Basic Genealogy• Categories

– General Resource Sites – History & Culture – Language, Handwriting & Script – Libraries, Archives & Museums – Locality Specific – Mailing Lists, Newsgroups & Chat – Maps, Gazetteers & Geographical Information – Military – Newspapers – People & Families – Professional Researchers, Volunteers & Other Research Services – Publications, Software & Supplies – Queries, Message Boards & Surname Lists – Records: Census, Cemeteries, Land, Obituaries, Personal, Taxes and Vital – Religion & Churches – Societies & Groups

US Genealogy• United States Categories

– General U.S. Sites – Library of Congress – National Archives – Social Security – U.S. Censuses – U.S. Civil War ~ War for Southern Independence – U.S. Courthouses – Immigration & Ships– U.S. History – U.S. History - The Great Depression – U.S. History - Lewis & Clark – U.S. Military (WWI, WWII, Civil War, Revolutionary War)– State Repositories: Libraries, Archives, Genealogical & Historical Societies – U.S. - Vital Records – Pilgrims, Presidents, and Politicians

Techniques• Interviews

• Birth, Marriage, Death Certificates

• Other Documents

• Cemeteries, Obituaries

• Churches / Synagogues

• Recording / Structuring Data

• Time Lines

• Charts

Facts & Sources• Sources

• Birth Date

• Marriage Date(s)

• Death Date

• Places for each (city, county, state)– [village, parish, province, country]– ex. Biechow, Biechow, Stopnica[powiat],

Kielce[guberny], Poland[Russian-Poland]

• Immigration, Military Service, Census, etc.

Getting Organized

Genealogy Checklist

Forms & Charts

Internet

Internet Basics

Internet Advanced

Software• Easier to enter and organize information

• Nice output – forms, charts

• Many Publish to web/internet

• GEDCOM – standard format, used by almost all programs.

• Many support pictures

Polish Genealogy• Hard to Spell Names (people, places)

• Partitions / Changing Borders– Different Languages (Latin, Polish, German,

Russian [Cyrillic Alphabet] )– Different Forms– Place names change

• Missing / Destroyed Records

• Microfilmed?

• European Privacy Laws

• Slower to Adopt Internet

Researching Polish Records• Find Ancestral Village• What is the Parish for that Village• Is the Parish in LDS (FamilySearch.org)?• Order Microfilm at Local FHC• LDS may not have microfilmed• Polish privacy allows seeing data >100yrs• When No Microfilm:

– Hire Polish Genealogist– Write Parish or Civil Records Office (CRO)– Visit Poland and the Parish/CRO yourself

Polish Vital Record Dates• POLAND was Partitioned (Prussia, Austria, & Russia)• Pre-17xx Church records kept in Latin• 17xx — 1st Partition• 17xx — 2nd Partition• 1795 — 3rd and final partition of Poland; Poland ceases to exist as a nation.  Northern and western

areas (Poznań, Kalisz, Warsaw, Łomża, Białystok) taken by Prussia; Eastern areas (Vilna, Grodno, Brest) taken by Russia; Southern areas (Kielce, Radom, Lublin, Siedlce) becomes part of Austrian province of West Galicia.

• 1805 — West Galicia: Jews required to take surnames - Austrian government mandate. • 1807 — Duchy of Warsaw created by Napoleon, from former Prussian partition territory. • 1808 — Duchy of Warsaw: Civil vital registration begins.  Napoleonic format, Polish language.  All

religions registered in the Roman Catholic civil register. • 1809 — Napoleon defeats Austria; West Galicia (includes most of future Kielce-Radom-Lublin-Siedlce

gubernias) becomes part of Duchy of Warsaw. • 1810 — Duchy of Warsaw: Civil vital registration begins in former West Galicia (includes Kielce-

Radom-Lublin-Siedlce region). • 1815 — Napoleon defeated; Congress of Vienna; "Kingdom of Poland" formed from former Duchy of

Warsaw, now under Russian control. • 1821 — Kingdom of Poland: Jews required to take surnames - Russian government mandate. • 1826 — Kingdom of Poland: Separate civil registers begin for each religious community (Roman

Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, etc). • 1863 — Kingdom of Poland: Insurrection against Russia. • 1868 — Kingdom of Poland: Vital records kept in Russian language (Cyrillic alphabet). • 1918 — End of WWI, Treaty of Versailles, Poland reborn as a nation.  Vital records kept in Polish

again.

