vital records

  • Databases for Illinois Ancestors

    Mar 15

    The state of Illinois has assembled a nice collection of databases that can assist you, especially if one or more of your ancestors spent any time in Illinois. Their Databases of Veterans is impressive covering the Black Hawk War, War of 1812, Civil War, Mexican War and Spanish-American War. Plus there are some additional items included s...

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  • Start with Vital Records

    Dec 1

    In genealogy, vital records are referred to as primary and secondary sources. These written documents help provide proof of an event in a person s life. There are birth certificates, birth registrations, baptismal records, marriage licenses, wedding certificates, divorce records, death registrations, church records, funeral home records, cemeter...

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  • 1841-1910 – Vital Records of Massachusetts

    Jun 27

    The state of Massachusetts has a very long history, being one of the original British colonies and the site of the Pilgrims landing in 1621. So you could have ancestors who lived, married, worked or died in Massachusetts. 1848 The state archives have online a search site for index of vital records covering 1841 to 1910 in Massachusetts. ...

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  • Researching Beyond the Direct Family Lineage

    Oct 15

    You might be the family historian but have only concentrated on your direct family lineage –parents-grandparents-great grandparents, etc. That is very important to gather the direct lineage, however, one area that could assist that search is to look at the collateral family lines (the aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts-uncles, etc. They are your...

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  • Recent Additions to the Ancestry.com Databases

    Aug 17

    You may or may not have used Ancestry.com (fee-based collection of databases and information). Many times there are free sessions or your public library or local genealogical society may have it available. You need to keep informed of any new additions to their collection. On this page 'Recently Added or Updated Collections' you will the newest da...

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  • Following a Hunch

    Mar 19

    There could well be a dead-end relative on one or more of the family tree branches. This is where you investigate beyond the known to the unknown. It could be a relative (and you might not be sure of that) for whom you have no parents, no immigration record, no siblings. You can then form a theory. Maybe it's a theory based on facts from their hom...

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  • FamilySearch.org with 2,000 Collections

    Jan 31

    The free to use FamilySearch.org has a very long list of collections with all types of topics. Generally you think of searching starting with a family name (surname). How about trying with a location (hometown or home county) or a specific military period (Confederate Soldier 1861-1865). In many of the FamilySearch.org locations such as states or n...

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  • Finding Your Ancestor’s Death Date

    Jan 17

    You would think locating the death date for an ancestor would be simple, well it can be difficult for some for several different reasons. One, the ancestor died in a different town, county, state or even country than they lived. Second, the person could have been moving around, not settled and their whereabouts not known to family members. Third, p...

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  • Maine’s B-M-D Records 1670-1921

    Dec 29

    Vital records are an very important part to any family research. If you has any ancestors living and near Maine, even when it was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony beginning beginning in 1652. It was fought over by the French, English and allied natives during the 17th and early 18th centuries, who conducted raids against each other. The state o...

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  • Digital State Archives

    Mar 25

    A good resource to investigate is what is available in the ancestral home state archives. The longer an ancestor lived in a specific state the more likely there can be quite a few records to search. Even if the relative lived but a few years in a certain state, do check that state's archives to see if anything is present. The variety of items in a...

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