number of
commercial computer programs available, plus you can create
a document from scratch.
Any "out-of-the-box"
application should have a GEDCOM utility which allows you to import and export your data to another
program.
7. Start your search.
Gather family records
and enter information on Family Group Sheets and Pedigree Charts along with source of the data.
Search for family
records such as Bibles, newspaper clippings, old letters,
scrap books, diaries, baby books, wedding books,
photo albums, and birth, death, and marriage certificates.
Contact other family
members locating and interview oldest living relatives.
Try to locate others
who are researching your family or a common ancestor; possibly someone has done some research on your
family.
Join genealogical
group in the area where your family lived.
EVALUATE INFORMATION
1. Sources of information:
Original Material -
based on firsthand knowledge.
Derivative Material -
everything else.
Some records may
contain both, such as a death certificate.
2. Always evaluate the information that
you find; just because it is in print does not make it correct.
What sources were
used?
What dates and
places?
Are there
inconsistencies or contradictions in the information?
Does data appear
reasonable in conjunction with time period and source
materials used?
Who provided the
information?
3. When you talk to relatives, check the
information against other sources. Often you will be given some valuable clues, but those
family stories can be garbled truth.
4. A good genealogist is a good
detective!
CORRESPONDENCE - Paper Mail
1. Be short, simple, direct, and
sincere.
2. Limit request to 2 to 3 direct
questions; don't ask for all the person's information.
3. Always include a business size
self-addressed stamped envelope (S.A.S.E.).
4. Write in a friendly letter; express
thanks for any information.
5. Ask about anyone else who might have
some information.
6. Offer to share information.
7. Keep a copy of the letter that you
send.
8. Sample Letter:
Dear Mr.⁄Mrs. [?] ;
I am the granddaughter of your sister
Mary and am trying to locate information about our family. My mother, Susan Smith,
suggested that I contact you. Do you know when and where your parents, John and Mary Green,
were born, married, and died?
I would appreciate any help that you can
give me. If you know of someone else who might be of help in this search, I would
appreciate having their name and address. I would be happy to share any information that I
find with you.
[your name]
LIBRARY SEARCH
1. Surname - Check Catalog for
publications on the known surnames.
2. County - Search under the name of the
county.
County Histories -
can provide clues about your family, but the person paid to be
in these "mug" books, and the biographies
were complimentary.
Look for sketches on
related families.
Review other printed
information such as Cemetery, Census Indexes, Marriage, Probate, Land, and other published
records that are available.
3. Most libraries now have computer
catalogs rather than a card catalog; it is usually best to use a "keyword" search. Start with as
broad a search as possible. If the list is too long, then start to modify it to produce a
smaller list.
Surname - Modify by
using family such as Brown family.
Location - Modify by
using and state. Spell out both county and state name (Washington County and Wisconsin) or
name of town⁄city and state.
4. In New England, search under the name
of the town.
RECORDS
1. Important to know why the record was
created and where it is presently located.
2. Today - State Registration of Birth,
Death, and Marriage; with Social Security numbers and computerized information.
State Registration
started in the early 1900's in most states.
Death Certificates
give correct death date and place, but other information may
be wrong; look at who provided the
information.
Most states will
provide Vital Records by mail for a fee.
3. Prior - Most records on a person were
kept in the county of residence.
Find out what county
your ancestor resided in. Look in an Atlas.
Research history of
county; see Ancestry's Red Book.
Note - If your
ancestor was an early resident of an area, you may find that
he⁄she could be a resident of several different
counties or even states without ever having moved because of boundary changes.
Review what records
are available; records may be lost due to fire, flood, etc.
Determine when your
ancestor resided in this community
4. Check to see if the records have been
published.
5. Some are available on microfilm
through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) Family History Library
system.
6. Information and indexes may be
available through Internet sites.
COUNTY RECORDS
1. Marriage
Usually indexed and
often published.
Will provide date of
marriage and names of bride and groom.
May give information
such as names of parents, place of residence, witnesses.
Sometimes difficult
to locate, if not found in county of residence, search
surrounding counties and places where relatives
lived.
2. Probate Records
Usually indexed;
sometimes abstracts are published.
All records which
relate to the disposition of an estate after the owner's death
including Wills, Letters of Administration,
Petitions, Inventories, and Appraisals.
Wills indicate how
property is to be distributed; may name children and provide
other information about the family such as
married names of daughters and family relationships.
Probate Packet is a
file of papers which may include death date, appraisal of
property, sale of property, location of heirs,
distribution of the estate, and other clues about occupation and lifestyle.
Possibly there are
Court Records pertaining to the estate.
Note witnesses,
executor for possible relationships.
