United States Compiled Genealogies

Previous research is genealogical research that other people have already done about your family. It includes pedigree charts, family histories, genealogies, and other information. Previous research materials are written by individuals and groups. They often include many generations and go back hundreds of years. They may contain information found nowhere else. Previous research often has a wealth of information and many valuable clues. The accuracy of the research depends on how well the people who compiled the sources did their research.

What You Are Looking For
You are looking for information about your ancestors that other people have found, such as information about:
 * Birth.
 * Marriage.
 * Death.
 * Relationships.
 * Other biographical information.

Ask your relatives if you can copy the genealogical information they have.
Ask your relatives if they have:


 * Family histories.
 * Family stories.
 * Pedigree charts.
 * Family group records.
 * Letters.
 * Photographs.
 * Birth, marriage, death, or naturalization certificates.

With their permission, make copies of these items. Be very careful with anything your relatives loan you.

Write down any other information they give you.

Look in FamilySearch databases.
Genealogies are pedigrees and family group records submitted to FamilySearch.
 * Search Genealogies

Look in other automated databases.
FamilySearch has a partnership with several subscription genealogy websites making it possible to view their collections without charge from a Family History Center computer. Each of these websites has a section devoted specifically to compiled genealogies, usually called "Family Trees". Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and Geneanet can be searched free of charge at a Family History Center near you.

Ancestry.com
1. Click to search Ancestry.com by index:  Search Ancestry.com 2. Fill out the fields in the "Search" box. 3. After you click "Search", choose "Family Trees" from the left sidebar menu:

MyHeritage
Click to search MyHeritage Family Trees:  Family Trees

Geneanet
Click to search Geneanet by index:  Search Geneanet

Find published family histories or genealogies.
There are two basic types of books to hunt for that contain compiled genealogies:
 * Published Genealogies:  There are many, many books published by family members who compiled the genealogical research they had done, organized it into indexed families, and had it printed.
 * County Histories: Late in the 19th century and the early 20th century, some companies devised a history/money-making scheme. They wrote a history of a county and invited the residents of the county to submit biographies/genealogies of their  ancestors who were early settlers of that county. They then had an automatic market for the book--the people who had contributed to it.  So it is important to search these county histories for the genealogical material included in them. The FamilySearch or Family History Library is gradually digitizing its microfilm and printed records, as permission is granted from the authors of the records. Hopefully, this process will be completeed in 2020.  Check back from time to time to see if new records are available.

Family History Books
-

--

Other Sources of Digitized Books
Several efforts are underway to digitize older books no longer under copyright, and other copyrighted books with permission. Just like above, these three collections listed here should be searched both for published genealogies and for county histories with biographical/genealogical material.

Consult indexes and catalogs to published family histories.
Researchers find the following reference works especially helpful in locating published family histories. After locating a history that might help you, enter the title in the WorldCat search tool to find a list of libraries holding a copy of that book.
 * The genealogical index of the Newberry Library, Chicago
 * A surname index to 3,000 local histories, genealogies, and genealogical periodicals published before 1917. 4 volumes.


 * Greenlaw, William Prescott. The Greenlaw Index of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Two Volumes. Boston, Massachusetts: G. K. Hall, 1979. This indexes genealogical information in records acquired by the society that were printed between 1900 and 1940. It contains references to sources that include three or more generations. (Family History Library Ref Q book .)


 * Index to American Genealogies . . .. (known as Munsell's Index). 1900. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967. This indexes 63,000 citations in family and local history books and periodicals published prior to 1908. (Family History Library book 1900; film .)


 * Hanson, J.C.M. and M.A. Gilkey. American and English Genealogies in the Library of Congress. 1st ed. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1910. Digital version at Internet Archive.


 * Gilkey, M.A. American and English Genealogies in the Library of Congress. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1919. Digital version at Internet Archive.


 * Kaminkow, Marion J. Genealogies in the Library of Congress: A Bibliography. Two Volumes. Two supplements, 1972-76, 1976-86. Baltimore, Maryland: Magna Charta Book, 1972. (Family History Library Ref book .) A 1981 Complement is Family History Library Refence book . The Complement lists genealogies at 45 other libraries. The newest supplement is:


 * Genealogies Cataloged in the Library of Congress since 1986. Washington, D.C.: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 1992. (Family History Library book .)


