Presented by Linda Christensen Stonington Free Library, Stonington, CT October 15,

“ We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies” Shirley Abbott 2

Goals for Today : - Why do genealogy? - Where do I start? - What do I do with the information I accumulate? - Where can I search locally and beyond? 3

Why are we doing this? Starting out with a definite goal in mind, helps to keep you focused and not be overwhelmed. For example: I am researching because: 1)I want to verify my husband’s family’s link to the Mayflower as given to me by his aunt, and 2) 2) I am interested in the family migration from Massachusetts to Michigan. 4

ALWAYS START WITH YOURSELF Begin with important documents: birth and marriage certificates, military or educational records, citizenship papers, diplomas, newspaper clippings, photos. Look at old journals or diaries. Take some time to write down your memories about places you’ve lived, what it was like growing up, what your home and your hometown were like, as well as stories about your parents and grandparents. 5

Interview - Record the interview - digitally or taped – but also take notes -Start with older relatives - Be prepared with a list of questions - Note the date and the interviewer - Begin with broad questions - Always start with: - What is your full name, including birth middle, maiden and last name - What is your date of birth and where were you born - Early Childhood – Family, home, school, neighborhood - Adult life - Occupation, travel, military, important events (war, hurricanes, etc…) - End with - what do they think about…, advice for younger generation 6

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Record Information Consistently -Write surnames in CAPITAL LETTERS -John Phillip SOUSA -Write dates military style - Day, Month, Year - 15 Oct Write names of places from smallest to largest (city, county, state, country) - Preston, New London, Connecticut, USA 8

Collect everything - digitally -Photograph or scan - Pictures - Documents - Birth, marriage, divorce, death -Immigration and naturalization papers - School or work related documents -Important newspaper articles -Religious - Family heirlooms - Bibles 9

Where Did You Get It? Always source your information - Where did you get it? - Where can others find it? You are building a case to prove the reliability of your information. The more sources you have that prove a fact, the better. 10

Start Organizing BindersFiling System 11

Genealogy SoftwareOnline Tree Builder 12

Work Backwards From Known to Unknown.  Work backwards from the present to the past, one generation at a time.  This will help you keep from making mistakes.  Dates and places of events are just as important as names. 13

WHAT NEXT? You’ve interviewed, collected, and recorded what you have – Now what do you do? 1)Pick a family line to work on 1)What do you want to know? - (Example) When and where was my grandmother born? 14

What Are You Looking For?  Who  A full name (middle name if available)  Use a woman’s maiden name, if known  What  The event: birth, death, marriage, etc…  Where  It is important to know the place where a person was born, married, lived, or died, etc…  When  An (at least) approximate date for a vital event (birth, death, marriage, etc… WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW 15

Look for Original Records: Primary Sources  A primary source is one created by an eyewitness of an event.  A secondary source is based on evidence gathered after an event occurred by a person who was not an eyewitness. 16

Start Locally Look for the facts Local Town Hall Local Library Start Branching Out County offices in some states State Libraries 17

Vital records are civil records of births, marriage, deaths, etc. Keeping vital records only began after the mid 19 th or early in the 20 th century. Start with yourself and work backwards. Then obtain birth, marriage and, if applicable, death certificates for your parents, then grandparents, etc., 18

Birth certificates reveal: Baby’s name, birth date and parents Birthplaces of both parents, their age, their occupations, and their address The number of other children 19

Before the 1850’s look for them with town clerks in New England and county clerks. After 1850s at State Board of Health/Bureau of Vital Statistics. Other sources of marriage records: Justice of the Peace registers Church records 20

Death certificates can reveal: Place and cause of death. Name of deceased’s parents, Residence at time of death, Exact date of death, and date of burial Name of informant and relationship to deceased Funeral home that handled the arrangements, name of cemetery 21

EVALUATE INFORMATION Evaluate all written and oral evidence  Remember the old adage: Just because it’s in print (or online, or what Grandma told you) doesn’t make it true.  Be particularly wary of copying other’s research. 22

In the U.S., a census has been taken every 10 years from 1790 through to 1940 censuses are available to genealogists to search. 23

1790 through 1840 censuses listed head of household plus number of others living there. 24

Beginning in 1850, census lists all names, ages, places of birth, occupations, etc census indicates if the individual’s parents were foreign born and later censuses added: Birthplaces (country or state only) of each person’s parents. 25

1880 Census Data Name of each person in household Relationship to Head of Household Personal Description - Age - Sex - Color - Birthplace - Marital Status (Single, Married, Widowed, Divorced) - Married within previous year - Month of Marriage, If married within the previous year - Deaf, dumb, blind or insane - Occupation - Sick or temporarily disabled - Maimed, crippled, bedridden or otherwise disabled Place of Birth - Each person’s parents Education - Attended school in previous year - Ability to read and write in English Home Data - Value of Real Estate Location - Name of street and number of house - City/Village/Town/Borough - County 26

1890 federal census was (mostly) destroyed by fire and 1910 censuses include: the age of each individual, how many years he had been married, year of immigration, citizenship status. 27

1920 and 1930 censuses also: age & lists the year of naturalization. Start with 1940 and work backwards. 28

Start with most recent census (1940) and work backwards. Note similar names living nearby. Watch for spelling errors. Do not be wedded to one surname spelling. Always keep track of the source. 29

Census Information is available at: Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest, familysearch.org and elsewhere. Ancestry.comHeritage Quest familysearch.org Heritage Quest Heritage Quest can be searched at home. Go to iconn.org, Genealogy, and then Heritage Quest. Type in your library barcode. 30

Heritage Quest is another great genealogy database provided through Connecticut libraries. It also provides access to census images (and much more). Heritage Quest 31

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Available at Heritage Quest With their Social Security number you can write for a copy of the deceased’s “Application for a social security card,” form SS5. 33

To obtain a copy, write to: 34

Stonington Resources -Local History Books -History of the town of Stonington -Homes of our Ancestors in Stonington CT -Stonington Graveyards: a guide -In the Village by Anthony Bailey -Library Resources -Genealogy Connecticut R.W. Woolworth Library and Research Center -Stonington Historical Society 35

1)Start your search with yourself 2)Record Information Consistently 3) Write Down where the Information Came From (Source) 4) Organize 5) Search for Original Records -Vital Records -Census -Social Security -Church Records -Military Records 6) Evaluate Your Information SUMMARY 36

Thanks for Coming! -Handout of useful resources -Local Repositories -Useful websites -Ancestral Chart -Genealogy Software -My Special thanks to Elaine Jones Hayes, Laramie County Library, Cheyenne, Wyoming for sharing information and resources.