Places Search Subject Subdivisions

The Family History Library Catalog includes the following main locality subject subdivisions.
The number in parentheses identifies the level at which a subject subdivision may be used: 1 = can only be used on the 1st level 2 = can be used anywhere (1st level and below)


 * Almanacs (1) Annual publications, usually containing a calendar, frequently accompanied by astronomical data, statistics, or other information.
 * Archives and libraries (1) Descriptions of individual archives and libraries, museums, etc., or systems of archives and libraries.
 * Bible records (1) Collected records of births, marriages, or deaths; family relationships; or genealogies transcribed or copied from family Bibles.
 * Bibliography (2) Lists of printed books and periodicals which pertain to a specified subject.
 * Biography (2) Collected biographies.
 * Buddhist history (1) History of the Buddhist religion in particular places or among particular peoples.
 * Buddhist records (1) Records, documents, registers, etc., created by Buddhist sects.
 * Business records and commerce (1) Account books, ledgers, and other papers created in the course of business.
 * Cemeteries (1) Works dealing with places of burial; transcripts, rubbings etc., of tombstones and monuments; sexton's records; landscaping and design of graveyards; and works explaining how to transcribe or take rubbings.
 * Census (1) Official counts of the population of a place, generally including names, vital statistics, or other classified information relating to social and economic conditions or discussions of the same.
 * Centennial celebrations, etc. (1) Celebrations of historic events, anniversaries, etc., including those 50 years or over 100 years.
 * Chronology (2) Works discussing dates, calendars, measurement and recording of days, months, and years, etc.
 * Church directories (1) Alphabetical or classified lists containing addresses, names of officials, etc., of Christian churches.
 * Church history (1) The history of the Christian church in particular places or among particular peoples.
 * Church records (1) Records, documents, registers, etc., created by Christian churches.
 * Civil registration (1) Compilations of records of births, marriages, and deaths made by civil authorities. For the United States and Canada, see the subdivision Vital records.
 * Colonization (1) Works about colonization; classes of persons, ethnic groups, and lists of person's names who are being transplanted to establish colonies in new lands.
 * Concentration camps (1) Works pertaining to those institutions whose function it is to detain groups of people distinguished by their race, religion, national origin, etc.
 * Correctional institutions (1) Works pertaining to those institutions whose function it is to rehabilitate or neutralize deviant behavior. Includes lists of inmates and other records of these institutions.
 * Court records (2) Proceedings, actions, discussions, etc. of a judicial body. See also Guardianship, Land and property, Naturalization and citizenship, Orphans and orphanages, and Probate Records.
 * Description and travel (1) Geographies or works describing conditions or features, including personal impressions of them.
 * Directories (2) Alphabetical or classified lists containing the names and addresses of the inhabitants or organizations of a place. See also Church directories.
 * Divorce records (1) Compilations of marriage dissolution proceedings and records of divorces and annulments. For records made by religious institutions, see Church records.
 * Dwellings (1) Works dealing with the residential buildings of those places, or under names of particular ethnic groups or classes of persons for discussion of their swellings from the standpoint of architecture, constructions, ethnology, etc.
 * Emigration and immigration (1) Works that discuss the movements of persons across international boundaries from a particular place and/or to a particular place.
 * Encyclopedias and dictionaries (1) Works which treat comprehensively a particular locality.
 * Ethnology (1) Works which treat the races and their origins (including caste systems), distinctive characteristics, relations and distribution. See also Dwellings and Social life and customs.
 * Folklore (1) Stories, tales, and oral traditions of a people and for works discussing them. For myths see also Religion and religious life.
 * Funeral homes (1) Records pertaining to funeral homes or mortuaries including history and business records of funeral homes, burial expenses, and information on the deceases. See also Obituaries for deaths reported in newspapers, Vital records for deaths recorded in civil records, etc., Church records for funerals recorded in records of a church, and Cemeteries for works dealing with places of burial.
 * Gazetteers (1) For dictionaries of geographic names of those places, with descriptions. See also Names, Geographical and Postal and shipping guides.
