Chapter 9

Specializing in Your Family History

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Seeking information in religious group records

check Finding information in membership organizations

check Using photographs as research aids

check Searching for adoption data

check Peeking in Bibles and diaries

check Digging through newspapers

Many people who are familiar with genealogy know to use vital records, census returns, tax lists, and wills to find information about their ancestors. These records offer historical snapshots of an individual’s life at specific points in time. But as a family historian, you want to know more than just when your ancestors paid their taxes — you want to know something about them as people.

For example, April once came across a photograph of her great-great-grandfather while she was looking through an old box full of pictures and letters. He was dressed in a uniform with a sash and sword, and he was holding a plumed hat. As far as April knew, her great-great-grandfather hadn’t been in the military, so she decided to dig for some information about the uniform. Although part of the picture was blurry, she could make out three crosses on the uniform. One was on his sleeve, the second was on the buckle of his belt, and the third was a different kind of cross that was attached to his sash. April suspected that the symbols were Masonic. She visited a few Masonic sites on the web and found that the crosses indicated that her great-great-grandfather had been a member of the Order of the Temple in the Masonic organization. She may not have discovered that he was a member of that organization had she depended solely upon the usual group of records used by genealogists.

This chapter looks at some examples of unique or hard-to-find records that can be useful in family history research, including records kept by religious groups and fraternal orders, photographs, and adoption records.

Researching Religious Group Records

In the past, several countries required attendance at church services or the payment of taxes to an ecclesiastical authority. Although your ancestors may not have appreciated those laws at the time, the records that were kept to ensure their compliance can benefit you as a genealogist. In fact, before governments started recording births, marriages, and deaths, churches kept the official records of these and other events (such as baptisms and lists of vestrymen). You can use a variety of records kept by church authorities or congregations to develop a sketch of the everyday life of your ancestor.

Some common records that you may encounter include baptismal records, parish registers, lists of people holding positions in the church (vestrymen, deacons, elders, lay ministers), marriage records, death or burial records, tithes, welfare rolls, meeting minutes, and congregation photographs. Each type of record may include several different bits of information. For example, a baptismal record may include the date of birth, date of baptism, parents’ names, and where the parents lived. Parish registers may have names of household members and addresses, and possibly an accounting of their tithes to the church. The amount of data present on the records depends on the church.

Several sites provide general information and links to all sorts of resources that pertain to specific religions and sects. Here are a few examples:

  • Anabaptist: The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) site (www.gameo.org) has an extensive collection of articles related to Amish, Mennonite, Hutterite, and Brethren in Christ congregations, as well as confessions and faith statements from some church members. It also has links to other resources for Anabaptist-Mennonite research. Additionally, you can find genealogical databases of Anabaptists at the Swiss Anabaptist Genealogical Association site (www.saga-omii.org/index.html).
  • Baptist: The Baptist History & Heritage Society site (www.baptisthistory.org) contains an overview of the Society and information about Baptists in the American Civil War.
  • Catholic: The Local Catholic Church and Family History & Genealogy Research Guide (http://localcatholic.webs.com) includes links to information on diocese and genealogy, categorized by location.
  • Church of the Brethren: The Fellowship of Brethren Genealogists website (www.cob-net.org/fobg) contains information on the organization and the current projects sponsored by the Fellowship.
  • Church of Scotland: The National Records of Scotland site (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) features searchable indexes of births, baptisms, banns, marriages, deaths, and burials from the Old Parish Registers dating from 1553 to 1854. For a description of church registers, see www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/church-registers.
  • Huguenot: The Huguenots of France and Elsewhere site (http://huguenots-france.org/english.htm) contains genealogies of several Huguenot families. Also, you find a surname index at the Australian Family Tree Connections site (www.aftc.com.au/Huguenot/Hug.html).
  • Hutterite: The Hutterite Genealogy Home Page (http://feefhs.org/erg/hutterites) gives an introduction and links to resources for this denomination found in Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Canada, the United States, and the Ukraine.
  • Jewish: The JewishGen site (www.jewishgen.org) has information about the JewishGen organization and FAQs about Jewish genealogy, as well as indexes of other Internet resources, including searchable databases, special interest groups, and JewishGen family home pages.
  • Lutheran: The Concordia Historical Institute site has a page on Researching Your Lutheran Ancestor at www.lutheranhistory.org/ancestor.htm.
  • Mennonite: The PA and Mennonite Research Corner (www.ristenbatt.com/genealogy/mennonit.htm) features general information about Mennonites and a collection of online resources for researchers. For a Canadian perspective, visit the Mennonite Genealogy Data Index at http://mgdi.mennonitehistory.org.
  • Methodist: The Genealogy and Family Research page (www.gcah.org/research/genealogy-and-family-research) contains general advice on getting started with your research and links to online resources.
  • Moravian Church: The Moravian Church Genealogy Links page (https://sites.google.com/site/moravianchurchgenealogylinks) features links to articles on the history of the church, as well as links to genealogical resources.
  • Quaker: The Quaker Corner (www.rootsweb.com/~quakers) contains a query board, a list of research resources, and links to other Quaker pages on the web.
  • Seventh-day Adventist: The Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University site (www.centerforadventistresearch.org/) contains information on the university’s archives and research center and databases including a periodical index, obituary index, bibliographies, and photographs.