3. Land Records
Usually indexed by
the names of both the buyer (Grantee) and the seller(Grantor); occasionally found in printed form;
original records for many counties to 1900 available from LDS Family History Library.
Deed is a legal
document that transfers title in real property from one person
to another.
Important source,
because land was inexpensive and readily available; may
provide clues when no other record exists for
relationships, locations, name of wife, married names of daughters, and heirs.
Land descriptions
(1) New England - laid out in towns with
adjoining fields.
(2) Other colonial states plus TN, KY,
TX, and HI use metes and bounds.
(3) Rest of States use Rectangular Land
survey system divided into section, townships, and ranges. Use a plat map to locate
land.
(4) Ohio has all of these.
Dower Rights - In
some states, widow had the use of a portion of the lands that husband owned, usually 1⁄3 for her
support during her lifetime.
4. Divorce records may provide
interesting information; in some states, early divorces granted by state legislatures.
5. Other - Court Minute Books, Tax
Records, School Census, other loose papers and documents; usually these records are not
indexed, may be hard to locate and time-consuming to search.
6. Birth and Death Records may
occasionally be found, but varies from state to state; check references. Sometimes, delayed
birth certificates may be found.
7. Most counties will provide limited
amounts of information through correspondence. Do not expect them to do much searching.
Limit your request to a few items.
US CENSUS RECORDS
1. Important record because provides
personal information at ten-year intervals.
2. May give helpful clues about
families.
3. Organized by State, County, Township,
and⁄or City.
4. From 1790 through 1920, are available
for personal research. Some were destroyed when British burned Washington, DC
during the War of 1812, and the 1890 Census was 99% lost due to another fire.
5. US Government waits 72 years to open
Census for personal research.
INFORMATION CONTAINED ON CENSUS RECORDS
1790
Name of head of family, number of free
white males 16 and up, free white males under 16, free white females; all other free
persons, number of slaves.
1800
Name of head of family, number of free
white males and females under 10,
10 and under 16, 16 and under 26, under 45, 45 and over,
number of slaves.
1810
Same as 1800.
1820
Same as 1800, also male and female
slaves and free colored persons under 14, 14 and under 26, 26 and under 45, 45 and up.
Foreigners not naturalized.
1830
Name of head of family, number of free
white males and females in 5 year age groups to 20, 10 year age groups from 20 to 100
and 100 years and older, number of slaves and free colored in 6 age groups,
foreigners.
1840
Same as 1830, also number of pensioners
for Revolutionary or Military Service
1850
First to list all persons in the
household, sex, color for each person, value of real estate, occupation for all males over 15, place
of birth, if married within year; if attended school, if able to read and write for all over 20.
1860
Same as 1850 and value of Personal
Property.
1870
Same as 1860 also if parents foreign
born, if able to read and write for all over 10.
1880
Name, relationship to head of family,
sex, race, age, marital status, married within year, occupation, number of months unemployed,
if sick what illness, attended school, able to read and write, place of birth of person
and parents. Soundex (Index) only for households with children 10 and under.
1890
Over 99% destroyed by fire in 1921.
1900
Name, race, sex, month and year of
birth, age at last birthday, marital status, number of children born to wife of that marriage
and number living, place of birth of person and parents, citizenship if foreign born,
year of emigration, occupation, can read, write or speak English; home or farm, owned or
rented. Indexes can be rented.
1910
Same as 1900 except for month and year
of birth, also Civil War Veteran.
1920
Same as 1910, year of naturalization.
US CENSUS INDEXES
1 Look at for printed indexes; however,
they usually index only head of household and others in household by another surname.
2. Soundex system of indexing used for
1880, 1900, 1910, and1920 Census.
3. Soundex formula - always results in
the first letter of the surname followed by three numbers. Designed to help locate
alternative spellings.
Ignores the letters
a, e, i, o, u, y, w, h.
Counts double letters
only once.
Use 0 if run out of
numbers. Code:
b, p, f, v.
c, s, k, g, j, q, x,
z.
d, t.
l.
m, n.
r.
4 . 1880 Soundex only indexes households
with children under 10.
5. Soundex indexes were not done for
many states for 1910 Census; none for Wisconsin and other low-population states..
6. City directories around the time of
the Census may help to locate your ancestors.
STATE AND⁄ OR FEDERAL CENSUS
1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION RESOURCE
2. Some states conducted state census,
check reference books for availability.
EVALUATE CENSUS INFORMATION
1. Census-takers were often political
appointments.
2. Problems with spelling of names due
to misunderstanding between the person giving the information and person taking the
information. Names given orally.