 * New York Public Library. Dictionary Catalog of the Local History and Genealogy Division. 18 Volumes. Boston, Massachusetts: G. K. Hall, 1974. (Family History Library Ref book .)


 * Rider, Fremont, editor. American Genealogical-Biographical Index. Volumes 1-186+. Middletown, Connecticut: Godfrey Memorial Library, 1952-. (Family History Library book ; on 31 Family History Library films starting with .) Online version available at www.ancestry.com. This is a continuing series. An earlier version of 48 volumes was published as The American Genealogical Index, 1942-1951. Over 12 million brief citations (name, date, and source) to manuscripts, periodicals, and books. The earlier version had reference to 350 sources; the second version has consulted an additional 800 sources.


 * To help interpret citations and locate the original sources use the colored pages in some volumes or see:


 * Clark, Patricia L., and Dorothy Huntsman, editors. American Genealogical Biographical Key Title Index. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1990. (Family History Library book ; film ; fiche .) Shows which sources are at the Family History Library and their call numbers.


 * Old Surname Index File Microfilm copy of cards created by the Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City. These cards are an index to surnames found in the published family histories, periodicals, local histories, and other sources acquired by the Society before the indexing project was stopped in 1964.

Use periodical or magazine articles to find information about your ancestors and the places where they lived.
Check genealogical and historical magazines for genealogies and biographies. Often, magazines also have records from towns and counties including birth, marriage, and death records.
 * PERiodical Source Index at FindMyPast; index and images ($)
 * The New England Historical and Genealogical Register

First, check magazine indexes, such as PERSI. Copy the following from the index:


 * Title of the magazine.
 * Number of the series, volume, or issue.
 * Date, if given.
 * Title of the article.
 * Author of the article.
 * Page number, if given.

Second, obtain the magazine article using the information you found in the index.

Check the collections of libraries and genealogical/historical societies for the town and county.
Libraries usually have histories, biographies, early settler collections, or other types of previous research that might have information about your ancestors.


 * Town or county historian. Ask the librarians in the area if there is a town or county historian. Such historians might have useful records for family history which are not found elsewhere.
 * County historical society and/or the county genealogical society. They might also have or know about useful records which are not found elsewhere.
 * State historical society and/or the state genealogical society. They also might have useful records not found elsewhere.

Major Library Collections of Family and Local Histories

 * The genealogical index of the Newberry Library, Chicago
 * A surname index to 3,000 local histories, genealogies, and genealogical periodicals published before 1917


 * Library of Congress Local History and Genealogy Reference Services
 * The Library of Congress has one of the world's premier collections of U.S. and foreign genealogical and local historical publications. The Library's genealogy collection began as early as 1815 when Thomas Jefferson's library was purchased. Local History and Genealogy Reading Room (Researcher and Reference Services Division, Library of Congress)

Public and College Libraries
Many family histories, genealogical magazines, and other genealogical materials are available at public and college libraries or may be sent to your library through interlibrary loan.
 * American Library Directory Online

Genealogical and Historical Societies

 * Hill Directory of Historical and Genealogical Societies'''
 * Rootsweb List of Genealogical Societies

= Tips =

Tip 1. How can I use Interlibrary Loan?

 * 1) Go to your public or college library.
 * 2) Ask the library to order a book for you through interlibrary loan from another library.
 * 3) The library staff will direct you in their procedures. Sometimes this is free; sometimes the library charges a small fee.

Tip 2. Copy the information and reference the genealogies you find.
Make photocopies of the information you find in books or magazine articles.

On the photocopy, write:


 * The title and author of the book or magazine article.
 * The name of the library where you got the book or magazine.
 * The library's book or magazine number.
 * If the copy is a magazine article, also write the information you copied from the index. See Step 1.

Tip 3. Why do I need to be careful about the information in previous research?
In family, town, and county histories, people wrote what they knew about their families. However, sometimes what was written was inaccurate or false.

Verify the accuracy of previous research by comparing its information with original documents, including birth, marriage, and death records, and court and land records; original documents usually have the most accurate information.

Check the information you found to be sure it makes sense. For example:
 * Were all the mothers and fathers old enough to be parents when their first children were born?
 * Are the ages of grandparents reasonable when compared to grandchildren?
 * Were the children born far from where their parents lived and died?
 * Does anything disagree with what you know to be true?