Genealogy 101

Lesson 3: Genealogical Forms

Other Genealogical Sources

There are many sources to check for genealogical information. Some we have already discussed. This lesson will focus on newer research methods and give some hints on how to use them.

Ships Passenger Lists:

People searching for their ancestors from another country will find the ship’s passenger lists almost invaluable in their family search. You will need to have some information on your ancestors before beginning your search.

Your first step is to find your ancestors full name. You should consider any spellings of the name you are searching for, as sometimes names were changed to make them sound more “Americanized.”

You should know an approximate date of arrival, within days if possible. This will narrow your search and make it easier to find your ancestor, instead of someone else’s. You should also know your ancestor’s approximate age when they arrived in America. Most ship’s passengers’ lists will list the ages of their passengers.

A few more things you might need to know are: port of arrival, origin of passage, name of ship, and names of fellow passengers.

Cemeteries:

Gravestone rubbing is a great way to find out information on your ancestors. You should get permission from the cemetery caretaker before rubbing. This will protect you, as some gravestone rubbing is prohibited. You should learn the proper way to do gravestone rubbings, so the stone doesn’t become damaged. A great site for learning how to do gravestone rubbings is listed in the links page.

State Historical Societies:

There are many state historical societies, at least one in each state, and in some states as many as four. Most state historical societies have the following information available for use:

1. Art collections
2. Newspapers
3. Reference libraries
4. Genealogy Guide Sheets
5. Manuscript Collections
6. Directories of local histories, museums, and genealogical agencies

The Internet:

The Internet is used daily by millions of people. Genealogy has benefited by the Internet because of its vast number of pages dedicated to genealogy. There are an unlimited amount of web pages dedicated to genealogy, a few of which are listed below.

You can also find a listing of sites for the information listed above on the internet.

Suite101.com
The Genealogy Home Page
The Beginner’s Family Tree and Genealogy Helps
For more links, please see the links page.

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