1. Getting Beyond the Basics
in genealogy reference
GALILEO User Conference
Middle Georgia State University
July 12, 2018
Photograph of road, Clarkesville, Habersham County, Georgia, Courtesy of Northeast Georgia Regional Library System.

2. What this session will cover
Brief review of genealogy basics
Brief review of GALILEO resources for genealogy research
Intermediate online genealogy reference sources and tips, including:
Census research
Tips for finding women
Tips for pre-1870 African American research

3. What this session will not cover
How to use GALILEO genealogy resources
How to upload, update, or share personal family trees
Researching Native American ancestry
Print resources or microfilmed records not available online

4. A friendly reminder
In most cases, you are not there to do your patron’s genealogy research for them.
In most cases, you do not have time to listen to the unabridged version of your patron’s family history dating back to the Roman Empire.
In most cases, you will strive to guide your patron toward identifying a specific research question and some likely sources of relevant information.

5. Genealogy research basics: a review
Start with YOU
Work your way backwards through the census
Get thee a worksheet
Blank spaces = research questions = additional research
Repeat

6. Archival records basics: a review
Item
File (Folder)
Subseries
Item
Series (Sub-Fonds, Record Group)
File (Folder)
Subseries
Item
Collection (Fonds)
Subseries
File (Folder)
Series (Sub-Fonds, Record Group)
Subseries
File (Folder)
Item
File (Folder)

8. But what if my patron gets stuck?
(Note: They WILL get stuck.)
Take a breath, count backwards from ten, follow these steps:
Identify a research question (singular. one. write it down.)
Consider research strategies
Gather and evaluate evidence
Answer the question
Repeat

9. Reframe the question Who could have been my relative’s parents?
Who were my relative’s parents?
Who could have been my relative’s parents?

10. GALILEO resources for genealogy
Ancestry Library Edition
Card catalog
Digital Library of Georgia
Georgia Historic Newspapers
HeritageQuest Online
Map Guide of Counties
Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database

11. Non-GALILEO resources for genealogy
BillionGraves
Blogs (Lisa Louise Cooke, Eastman’s, etc.)
Bureau of Land Management
Cyndi’s List
Digital Public Library of America
FamilySearch
Find-A-Grave
Find My Past
Fold3
Georgia Archives
Library of Congress
National Archives and Records Administration
UGA Special Collections

12. Tips for researching census records

13. Tips for researching census records
Remember how many people have touched these census records
Look at all the columns
Page backwards and forwards to find neighbors
Search creatively
Compare handwriting
Don’t just check the federal census
Remember not everyone ages at the same rate

15. Census research; or, who’s in your FAN club?
“Cluster genealogy is the idea that ancestors did not live in a vacuum but in a cluster of relatives, neighbors, friends, and associates.”
-Emily Ann Croom, Sleuth Book for Genealogists
Friends
Associates
Neighbors
-Elizabeth Shown Mills

16. Questions to ask your patron:
Have you completed a pedigree chart?
What specific piece of information are you looking to find?
Have you tried multiple spellings of your ancestor’s name(s)?
Have you looked at all the columns in your ancestor’s census record?
Have your reviewed all available special and state censuses?
Who did your ancestor live near, and why?
Have you researched siblings’ census records?
Have you familiarized yourself with the historical context in which your ancestor lived? (Wars, major social issues, local laws and requirements, etc.)

17. Tips for finding women and maiden names
Class of (Normal). 1893, Atlanta University Photographs, Robert W. Woodruff Library, presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.

18. Tips for finding women and maiden names
Research Strategy #1: Begin with vital records (B/M/D)
Research Strategy #2: Consider her roles in the family
Research Strategy #3: Consider her roles outside the family

19. Questions to ask your patron:
Have you researched her family members and family cluster?
Could she have been named on a birth or death record other than her own?
Have you checked:
Wills?
Probate and estate records?
Military pension records?
City directories?
What nicknames, middle names, or variant spellings of her name did she have?
Did she go to school? Participate in a civic organization? Attend church? Keep a diary? Work outside the home?

20. Researching African American ancestors pre-1870
Gent’l and Unident. 1862, Atlanta University Photographs, Robert W. Woodruff Library, presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.

21. Research the ancestor’s owner(s) Research the ancestor Freedom Papers
Ancestor’s Status
Slave
Free Person of Color
Research the ancestor’s owner(s)
Research the ancestor
Freedom Papers
1850 & 1860 census
Registers & Property Records
Manumitted
Purchased Freedom
Born Free
Military Records, Newspapers
Freedman’s Bureau
Voter Registration; Oaths of Allegiance
Court Records

22. Researching African American ancestors pre-1870
Court records
State Government Records Petitions
Digital Library on American Slavery: library.uncg.edu/slavery/
State Slavery Statutes and indexes
Registers of Slaves, Freemen, Manumission papers (court papers, estate/probate records, taxation records)
Probate and Estate Records
Freedman’s Bureau
Freedman’s Bureau Online:
DiscoverFreedmen.org:
Mapping the Freedman’s Bureau
FamilySearch: familysearch.org/wiki/en/African_American_Freedmen%27s_Bureau_Records
NARA:
Local and university databases, e.g.:

23. Researching African American ancestors pre-1870
Black military records
FamilySearch article: Black Military Records
Patriots of Color:
American Slave Narratives (WPA)
Apprenticeship and Orphans’ Records
Southern Claims Commission Records
Ancestry:
Narratives and records of the Underground Railroad
Guides to African American Records & Research
FamilySearch

24. Additional Resources Ancestry webinars: ancestry.com/cs/us/videos
FamilySearch Learning Center: bit.ly/2gw6hmf
Legacy Family Tree:
*Georgia Genealogical Society:

25. Questions to ask your patron:
Were your ancestors’ parents named on their vital records?
Where were their parents born?
If previously enslaved, did they take their owners’ surname? Are there Caucasian families with the same surname living nearby?
If you have a suspected slave-holding family or families, have you checked:
Probate records?
Wills and deeds?
Estate inventories?
Valuation or appraisal records?
Insurance records?
Have you searched newspapers for slave notices or “Information Wanted” advertisements from the family of the formerly enslaved?
Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery:

26. Questions?
Photograph of Joe Davis with a possum, Dahlonega, Georgia, Courtesy Chestatee Regional Library System Collection.

27. Thank you! Angela Stanley Director, Georgia HomePLACE
Georgia Public Library Service
Photograph of Dorothy Hale as Maiden Peach at Peach Festival, Fort Valley, Peach County, Georgia, Courtesy Peach Public Library.