I have taken a few genealogy trips in the past year and thought I’d write down what I learned in order to aid those who are considering similar trips.
Before Leaving on the Roadtrip
Start with what you know. Collect names and dates of births, marriages and deaths. Interview all living relatives. It is probably cheaper to make a long distance call to a relative than it is to drive a distance to see them. Interview older relatives sooner rather than later. They won’t be around forever and they are usually eager to share their personal stories. Probe for names and dates. Ask if there is a family Bible around.
Even if your primary interest is family history and not genealogy, these are the basic facts you need to unlock other stories. Pay special attention to finding out maiden names since these are particularly hard to trace. Ask if there are living relatives who are doing this work already. No need to re-invent the wheel and they will be happy to share what they have learned with you – at least about their part of the family.
Create four or five generation pedigree trees for all known ancestors. Put these into a 3 ring binder notebook. These charts can be generated from most software or from a pedigree tree blank. Even if you have them as a database and you take along a laptop, having these in an easy to access binder is worth the time and paper. You never have to look for a wall plug for your 3-ring binder. Print extra blank pedigree pages where you can fill in additional information that you learn on your trip. You can write notes on the backs of these pages while you are on the road. Evenings in the hotel are a good time to transcribe data into your laptop.
Upload your tree to the worldconnect database. Not only is this a great place to search for ancestors it is a great place to share what you have learned. Uploading has an additional advantage that is not obvious. When you are on the road, any library you visit will have internet connected computers. If you need to check some detail of someone in your own tree, you can find out about your own tree from the internet no matter where you are.
Using On-Line Resources
Some free resources exist for research before leaving home. I have already mentioned the worldconnect database. The LDS church has free search engines on-line at familysearch.org.
They have a Social Security Death Index which covers deaths from the 1960 through as recent as a year or so ago.
The 1880 census can help you find a great many relatives. This was a time when there were no retirement villages so you may find an unexpected maiden name because the mother-in-law may be in the same house after her husband passed away. Make sure you view households on both sides of the family of interest since there may be in-laws next door.
Ancestry.com has a 14-day free trial. If you don’t want to pay, be sure to cancel before the end of the 14 days. The free trial is limited but can be a good place to start. If you cancel, make sure you write down the confirmation number since you may have trouble getting a refund if they don’t cancel you (from my own experience here).
Your local genealogical libraries may have free access to Internet databases like Heritage Quest and ancestry.com.
Genealogy Software
There are a lot of programs out there. A popular one is Family Tree Maker (FTM). It is about $30.
A free program is the Personal Ancestry File (PAF) from the LDS. PAF is reliable and quick. It can import and export GEDCOM files (the standard interchange format for genealogy records).
The Trip Itself
First, determine what questions that you want answered. A way to focus a trip is to concentrate on a Family Group. Bring along blank family groups sheets. A family group focuses on a marriage. It list the husband and wife. There is room to list their parents and details about their children. If you find someone’s maiden name you may end up being able to dig back a whole new branch of the family tree and having these forms along helps. Make sure you keep a blank since you can always make a copy of the blank at the library you are visiting.
Second, determine where the questions might be answered. If someone lived in a particular place for a while it may be possible to find information in that location about them. If they lived in a small county there is a good chance that the county has a genealogical library that may be quite helpful. The longer a family lived in an area, the more likely it is to find information in that county. Counties often have histories. If the person had prominence in the county they may be easy to find in these histories. I have some ancestors who were Lutheran ministers in Ohio in the mid to late 1800’s. They are listed in numerous county histories from Ohio.
Local Genealogical Societies
Smaller counties usually have a genealogical library located inside of the largest public library in the county or main city in that county. This is the best place to start. A web search for the county name and either “Genealogical Society” or “Historical Society” may yield the days and hours of that facility. Since there are often multiple states with the same county name include the state as well in the search. For instance, a google search for “Fayette County Illinois Genealogical Society” shows the Fayette County Genealogical & Historical Society.
Often times local genealogical societies have hours where they are manned by volunteers. These are the best times to visit since the volunteers can quickly guide you to their materials.
Each library is organized just a bit differently than the others. Some are very well organized. Others are just a section of books in the main library.
Start by looking for indexes. Some have a master index organized by surname. This index can be used to index into the various sources in that library. Others have separate indexes for each particular file such as an index for obituaries.
Things You Might Find on the Roadtrip
The sorts of things you might find include at a local genealogical or historical society:
Obituaries – these are gold. They will often list parents, siblings, children, grandchildren. This is a great way of tracing maiden names and married names of females. They may add local color to the character and may include details such as religious affiliations. The library may not have your ancestor in their files and you may have to search microfilm rolls of local newspapers for the day, week or month after the death.
Location of graves – from indexed books in the library. Take a roadtrip before it gets too dark. Inscriptions on the stones can be helpful. Bring along paper and crayons for rubbing. Don’t forget the camera. Flash may be necessary if it is late in the day. A toothbrush to scrape away fungus on the lettering may help. Look around. Is the grave in a plot? Are there other relatives nearby? Is the person buried between others with unfamiliar surnames? Could these be family of the wife?
Wills – These reveal names of surviving offspring. These also reveal the assets. They may have property location information to find where the family farm was. Ask for help reading plat maps if they are not familiar.
Birth Certificates – These are available often starting in the last quarter of the 1800s. Don’t expect them sooner. Expect to pay money for these if they are recent. Otherwise, ask if there are microfilm rolls that can be read for older records. These often just cost the price of a copy – $0.10 to $0.25 usually.
Death Certificates – These may list cause of death, next of kin and other useful information. Did the person die during a year of an influenza outbreak (like the Spanish flu of 1918?).
Marriage Certificates – These reveal maiden names of wives. They also may list parent’s names, etc. They can even list maiden names of the wife’s mother. This can give two generations in one document.
Family Trees – The local genealogical society probably has a file cabinet full of family trees. Check all the surnames of your relatives that lived in that county. Don’t forget to give back by leaving a copy of your pedigree charts for family from that county. Make sure your address is on the chart. Someone may contact you with additional information somewhere down the line.
Local Phonebooks – Copy pages with the surnames you are interested in. You can call them when you get home.
Other Researchers – This is a great way to find others who are working on the same family tree. Make sure you sign the book and list the local surnames you are researching. This book is not to put you on a mailing list for junk mail, but to put into a publication of people researching that family surname for that county.
Local Census data – You can do the federal census data before leaving home. Some states have odd year census data. The federal census are done on the years ending in 0, such as 1880, 1900, 1910, etc. Local census may have been done for years like 1855.
Distant cousins – Yes, you will probably find distant conjoins on your trip. Ask them if they have pictures, etc.
What to do with Your Results
Everyone has a story of a relative who kept all the family history but when she died nobody knew what happened to her collection. Don’t be that person. One thing that genealogy teaches us is that we all will die. Make it clear on your notebooks who you want you materials to go to in case of your unexpected death.
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