Ancestry class talking points
 Only accessible within the library
 Ancestry explores more than 4000 genealogy databases with a single
search
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You can do a general search by using the search interface on the main
page
Under SEARCH you can search for specific topic areas including ‘Census
and Voter Lists’, ‘Birth, Marriage and Death’ records, ‘Military’,
‘Immigration and Travel’, and Browse the card catalog
 Different types of records:
o Census records
 New census records are released every 12 years, dating 72 years back. So
the 1940 census was released in 2010; the 1950 census will be released in
2022
 You can find: names of other household members, ages, birthplaces,
residence, occupation, immigration and citizenship details, marriage
information, military service and more.
 Because they contain such important information about individuals,
families, and communities, U.S. census records are the most frequently
used records created by the federal government. Recognizing their value
to researchers, the National Archives began to microfilm federal census
records in 1941, and with microfilming came the ability to make duplicate
copies, then to digitize them.
 TIPS
 Allow for variations in spelling of names
 Think beyond basic genealogy, practice searching for famous
people
 Look for occupations and home values
 Look at who lived in the same house, you might get more names
 Look at where the parents were born, you might be able to get
some information from that
 Practice: 1930 Census
 George H. Ruth (Babe Ruth)
o Occupation is Baseball, he lived with his in-laws, was
married with two daughters, was the son of German
immigrants, and many of his neighbors were immigrants.
o Birth, Marriage and Death Records
 Also called Vital Records
 Often organized by state, so records vary from one state to another
 Birth certificates are not available before about 1900. Many are kept by
churches
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Not many printed newspaper obituaries are available through Ancestry,
but a few years ago they acquired the site Findagrave.com which is a
crowd sourced (meaning users contribute to it) graveyard index.
 You can narrow down by category: Birth, Baptism & Christening;
Marriage & Divorce; and Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries
 It includes the Social Security Death Index
 Practice: SSD Index and Findagrave
 George H. Ruth
o Born 1895
o Died 1948
o Parents: Catherine Schamberger Ruth 1873-1912 and
George Herman Ruth 1871-1918
o Wives: Mary Ellen Woodford Ruth 1896-1929 and Claire
Merritt Ruth 1873-1912
o Sibling: Mary Margaret Ruth Moberly 1900-1992
o Cause of death: Cancer
o Burial: Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Westchester County, NY
 SSD Index
o Allows you to request a copy of the original application
o Suggested Records on Sidebar-New York, New York Death
Index, 1862-1948- can purchase a copy of death certificate
from NYC Department of Records
o Military Records
 A great resource for searching for male relatives; information was usually
given first hand
 Also helpful are military pension records
 Fold3 database
 Even if your male ancestor didn’t serve in WWI or WWII they still had to
register for the draft
 Practice: Military Draft Cards
 George H. Ruth
 US World War I Draft Registration Cards 1917-1918
o Have his birthday wrong-1984 instead of 1895
o Played Baseball, employed by Fenway Park
 US World War II Draft Registration Cards 1942
o Immigration records
 Includes passenger lists and naturalization papers; sometimes passport
applications as well
 Knowing the immigrant’s birthplace or last place of residence before
emigrating is essential to finding more information in the native land. Yet,
unless the ancestors arrived relatively recently in the United States,
family origins may have been forgotten. Because most foreign records
are kept at the town level, discovering the name of a native town,
county, or parish is an important goal. Without that information, it is
impossible to know where to conduct research in the country of origin.
 The ability to trace individuals and families successfully is greatly
enhanced if researchers begin by making every effort to learn everything
possible about the immigrant or family using U.S. record sources. An
immediate concern should be to learn the full name of the immigrant and
the names of as many other family members as possible. It is sometimes
necessary to trace the lives of all the immigrant’s children in order to
obtain the critical clues that will tell exactly where the immigrant was
born.
 Important things to know:
 Full name (perhaps both original and Americanized)
 Date of immigration
 Place of origin or departure
 Port of arrival
 Name of the ship
 Practice: Passport Application
 George Herman Ruth (George Hermier Ruth)
 Traveling to Havanna, Cuba for ‘Baseball Playing’
 Photos of parents
 Border Crossing to Mexico-limited version of ship manifest
 Practice: Passenger List and Naturalization Application
 Michael DeVito
o Born: 1890
o Place: New York
 Find naturalization papers
o Wife: Filomena
o Children: Frank, Assunta, Angelo
o SHIP NAME: Moltke
o Date of immigration: 15 September 1911
o Other categories available
 Directories and Member lists
 Example: New York City Directory
 Directories typically contain entries for working family members
and include name, occupation, and home and business addresses.
You may find street directories, lists of advertisements (which
may include your ancestor’s business), lists of government
officials, charitable organizations, churches, cemeteries, hotels,
maps, and much more.
 Directories typically contain the name of the person, home and
business addresses, and their occupation.
 These records are helpful in placing your ancestor in a specific
location in a particular year. Use that information to expand your
search and seek out other local records that may have been created
while your ancestor lived there.
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Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills
 U.S. General Land Grant Office Records
 Court, land, wills, and financial records can be incredibly rich in
detail due to the fact that family details and witnesses were often
used to identify people. In this category, you’ll find indexes as well
as some collections of actual records.
 Court records can include wills, which include the names and
addresses of family members, and details about your ancestor’s
estate. Tax records will typically include information on taxable
items your ancestor owned, as well as his or her income and
address.
 Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Reference
 Periodical Source Index
 Historical Newspaper Collection
 Stories and Publications
 Newspapers and Periodicals
 Stories, Memories, Histories
 Public Member Stories
 Slave narratives
 Photos and Maps
 Pictures
o Yearbooks
 Maps, Atlases and Gazetteers
 Historical maps and Gazetteers
 Special Collections
 New York 400th anniversary
 African American Collections
 Jewish Family History
 Other Resources
 National Archives on Ancestry
o Problems with records
 Errors that resulted from incorrect information given by the supplier
 Errors introduced by the person who created the record
 Errors created by the person who indexed the record
 Lost information caused by damage to the record