3. People not always at home, don't know
who gave the information, could be a child or neighbor.
4. Sometimes use nicknames or middle
names for people in the household.
5. If the same information appears in
several census years, probably good information. Compare to other data that you have
about your family.
6. Unfortunately, some people were
missed by the census-takers.
NEWSPAPERS
1. Can be an important source of
genealogical information.
2. Articles and notices found in
newspapers usually are published about the time of the event, making them a vital source.
However, errors may occur, so the information must be compared with other sources for
accuracy.
3. The following may be found in
newspapers:
Obituaries which may
give parents or ancestry of deceased, religious affiliation,
close relatives, some accomplishments,
movements, and activities.
Marriage notices may
give information about the event, names of parents and close relatives, residence, life events,
religious affiliations.
Birth announcement
may provide information about time and place of birth,
parents, other relatives.
Family reunions and
social events may give accounts of family gatherings,
relatives visiting or trips to visit relatives or
for business, other personal information.
News items such as
graduation, appointments, accomplishments, movements of people in a community. May be important in
preparing family history or biography and in tracing relationships.
Advertisements may
identify their professions or businesses.
Legal notices of land
sales, tax rolls, probate of wills, settlement of estates,
divorce proceedings, and reports of civil and
criminal cases may give information about the family.
4. How to find Newspapers:
Look on the map to
locate the closest towns to the place of residence. Try to
identify the place that they may shop and⁄or the
county seat.
If there are no
newspapers published in a town or county of interest, try to
identify a news center for the area even if it is
in another state.
Don't overlook the
foreign language papers for more recent immigrants.
Look for religious
newspapers if you know the religious affiliation, because they
might provide information about your ancestor.
Check the
publication; newspapers on microfilm or write state historical
society for information on availability.
Many newspapers are
available through interlibrary loan.
5. How to search Newspapers:
Metropolitan
newspapers usually are be daily and contain more
international, national, and state news. Do not contain as much
personal news.
Newspapers from
smaller communities may contain a wealth of information
especially if the person is politically or socially
active, an early settler, or a business owner. Tend to be published weekly with one page devoted
to local news.
May provide
information about the historical period.
DIRECTORIES
1. City and Telephone Directories can
help identify residence of ancestor, locate the person on the census, estimate death
dates, identify other relatives at the same residence; may give occupation or
profession.
2. County and regional directories can
provide information about residence, property owned, and other adult relatives in the
area.
3. Professional directories may provide
information.
4. College directories may give years of
attendance, area of studies, other activities, and biographical data.
5. Religious directories; if your
ancestor served as clergy with an established church, may be a source of biographical information.
CHURCH RECORDS
1. Vary in content and emphasis based on
theology and social role of the church .
State or established
church - considered every person in state a member and, in
Europe, the pastor was an official record-keeper
for the state for events such as birth, baptism, marriage, death, and burial. In this
country, these churches continued to record these events and can provide important
genealogical information. Examples of this type of church are the Roman Catholic, Lutheran,
and Episcopal Church.
Free or "gathered"
Church - considered only those who have been "born again" in Christ are the true members of their
church. The sign of this event was baptism, and thus in these churches, baptism of infants is
not practiced and baptism is not an indication of age. Examples of this type of church are
Baptists, German Brethren, and Mennonites.
2. Identify religious background of your
ancestor based on family tradition, obituary, county histories, town histories, and
cemetery records.
3. Many church groups maintain archives.
(Survey of American Church Records by Kirkham or The Source by Ancestry.)
MILITARY RECORDS
1. Military records may not provide the
solution to every pedigree problem, but can provide valuable clues.
a. Pre-Revolutionary records are
generally historical in nature and seldom contain specific individual genealogical information.
b. Records created since the Revolution
contain more information such as birth, marriage, death, parents, pension, bounty land.
2. Revolutionary War Records.
Pension records
relating to service began in 1776.
Individual states
provided benefits beginning in 1776, mainly to officers
Pension acts in 1818,
1823, and 1832 liberalized pension requirements, allowing the enlisted man, his widow, and his orphans
certain benefits.
Bounty Lands were
granted to veterans of US. service or state militia from 1776
to 1885.
Documents relating to
a soldier, his widow, or children are on file in the National Archives and are available for a fee.
Are on microfilm; should request all information in the file including unselected material.
Much information has
been published, so check printed materials first.
Patriot Index - DAR -
use as clues; early applications not well documented or closed and must be reproved for DAR membership.
3. The Old Wars
Pension applications
for claims of service between the end of the Revolution (11
Apr. 1783) and the beginning of the Civil War
(4 March 1861).
Files located in
National Archives.