A few church organizations have online descriptions of their archives’ holdings:

The following sites can give you a better idea of the types of information available on the Internet for religious groups:

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FIGURE 9-1: A cemetery transcription from Interment.net.

Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) and MyHeritage has various collections of church records on their subscription sites. Findmypast (www.findmypast.com) has launched the Catholic Heritage Archive, that currently contains records from the Archdiocese of New York, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Archdiocese of Baltimore.

FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) also has a growing number of church records, especially Catholic Church records in countries outside the U.S.

Finding Fraternal Orders and Service Clubs

Were any of your ancestors members of fraternal orders or service clubs? These groups are organized around a feature or attribute (such as a religion, military service, occupation, and so forth) and generally work toward a common good. Many such organizations exist and, chances are, you have at least one ancestor who was a member of an order or club. Although most of the better-known organizations are for men, affiliated organizations for women exist, too. A few general-information sites on fraternal orders and service clubs (where you might find contact information) are

Most sites related to fraternal orders provide historical information about the clubs and current membership rules. Although the sites may not provide you with actual records (membership lists and meeting minutes), they do give you an overview of what the club is about and an idea of what your ancestor did as a member. The sites also provide you with the names and addresses of local chapters — you can contact them to see whether they have original resources available for public use or whether they can send you copies of anything pertaining to your ancestor.

remember Having information about a fraternal order doesn’t necessarily make a site the organization’s official site. This is particularly true for international organizations. You may find web pages for different chapters of a club in several different countries, and although each site may have some general club information in common, they are likely to have varying types of information specific to that chapter of the organization.

If you’re looking for sites that contain information on fraternal organizations, you may want to try some of the comprehensive genealogy sites. If you can’t find sufficient information there, try one of the general Internet search engines.

tip You might notice a unique marker on your ancestor’s gravestone when visiting the cemetery or looking at photos. The marker may indicate your ancestor’s membership in one of these fraternal orders or service clubs. The Pennsylvania USGenWeb Archives has a resource that may be helpful in just such a situation. The Guide to Identifying Grave Markers in Pennsylvania Social and Fraternal Organizations (www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/tscarvers/veteran-markers/social-fraternal/social-fraternal-organizations.htm) contains information and illustrations that pertain to more than just Pennsylvania.

A Photo Is Worth a Thousand Words

In Chapter 2, we discuss the value of photographs in your genealogical research. But a lot of us don’t have photographs of our family beyond two or three generations, though it sure would be great to find at least an electronic copy of a picture of your great-great-grandfathers. Such pictures may exist. Another researcher may have posted them on a personal site, or the photographs may be part of a collection belonging to a certain organization. You may also be interested in pictures of places where your ancestors lived. Being able to describe how a certain town, estate, or farm looked at the time your ancestor lived there adds color to your family history.

You can find various types of photographic sites on the Internet that can assist you with your research. Some of these sites explain the photographic process and the many types of photographs that have been used throughout history. Some sites contain collections of photographs from a certain geographic area or time period in history, and some sites contain photographs of the ancestors of a particular family. Here are some examples:

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FIGURE 9-2: Find out about photographic methods of the past at City Gallery.

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FIGURE 9-3: An entry on the DeadFred photograph archive site.

For tips on using photographs in your research take a look at Maureen Taylor’s blog at https://maureentaylor.com/blog/.

Accessing Adoption Records

Adoption records are of interest to a lot of genealogists, including those who were adopted themselves, those who gave up children for adoption, and those who have ancestors who were adopted. With the advent of DNA testing as a genealogy tool, even those who are not adopted may become interested in researching a person who is a match with them who was adopted and may not have much information on how they fit into the family. For example, Matthew is an administrator of a surname DNA project. During the course of testing, he found two individuals who were adopted that are a close match in DNA. So, for them, participation in the surname DNA project became a project to find how the two individuals fit into the family lines.

If you fall into the first two groups (you were adopted or gave up a child for adoption), some online resources may help you find members of your birth family. The online resources include registries, reference materials, advice and discussion groups, and information on legislation pertaining to adoption. Registries enable you to post information about yourself and your adoption, with the hope that a member of your birth family may see the posting and contact you. (Likewise, if you’re the birth parent of an adoptee, you can post a message with the hope that the adoptee sees it and responds.)

It is also worthwhile to look for information on how to use DNA testing to jump-start your research. For example, the International Society of Genetic Genealogy has published the brief article Utilizing DNA Testing to Break Through Adoption Roadblocks at www.isogg.org/adoption.htm. The article points to a few other sites that can help in your research and contains some success stories. The Mixed Roots Foundation has launched a DNA effort under the Global Adoptee Genealogy Project page at http://discovergagp.org.

