Reference & Research Methods for Genealogy and Local History (16 weeks)

LIS 61095   

Spring 2010

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Syllabus

Required Text:

• Greenwood, Val Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy 3rd ed. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co © 2000.

Various reading as assigned – on reserve (at both locations), on the Internet or e-reserve http://reserves.library.kent.edu/eres/default.aspx

Optional texts:

• Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives 3^rd Edition Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration 1983, 2001 (on reserve)

• Meyerink, Kory L. editor Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records. Salt Lake City UT: Ancestry 1998 (on reserve)

Software:

Tiff Views - the two best are AlternaTiff http://www.alternatiff.com/ and Irfanview http://www.irfanview.com/ (which has a viewer and plug ins). You want to deactivate Quicktime or it takes over your viewers.

Books about genealogists and historians who search local history records both fact & fiction:

• Haley, Alex. Roots

• McBride, James. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

• Yalom, Marilyn. The American resting place (A 400 year history of the development of cemeteries in the United States)

• Taylor, Sarah Stewart. O'Artful Death (and other books by Ms Taylor) studies the artwork on tombstones and the people who made them.

Assignments and course requirements

Basic Genealogy Books – learning the basics

 Arrangement of collections

Getting to know your collection

Review of terminology and forms, family trees and ancestor charts, family group sheets and more

Introduction to the US Census and Soundex

Week 2 - Census and Soundex records – continued

Understanding and Interpreting the Census

Geographic access to census records

What Genealogy & Local History resources are available in your community? Create a brochure with brief descriptions and contact information – due week 3

 Read

• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy Chapter 13 (Census Returns) and Chapter -14 (Using Census Records)

• Prechtel-Kluskens, Claire “The WPA Census Soundexing Projects” Prologue  Spring 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2002/spring/soundex-projects.html

•  “Census Facts and Figures”, “Often Overlooked Clues” and “Reading Between the Lines” Heritage Quest Issue #76 (July/August 1998) p9-16, 107-110; 24-26; 27-29.

• Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses From 1790 to 2000 (read Introduction, history of decennial censuses, and individual histories of US Censuses.)  http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/ma.html

• Hedy Bookin-Weiner, Ph.D., CGA “Handwriting Analysis for Genealogists” Ancestry Magazine 16:4(July/Aug 1998) http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=1595

LINKS:

• US City & State Gazetteer http://www.hometownlocator.com/
• Steven Morse - One Step Lookup http://www.stevenmorse.org
• Soundex & other coding systems http://www.avotaynu.com/soundex.htm
• Cyndi's List for lots of info including Census & Soundex http://www.cyndislist.com/

1940 Census Info at the National Archives http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1940/

Videos about the 1940 census (mostly for enumerators - provides background) http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1940/videos.html

NARA-Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing (a variety of readings) http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/hiscendata.html

Blank Census forms for downloading http://www.ancestry.com/trees/charts/census.aspx?

Week 3 - Wrap up Census records

Non Population Census Records, British census records

International Genealogical Index (IGI)

Handwriting

Read

• Sperry, Kip Chapter 1: Reading Early American Handwriting and Chapter 2: Guidelines for Reading Old Documents in Reading Early American Handwriting Baltimore, MD: Genealogy Publishing Co 2001
• Crawford, Rebecca. “The Forgotten Federal Census of 1885.” Prologue 40 No. 3 (Fall 2008) http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/fall/1885-census.html
• Dorman, Robert L. “The Creation and Destruction of the 1890 Federal Census.” American Archivist 71 (Fall/Winter 2008): 350-383.
• Brown, D., Elliott, B., & McLean, L. “Historical Research Using Computer Files from the 1871 Census of Ontario.” Archivaria [Online] 1:33 No. 1 (1991) http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/issue/view/392/showToc
• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy Chapter 12 (Vital Records), Chapter 1 (Understanding Genealogical Research) and Chapter 4 (Evaluation of Evidence)

Week 4 - Vital records, obits, cemeteries

Reference Questions & Interviews

Sample Reference Q

Libraries vs. Archives; Genealogy & History Societies – Cooperate or compete?

