| Record
Selection Table
A
guide to searching the right records.
The table
below can help you decide which records to search. It is most
helpful for post-1800 research. Find your goal in the first
column. In the second column, find the types of records that
are likely to have the information you need. Additional records
that may also be useful are listed in the third column. (The
terms used in the second and third columns are the same as the subject headings
used in the locality section of the Family History Library
Catalog).
Records containing previous research (genealogy, biography,
history, periodicals and societies) could provide information
for nearly all the goals, but these have not been mentioned
unless they are especially helpful for a particular goal.
Reproduced with permission of the Family History Library.
| If
You Need |
Look
First In |
Then
Search |
| Age
|
Census,
Vital Records, Cemeteries |
Military
Records, Taxation |
| Birth date |
Vital Records, Church Records, Bible Records |
Cemeteries, Obituaries, Census |
| Birthplace
|
Vital
Records, Church Records, Census |
Newspapers,
Obituaries |
| City or parish of foreign birth |
Church Records, Genealogy, Biography, Naturalization and Citizenship |
Vital Records, Obituaries, History, Emigration and Immigration |
| Country
of foreign birth |
Vital Records, Cemeteries, Probate Records, Church Records, Obituaries
|
Military
Records, Vital Records, Newspapers, Obituaries |
| County origins and boundaries
|
History, Maps
|
Gazetteers
|
| Death
|
Vital
Records, Cemeteries, Probate Records, Church Records,
Obituaries |
Newspapers,
Bible Records, Military Records |
| Divorce
|
Court Records, Vital Records
|
Newspapers
|
| Ethnicity
|
Minorities,
Native Races, Societies |
Church
Records, Emigration and Immigration, Naturalization and
Citizenship |
| Historical background
|
History, Periodicals
|
Minorities |
| Immigration
date |
Emigration
and Immigration, Naturalization and Citizenship, Genealogy |
Census,
Newspapers, Biography |
| Living relatives (and adoptions) |
Genealogy, Directories, Court Records, Obituaries |
Census, Biography, Societies, Church Records, Probate Records |
| Maiden
name |
Vital
Records, Church Records, Newspapers, Bible Records |
Cemeteries,
Military Records, Probate Records, Obituaries |
| Marriage |
Vital Records, Church Records, Census, Newspapers, Bible Records |
Cemeteries, Military Records, Probate Records, Naturalization and
Citizenship, Land and Property |
| Occupation
|
Census,
Directories, Emigration and Immigration |
Newspapers,
Court Records |
| Parents, children, and other family members |
Vital Records, Church Records, Census, Probate Records, Obituaries |
Bible Records, Newspapers, Emigration and Immigration |
| Physical
description |
Military
Records, Biography |
Naturalization
and Citizenship, Vital Records, Emigration and Immigration,
Genealogy |
| Place-finding aids |
Gazetteers, Maps |
History, Periodicals |
| Place
(town) of residence when you know only the state
|
Census
(indexed), Genealogy, Military Records, Vital Records,
and other records with a statewide index |
Biography,
Probate Records, History |
| Places family has lived |
Census, Land and Property, History |
Military Records, Taxation, Obituaries |
| Previous
research (compiled genealogy) |
Genealogy,
Periodicals, Societies |
History,
Biography |
| Record-finding aids |
Archives and Libraries, Societies |
Periodicals |
| Religion
|
Church
Records, History, Biography |
Bible
Records, Cemeteries, Genealogy |
| Social activities |
History, Biography, Newspapers, Societies |
Town Records, Court Records, Cemeteries, Directories, Obituaries |
This
article originally appeared in the September/October 1999
issue of Family Chronicle.
|