Unfortunately, you won’t find online sites that contain actual adoption records — for legal reasons, generally. Instead, you need to rely on registries and other resources that point you toward more substantial information about adoption. If you have a successful reunion with your birth parent(s) by registering with an online site, you can, with any luck, obtain information about their parents, grandparents, and so on — so that you know where to begin your genealogical pursuit of that family line.

Here are some online sites that have adoption registries, reference materials, advice and discussions, or legislative information:

If you’re interested in adoption records because you have ancestors who were adopted, finding information may be more difficult. Although some article- and blog-type sites exist that give general research information relating to adoption, we have yet to discover any sites specifically designed to aid in research for adopted ancestors. Most likely, you’ll have to rely on the regular genealogical resources — particularly query pages and discussion groups — and the kindness and knowledge of other researchers to find information about your adopted ancestors.

Preparing to Be Schooled

Relatively few readily available records chronicle the early years of an individual. Educational records can help fill in the gaps. These records can take a number of forms, including enrollment records, transcripts, yearbooks, directories, and fraternity and sorority records.

The first step is to find out what educational institution your ancestor attended. If you’re looking for an elementary or secondary school, you might visit the USGenWeb page (www.usgenweb.org) for the county where your ancestor lived to see whether information is available on the location of schools. If the USGenWeb page doesn’t have the information, try to find the website of the local historical or genealogical society.

You might also discover this information by finding a reference to your ancestor and a school in a newspaper article available on a subscription newspaper site. For example, on a routine search on a subscription site, Matthew found a brief article in a local newspaper that listed the participants in a play in a school. From that, he was able to gather the school name, teacher’s name, and the names of classmates.

After you discover the name of the institution, find out who has the records for that school. Some schools — such as colleges and universities — have their own archives. For primary and secondary schools, you may need to contact the school district or the overarching parish. Or, if the school no longer exists, you need to find out where the records for that school were transferred.

If you’re not sure where the records are located, you can use WorldCat, at www.worldcat.org, by following these steps:

  1. Use your web browser to pull up www.worldcat.org.

  2. In the search field, enter your criteria and then click Search Everything.

    We search for Harvard enrollment records.

  3. Select a result that looks promising.

    Figure 9-4 shows the results of our WorldCat search.

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FIGURE 9-4: Results from the WorldCat search for Harvard enrollment records.

Another set of resources that you might find online are school yearbooks. Some subscriptions sites, such as Ancestry.com have digitized high school and college yearbooks and placed them online. E-Yearbook.com (www.e-yearbook.com) contains collections of yearbooks for middle schools, high schools, colleges, and military organizations.

Turning to Bible Records

Bible records are a great source of birth, death, and marriage information for time periods before vital records were required. Because most Bible records are held by private individuals, it’s sometimes difficult to locate them. Recognizing the importance of these records, groups have created websites to share the information contained in the Bibles. A few sites worth visiting are

Similar to looking for educational records, you can also find Bible records in some archives. You can use WorldCat (www.worldcat.org) to see what is available in different institutions. For details on how to use WorldCat, see the preceding section. Some subscription sites might also have Bible records. For example, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com) has Bible records from New York, Tennessee, Missouri, and Virginia, as well as a collection called Old Southern Bible Records.

Snooping through Great-Grandma’s Diary

Another excellent source of information that can add color to your family history is a diary, journal, or memoir kept by your ancestor. Diaries and journals are books in which a person writes his or her thoughts and experiences, typically within a short time of events occurring. Memoirs are written reflections on one’s life. Like Bibles and photos online, finding these personal memory keepers on the Internet is somewhat hit-and-miss. Individuals and organizations tend to place online digital images or transcriptions from these resources for their own family members or people from whom an organization has inherited the document. You can search for such records in the same way that you look for Bibles and photos: Look by location or surname using a site such as USGenWeb (www.usgenweb.org) or a search engine such as Google (www.google.com). Some example sites to check out, which may give you an idea of what you can expect from these types of records, are

Nosing through Newspaper Records

A lot of the day-to-day details of your ancestor’s life can be filled in by reading local newspapers. You can find obituaries, marriage announcements, social activities, and tax assessments information. Also, you can find background information on the locality that he or she lived in so that you gain a better perspective of your ancestor’s life.

A lot of effort has been expended to digitize newspapers over the last few years. Newspapers.com offers a collection of more than 4,900 newspaper databases online. The newspapers featured in the collection are digitized images that have been indexed by optical character recognition (OCR) — a software method in which letters in an image are translated into characters (typically letters of the alphabet) that a computer can read. Each page of the newspaper is searchable. When a search result is found, the text is highlighted on the page. The optical character recognition system doesn’t always know the context of the words on the page — so the system sometimes generates false-positive search results. Figure 9-5 shows the interface for the newspaper collection at Newspapers.com.

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FIGURE 9-5: The Orlando Sentinel newspaper image at Newspapers.com.

Several large newspapers have also begun to place their back issues online — often with a subscription service. For example, you can find the Los Angeles Times back to 1881 online at http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/advancedsearch.html, the Washington Post from 1877 at http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/search.html, and the Chicago Tribune from 1852 at http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/advancedsearch.html.

You can find more about using newspapers in your research in Chapter 6.

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