Guide to Genealogical and local history resources in your county - due

Paper Proposal & Brochure Topics due next week (week 5)

Read

• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy Chapter 6 (Introduction to Research Tools: Reference Materials), Chapter 12 (Vital Records) and Chapter 27 (Cemetery and Burial Records) pages 611-12, 618-620 only
• Saxbe, William B Jr. “Nineteenth-Century Death Records: How Dependable Are They?” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 87 No. 1 (March 1999): 43-54 [E-Reserve]
• Bockman, Jeffrey A. “Search High, Low, Above, and Below: Cemetery Records.” Heritage Quest 19 No. 5 Issue 107 (Sept/Oct 2003): 36-41.
• Smolenyak, Megan. “Answers in the Cemetery: James Reynolds of Jersey City, NJ.” Heritage Quest 19 No. 5 Issue 107 (Sept/Oct 2003): 56-64.
• Redmann, Gail R. “Archivists and Genealogists: The Trend toward Peaceful Coexistence” Archival Issues V18 no2 (1993) p121-32
• Little, Hannah. “Archive Fever as Genealogical Fever: Coming Home to Scottish Archives” Archivaria 64 (Fall 2007): 89-112 http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/issue/view/446/showToc

LINKS:

• Rutherford B. Hayes Obituary Index http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/index/
• Links for vital records   http://www.mbkcons.com/wkshp/geneaology/ksu genealogy/ksugenlinks.htm#Death records & Social Security Indexes

Week 5 - FIELD TRIP TO ASCPL (Akron Summit County Public Library in downtown Akron)

Mission Statements & Collection Development Policies

Paper Proposal and Brochure Topics due

Create a mission statement & collection development  policy for your library due Week 6

Read

• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy Chapter 8 (Successful Correspondence),

•  Maher, William J “Between Authors and Users: Archivists in the Copyright Vise” Archival Issues V26 no1 (2001) p62-75

• Phillips, Faye Intro and Chapter 2, Chapter 6: Users of Local History Collections and Chapter 7: Public Relations and Outreach in Local History Collections in Libraries Englewood Colorado: Libraries Unlimited 1995 [Z688.L8.P49 1994] – on reserve

• “Creating a Collection Development Policy for Local Historical Records in Public Libraries” Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board and Wisconsin Association of Public Librarians (April 1998) www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/whrab/wapl.pdf

Week 6 - Maps (Tour of Map Library)

MAPS – visual & spatial

What maps tell you what?

Finding your way and your destination

Neighborhoods

Report on your library’s policy

Read

• Along the Ohio Trail (Ohio State Auditor Site http://www.auditor.state.oh.us/Publications/General/AlongTheOhioTrail.pdf

•  USGS – “Using Maps in Genealogy” Fact Sheet 099-02 (September 2002) http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs09902.html

• USGS – “The Public Land Survey System” (PLSS) 2006 http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/boundaries/a_plss.html

• Herbert, John R. “Panoramic Maps of American Cities” Special Libraries (Dec 1972): 554-562 (available through KentLink)

• Cloud, John. “The 200th Anniversary of the Survey of the Coast.” Prologue 39, No. 1 (Spring 2007) http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/spring/coast-survey.html

• Take the Library of Congress – Analyzing Primary Sources: Maps http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/

Week 7 - Neighborhoods & Communities

City Directories– more than just addresses

Deeds

Companies

Read

• Watson, Judith Green. “A Discovery: 1798 Federal Direct Tax Records for Connecticut.” Prologue 39 No. 1 (Spring 2007): 7-15 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/spring/tax-lists.html
• Cox, Richard J “The Importance of the Locality in American History and American Archives” Chapter 1 in Documenting Localities: A Practical Model for American Archivists and Manuscript Curators Chicago: SAA 2001 pgs 1-34
• Larson, Philip. “American River Prints” Design Quarterly No 101/102 The River: Images of the Mississippi (1976): 42-51.
• Smith, Juliana. “Anatomy of a City Directory.” 24-7 Family History Circle (Ancestry.com) 7 Dec 2008 http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=3106

LINKS:

• Digitized City Directories for Summit County (Akron) http://www.akronlibrary.org/internetresources/sc/CityDirectories/index.html
• Digitized City Directories for Hamilton County (Cincinnati) http://virtuallibrary.cincinnatilibrary.org/VirtualLibrary/vl_CityDir.aspx

Week 8 - Mid Term – take home distributed  – due 13 Mar 2009 @ 6 pm

FIELD TRIP TO Portage County (Ravenna) Auditor, Tax Maps & Recorder distributed

Tax and Land Ownership Records, Property Maps, Courts & Wills

Indices, Public Records, Court Records, & Wills?