Sample Latin Record

Sample Polish Record

Sample Russian Record

Jewish Genealogy

Family History Library(LDS/Mormon Genealogy)

Social Security• Largest Free Database

• Known Variously As:– Social Security Death Index (SSDI)– Social Security Death Master File (SSDMF)

• Some sites are more current than others

• Writing for SS5 Application for Deceased

Rootsweb SSDI

Ancestry SSDI

SS5 Application

Immigration• Ancestry.com – NY Passenger Lists 1851-1891

– manifests– other ports too

• Castle Garden (http://castlegarden.org/) 1830-1892– 10 Million records, free, no manifests , just extracted data– pre Ellis Island

• Ellis Island (link:http://www.ellisisland.org) 1892-1924– 25 Million records, Free, with manifest images– Opened 1/1/1892

• Canadian Library & Archives 1925-1935– Free, no manifests, just extracted data– Link: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/02/02011802_e.html

Immigration & Ships Links

Sample Immigration Search

Census1. 1790 U.S. Federal Census 2. 1800 U.S. Federal Census 3. 1810 U.S. Federal Census 4. 1820 U.S. Federal Census 5. 1830 U.S. Federal Census 6. 1840 U.S. Federal Census 7. 1850 U.S. Federal Census 8. 1860 U.S. Federal Census 9. 1870 U.S. Federal Census 10. 1880 U.S. Federal Census 11. 1890 U.S. Federal Census 12. 1900 U.S. Federal Census 13. 1910 U.S. Federal Census 14. 1920 U.S. Federal Census 15. 1930 U.S. Federal Census

U.S. Federal Census - Trivia• The Census is taken because it was mandated by our Constitution. George Washington signed the papers making

this act a law in 1790. The Constitution directs that there will be "an enumeration of inhabitants". However, the Census has evolved and now we can learn much more than just the number of people who live in our country.

• In 1790, the U.S. population was 3,231,533. This did not include slaves or the untaxed Indians. One of the main goals of the census was to provide information on men eligible for the military. We had only recently gained our independence from England and the men of the day knew it was important to assemble a viable military, if the need arose.

• The federal census is taken every 10 years, in the year ending with zero. To date, the federal Census has been taken 21 times. Individual states, often took their own Census in some of the years between the federal enumeration. These can be a valuable source, especially if you are looking for someone who died between censuses. The state census (taken mainly for the purpose of taxation) can provide valuable data.

• Much of the 1790 Census was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. Some states were totally destroyed, others only partially. Whenever possible, tax lists from that era are used as an alternate source for names. The 1890 Census was also destroyed by a fire in 1921 — a card index to the 6,160 names on the surviving schedules is available on two rolls of National Archives microfilm No. M496.

• The law states that the census shall remain private for 72 years. This is to encourage truthful answers and accurate information. Not much of a negative consequence could happen after 72 years. Most of those listed would be gone. Because of the 72 year law, the latest Census available to the public is the one taken in 1930. 1940 will be available in 2012 with microfilm and indexing to follow afterwards.

• The process of microfilming and printing takes time, considering the huge volume of documents. Due to the 72 year restriction, no one can look at the individual data for that period of time. Thus, the compiling and microfilming only begins after 72 years. It could take up to two additional years to finish the work distributed publicly.

• Census Dates: – First Monday in August for 1790-1820 censuses– June 1 for 1830-1880 – First Monday in June for 1890– June 1 for 1900 – April 15 for 1910 – January 1 for 1920– April 1, 1930, (except Alaska - October 1, 1929) for 1930– April 1 thereafter for 1940-..

1930 Census Questions

Sample Census Form

Blank Census Forms• 1930 http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/1930.pdf• 1920 http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/1920.pdf• 1910 http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/1910.pdf• 1900 http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/1900.pdf• …• 1790 http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/1790.pdf

National Archives• Web Site : http://www.archives.gov/genealogy

• Most Useful Databases for Genealogists:– Census Records – Military Records – Immigration Records (Ship Passenger Lists) – Naturalization Records – Land Records

• Access to Archival Databases (AAD)– http://aad.archives.gov/aad/

• Research Tools & Ways to Search NARA Online– http://www.archives.gov/research/tools/index.html

Your Library

• Often times have Ancestry.com’s library access (limited, but useful).

• Local Family History Centers

• University Libraries

• Family History Library in S.L.C., UT

• Local Historical Societies & Museums

Collaboration• Internet Surnames Lists

• Yahoo Groups

• Genealogy Conferences

• Genealogical Groups & Societies

• Internet Family Tree Sites

• Family Members, Distant Cousins, Remote Genealogists

Genealogy for a Fee• Ancestry.com• Genealogy.com• Professional Genealogists (Certified?)

Genealogy for Free

101 Free Genealogical Sites

Soundexing & Genealogy

• American Soundex– Rules– Uses

• Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex – Rules– Uses