4. War of 1812, Indian Wars, Mexican War
War of 1812 - Service
from 1812 to 1815.
Indian Wars - Service
from 1817 to 1898.
Mexican War - Service
from 1846 to 1848.
Records available
through National Archives, similar to Revolutionary War.
Microfilm indexes
available through LDS libraries.
5. Civil War
Service and pension
files relating to Union are in the National Archives and are indexed.
Confederate Records
are located in the National Archives while others are retained
by the states.
Records that may be
found are; Service, Certificate of disability, when dropped
(death) marriage, birth of children, and medical
records.
6. Form for ordering records - NATF Form
80, write to National Service Records, National Archives, Washington, DC 20408.
7. Modern Wars - World War I to present
WW I draft records
located at Federal Records Center, 221 St. Joseph Ave, East
Point, Georgia.
Other records at
National Personnel Records Center, GSA, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Blvd., St Louis, MO
63132. Records not open to public, but genealogical data will be provided to
close relatives upon application with sufficient information to locate the records such
as name, service number, branch of service. Many of these records were destroyed by a
fire.
CEMETERY
1. Can provide valuable information, but
dates can be wrong.
Birth, death dates.
Clues about family
relationships.
Other information.
2. Locating the cemetery.
Publications by
individuals or organizations.
Family records.
Obituaries and⁄or
death certificates.
Location of property.
Religious
affiliation.
3. Availability of records will vary and
are often difficult to locate.
Information from
monuments.
Burial records or
sexton's records.
Cemetery deeds and
plats.
Burial permit
records.
Grave opening
records.
Local funeral home.
4. Walk the cemetery or family plot,
record stones and⁄or take photos. Look at surrounding stones and record them; may
be relatives. Sketch layout of stones.
5. Hard-to-read stones.
Do a rubbing of the
stone.
Take photo in
indirect light.
6. Not all graves will be marked with a
stone.
7. Some families buried on small plots
on the land; these may be in very bad condition or destroyed by current owners.
NAMES
1. Just because your surname is spelled
a certain way now, does not mean that it is the original spelling or the only way that
the name was always spelled in every record.
2. Always check for alternative
spellings for your surname.
Consonants that have
similar sounds - C⁄K, G⁄J, T⁄D.
Double letters,
single sound same - l⁄ll, t⁄tt, e⁄ee.
Silent letters such
as K in Knight.
Additional letter or
letters added for local dialect such as r in Hallebone
(Hallerbone).
3. Other problems
Names altered because
of different languages.
Translation from one
language to another: Smith for Schmidt.
Initials or
abbreviations - Jim for James.
Given names
interchanged - John Edward Long instead of Edward John Long.
Nicknames - Bill for
William, Polly for Mary, Ann for Nancy.
Incorrect name given
because of lapse of memory or different informant.
COLLATERAL FAMILY RESEARCH
1. Definition - Relatives not in your
direct line.
2. Can provide information on your
family and help solve research problems.
3. A family is made up of relationships
not just names.
4. Women tend to retain the strongest
kinship ties and tend to be the "keepers" of the family stories and possessions. They are
more difficult to locate because their surname will change when they marry.
5. Kinship ties are not broken by
mobility; families did keep in touch with each other and did visit each other.
6. Legal records for family members who
leave no descendants may help in determining family relationships.
7. Be alert for clues about
relationships, know kinship terms for period of research.
MIGRATION
1. Our ancestors did more traveling than
we often realize.
2. Once they arrived here, more likely
to move again.
3. For most of our history, there was
always cheaper land further west and thus more opportunity.
4. In the early days, the migration
routes followed waterways; rivers and streams were very important; later overland route and
railroads were the means of travel.
5. People usually traveled in groups
with relatives and neighbors. If they did not come with the original group, they might migrate
to a place where relatives and former neighbors have settled.
Who were in the
"traveling company" with your ancestor?
Identify people with
similar migration patterns.
Look for information
about background of neighbors who may be from the old residence and may be related in some way
to your family.
6. Often marriage partners were people
who came from the old residence. Marriages between first cousins and other closely
related people may be found.
NATURALIZATION RECORDS
1. Various types a. Sacrament
Certificate - Colonial period.
Oath of Allegiance -
Colonial and early U.S.
Declaration of
Intention (First Papers) - 1802 on.
Petition (Second or
Final Papers).
Certificate of
Naturalization.
2. Often filed Declaration of Intention
but may never have filed Final Papers.
3. Early documents provide little
genealogical data, more information required later such as place and date of birth, emigration
date, port of entry, and arrival date.
4. Prior to 1906, naturalization could
take place in any county, city or federal court.