Read

• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy " Chapter 22 (Property Rights of Women as a Consideration), Chapter 15 (Understanding Probate Records) pages 309-318 only, Chapter 16 (What About Wills?) pages 331-342 only

• Sherman, C.E. Original Ohio Land Subdivisions Ohio Cooperative Topographic Survey Vol. III p1-11 [e-reserve]
• Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives 3^rd Edition – Introduction and Chapter 15 “Land Records” [on reserve]
• Take the Library of Congress – Analyzing Primary Sources: Maps http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/

LINKS: Real Estate Websites to try: www.landaccess.com www.co.franklin.oh.us (you need to register for a username and password)  http://recorder.cuyahogacounty.us/ (is more difficult to use)

Week 9  - Analyzing records

Primary & Secondary sources (photos, oral histories, etc)

Non-text & non-bound materials Recordings, photographs, prints & 3D objects

Read:

• ALTER, ALEXANDRA. The Photo Detective: Does the shoebox in the attic hold family secrets? Alexandra Alter on how one expert unlocks the past.“ Wall Street Journal. October 12, 2007; Page W1. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119214969916756801.html

• Take the Library of Congress Analyzing Primary Sources: Photographs and Prints http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/

• Look at the Multimedia History units created at OSU http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu

• History Matters: Read the articles about maps, oral history, and photographs. - Select a medium to analyze. Topics to be selected in class. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/makesense/

Apply the analysis technique to your record – Be prepared to discuss your format in class.

Week 10 - History - local, county, state, region

Preservation

Copyright

Read

• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy  Chapter 11 (Compiled Sources and Newspapers)

• Ferris, John “Discovering the Past in the Papers of First Ladies” OAH Magazine of History V15 no3 (Spring 2001) p26-28

• Prechtel-Kluskens, Claire “Researching the Career of a Nineteenth-Century Physician” Prologue (Summer 2004) http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/summer/genea-doctor.htm

• Kyvig, David E and Myron A Marty chapter 1 in Nearby History: Exploring the Past around You Nashville, TN: AASLH 1982

• Ogden, Sherelyn “Storage Methods and Handling Practices” Technical Leaflet – Storage and Handling Section 4 Leaflet 1 in Preservation of Library & Archival Materials: a Manual. Third Edition Revised and Expanded Edited by Sherelyn Ogden 1999 http://www.nedcc.org

• Copyright: Review the information in the chart and look at the articles referenced on pages after the copyright chart http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

 LINK:
New York State Archives and Historical Society - 9/11 Memory and History: What to Save and How" http://www.nyshrab.org/memory/

Week 11 - FIELD TRIP TO Kent Historical Society (downtown Kent)

History – events:

Military Records and Veterans records

Regiments, actions, pensions

Read

• Val Greenwood. Chapter 25 (Military Records: Colonial Wars and the American Revolution) and Chapter 26 (Military Records: After the Revolution)

•  Hull, Theodore J. “The World War II Army Enlistment Records File and Access to Archival Databases” Prologue Spring 2006, Vol. 38, No. 1 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/spring/aad-ww2.html

• Schamel, Charles E. ”Untapped Resources: Private Claims and Private Legislation in the Records of the U.S. Congress” Prologue Spring 1995, Vol. 27, No. 1 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1995/spring/private-claims-1.html

• Hamilton, Neil A. “A French Spy in America” American History 34 No. 3 (August 1999): 22-28 [Available through KentLink]

• United States. War Dept The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies – (or the Official records of the Union and Confederate armies) Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print. Off Series I, 1-53; Series II, 1-8; Series III, 1-5; Series IV, 1-4 (1880 - 1901) http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html - AND

• Ohio State University’s version http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources

Look at arrangement and indexing method – compare the two “Official Records” sites. Which would you use when? What site has the best access? The best indexing? How would you improve each site?

Week 12 Moving About the Country

Immigration & Migration

(East to west, South to North, Rural to Urban)

Passenger Lists

Naturalization

What types of materials did researchers use to create their multimedia programs?

Read

• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy Chapter 24 (American Aids to Finding the Home of the Immigrant Ancestor)

• Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives 3^rd Edition –Chapter 3 “Naturalization Records. [on reserve]

• Giannini, Diane L. “Locating the First Courthouse of Charles County, Maryland.” NGS Magazine 34 No. 4 (Oct-Dec 2008): 28-31.

• Ellis, Robert. “Looking for an Ancestor in the Panama Canal Zone, 1904–1914.” Prologue 39 No. 3 (Fall 2007) http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/fall/panama.html

• Gagel, Diane VanSkiver. “They Went West: Colonial and Territorial Records.” NGS Magazine 34 No.4  (Oct-Dec 2008): 35-39.

• Colletta, John Phillip They Came in Ships 3rd Edition Provo, Utah : Ancestry, 2002 (read chapters 1&2)

• White, Willis H. “Using Vessel Documentation to Identify Nineteenth-Century Captains: The Mott Coastal Captains of Long Island Sound.” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 97 (Dec 2009): 299-310.

LINK:

• US Customs & Immigration - http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/   Citizenship, Naturalization & Immigration Questions

• Angel Island - entry point from the Pacific Ocean (Chinese Immigrants) and military fort from the Civil War through WWII http://www.angel-island.com/history.html   http://casefiles.berkeley.edu/    

• Danish Genealogy Records (Danish National Archives) http://www.sa.dk/content/us/genealogy/online_services

Week 13

Religious records

Ethnic Groups & Communities

Ties with “The Old Country”

Read

• Greenwood Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy Greenwood, Val. Research’s Guide to American Genealogy and Chapter 23 (Church Records)  

• Nickerson, Janice. “Learning About Our Ancestors’ Ships.” Family Chronicle 10 No. 1 (Sept/Oct 2006): 32-35.

• Everly, Elaine C. “Freedmen's Bureau Records: An Overview Federal Records and African American History” Prologue (Summer 1997, Vol. 29, No. 2) http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/freedmens-bureau-records.html

• Carter, Kent “Snakes & Scribes The Dawes Commission and the Enrollment of the Creeks” Prologue Spring 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/spring/dawes-commission-1.html

LINKS -

• National Geographic Magazine - What’s in an American Name? (Indian Names on the Map) http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/2009/05/whats-in-an-american-name.html

• The Digital Library on American Slavery (U North Carolina – Greensboro) http://library.uncg.edu/slavery/

• Free at Last? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th centuries http://www.library.pitt.edu/freeatlast/

Week 14 - Government Documents

US Serial Set, Legislative records, American State Papers

Read

• A Century of Lawmaking http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html - look at the resources on this website. Which ones will be most useful for genealogists? For local historians?

• Hartley, Jeffery. “Using the Congressional Serial Set for Genealogical Research.” Prologue 41, no. 1 (Spring 2009): 54-59. http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2009/spring/congressional-serial-set.html

• Read two articles at http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features .

What government resources and public records does the National Archives use for their research? Where else could you look for information in ‘your’ library?

• Genealogical resources in U.S. federal depository libraries [electronic resource] / compiled by Kevin D. Motes; with assistance by Fred Gomeringer and Steve Beleu. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Dept. of Libraries, US Government Information Division, 2002, updated & edited by Clifton Broadworth,  2006. http://www.odl.state.ok.us/usinfo/GenealogicalResources.pdf

Locate 2 items from this publication that are in your Government Documents or Genealogy Department and bring the titles with you or call numbers and descriptions of book if they do not circulate. Be prepared to talk about the books and their importance for historical or genealogical reference

Paper Due in class

Read

• Hager, Beth. “The Civil War Sesquicentennial: Seeking Common Ground.” AASLH HistoryNews 63 No. 1 (Winter 2008): 16-19
• Duppstadt, Andrew, et.al. "Planning Commemorations." AASLH Technical Leaflet #241 (Winter 2008).

Week 16 -  Putting it all together

Share  your research project with your classmates

Each student will give a 5 minute presentation about their semester long research project.

Final Exam distributed - due 13 May 2009 @ 6 pm – must be submitted via e-mail

Office Hours:

12:30-1:30 Tuesdays and 4:30-5 Tuesdays upon request, and by appointment

SLIS Telephone 330-672-2782, home 614-239-8977, cell 614-579-9855.  e-mail: mkahn1@kent.edu

Syllabus