5. After September of 1906, contact
Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, 425 I St NW, Washington DC 20530. Form available
at any Federal Building.
6. Prior to 1928, wife and children
automatically became citizens with husband.
TRACING YOUR IMMIGRANT ANCESTOR
1. Must know the location of the small
village or region in order to find more records.
2. Find out as much as possible about
the immigrant using U.S. sources.
Church records.
Death certificates,
tombstones, newspapers; obituaries and other articles.
Naturalization
records.
Military and⁄or
Pension Records.
Census information
(1) 1850-1870 - Birth place of person -
province or country.
(2) 1880 - Birth place of parents -
province or county.
(3) 1900-1910 - Year of immigration,
citizen if foreign born.
(4) 1920 - Also year of naturalization.
Check the
International Genealogical Index (IGI) of the LDS Family
History Library. Look at source of information.
3. Investigate the origins of close
family friends and neighbors since people tended to settle near those they knew from the
prior location.
4. See who witness probates and deeds,
administrators, live nearby, join same church or purchase land at the same time.
PASSENGER LISTS
1. List names of passengers who arrived
at ports on East Coast, West Coast, Great Lakes and Gulf of Mexico, consists of
passenger lists, transcripts, abstracts, baggage lists, and manifests.
2. Information available from Passenger
Lists depends upon time period of arrival.
1565-1819 usually
provide little personal information; no central location for
lists; locate by searching indexes.
1820-1893 captains of
ships required by Congress to prepare lists of passengers contain name of ship, name of master,
port left, date and port of arrival; name, age, sex, occupation and nationality of each
passenger. Available through the National Archives and in the Microform Room of the
Library.
1893-1954 useful
personal information was requested from each passenger;
available through National Archives and some on
Microfilm in Library.
3. Check all available indexes first;
unless you know port, and approximate date.
4. Can be a long and tedious search
unless you have some specific information such as port, date and⁄or ship.
5. If you locate your ancestor, make a
copy of the entire list, may be relatives and friends who came from the same location and
settled in the same area.
6. Immigration through Canada and Great
Lakes - prior to 1895 no records kept by US. Government. From 1895 to 1954 records
available through National Archives.
7. National Archives - Use GSA Form
7111, Order and Billing for Copies of Passenger Lists, order from Correspondence Branch,
National Archives, Washington DC 20408.
FOREIGN RESEARCH
1. What you need to know:
a. Place of origin, the small village or
area.
b. Name of immigrant (original surname).
c. Time of immigration - clues about
from where and why the person came.
d. Religious preference - what church
records to search.
e. Other information about family, names
of other family members or friends.
2. Find out what was happening in the
area that your ancestor came from for clues about his⁄her background.
3. Find a good publication on resources
available in the area and how to do research.
4. Check the resources available through
the LDS Family History Libraries.
a. Look for microfilmed records for your
area of interest.
b. Microfilmed records can be ordered
from the library in Salt Lake City.
5. Correspondence - Write in simple
English if you do not know the language. Always include 2 International Postal Coupons
available from the Post Office.
ORGANIZING YOUR INFORMATION
1. When you start, you may have little
information and it may seem easier not to organize. However, as you continue to collect
data, it will become impossible to deal with unless you keep it organized and filed.
2. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to
organize; you may want to use notebooks, files, or hanging files.
3. Organize around surnames or family
groups based on the amount of information that you have collected.
4. Limit size of each file to a
manageable amount of information.
5. Keep updating family group sheets and
pedigree charts so you know what information to look for.
6. Document where your information came
from:
Give enough
information that another researcher can locate it.
Guide - Evidence!
Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Mills.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HIT A BRICK WALL
1. Organize
Do a simple narrative
of the information that you have.
Chronological Chart
with dates, ages, and sources.
2. Look for new solutions - keep asking
why.
Pronounce name out
loud with accent of ancestors.
Don't think of your
ancestor in isolation, identify other people who came at same
time and were friends and⁄or relatives.
3. Broaden your research
Back up a generation,
research other children.
Read some history of
the time and area.
Look at patterns of
migration.
Browse.
4. Census - 10 up and 10 down rule -
expand research to neighbors of your family for possible relationships.
5. Share problems and research with
others.
6. Hire a professional researcher.
7. Let problem sit for a while and then
go back to it.
Copyright
Information
Copyright © 2023. All
rights reserved on coding and graphics by web programming author. Volunteers hold copyright to the
material they have donated to this site. Please refer to original copies of materials
for your use. Not to be copied and used in any format to any other site or in any other media
including CDs, books, and visual presentations. Small parts (not all one surnames
studies) may be used in personal family genealogies. Please cite your source (this site) when
using this data.