 * Genealogy (2) For collected family histories and ancestral research. Also, for treatments or discussion of how to do genealogy. For the genealogy of one family use the name of the family in a surname search or a subject search.
 * Guardianship (1) For court decisions, legal records, and discussions regarding guardianship.
 * Handwriting (1) Works dealing with the study of early forms of handwriting or for the deciphering of manuscripts.
 * Heraldry (1) Works dealing with the devising, granting, or using of armorial insignia.
 * Hindu history (1) For the history of the Hindu religion in particular places or among particular peoples.
 * Hindu records (1) For records, documents, registers, etc. created by Hindu sects.
 * Historical geography (1) For histories of an area in terms of the changes occurring in its territorial limits.
 * History (2) For descriptions and explanations of past events within a particular field of knowledge, or in a particular place. See also Centennial celebrations.
 * Islamic history (1) For the history of the Muslim religion in particular places or among particular peoples.
 * Islamic records (1) For records, documents, registers, etc. created by Islamic sects.
 * Jewish history (1) For the history of the Jews or Jewish communities in particular places or among particular peoples.
 * Jewish records (1) For records, documents, registers, etc., created by or about Jews.
 * Land and property (1) For works dealing with ownership, transfer, deeds, mortgages, brands, etc., of land or other property.
 * Language and languages (1) For grammars, learning aids, discussions, etc., of spoken languages.
 * Law and legislation (1) For laws, codes, ordinances, etc., and discussion of them. See also Poorhouses, poor law, etc.
 * Manors (1) For works dealing with manors or manorial estates.
 * Maps (2) For individual maps or for collections of maps. See also Historical geography.
 * Medical records (1) For works dealing with medical histories, lists of patients, etc., of hospitals, doctors, midwives, etc.
 * Merchant marine (1) For works dealing with privately or publicly owned commercial ships, their personnel, records, etc. See also Business records and commerce.
 * Migration, Internal (1) For movement of a people within a single country.
 * Military history (1) For historical accounts of battles and armed forces.
 * Military records (1) For muster rolls, service records, etc., of armed forces.
 * Minorities (1) For racial, foreign, or religious segments of the populations in an area.
 * Names, Geographical (1) For discussions of the origin, history, validity, etc. of geographical names. See also Gazetteers.
 * Names, Personal (1) For discussions of origin, history, validity, etc., of individual proper names, including names of persons or deities.
 * Native races (1) For works dealing with the aboriginal inhabitants of regions, countries, cities, etc.
 * Naturalization and citizenship (1) For records, laws, and discussions of citizenship, and for works dealing with qualifications, processes, etc. of becoming a citizen of a country and records resulting from such processes.
 * Newspapers (2) Used under names of regions, countries, cities, etc. and also under topical subdivisions. See also Obituaries.
 * Nobility (1) For lists of peers, nobility, royal families, etc., with their genealogy, history, titles, etc.
 * Notarial records (1) For records handled by a notary or for discussions of such.
 * Obituaries (1) For notices of deaths, especially in newspapers, with biographical sketches, and for necrologies.
 * Occupations (1) For works pertaining to jobs or career possibilities occurring in particular places. Also for records of discussions of guilds, unions, apprenticeship, etc.
 * Officials and employees (1) For the public employees of individual governments, international agencies, or government administered institutions.
 * Orphans and orphanages (1) For works dealing with orphans (foundlings), institutions for the care, etc. See also Court records, Guardianship, and Probate records.
 * Pensions (2) For compensations to employees, workers, tradesmen, etc., for retirement, disabilities, reparation, etc. For compensations made to veterans of the armed services see Military Records - Pensions.
 * Periodicals (2) For serials issued indefinitely at regular intervals, generally more frequently than annually, each issue of which normally contains separate articles or other writings.
 * Politics and government (1) For works on political or governmental matters relating to the jurisdictions or people in question.
 * Poor houses, poor law, etc. (1) For works pertaining to those institutions whose function it is to care for the poor. Includes lists of inmates, poor law records, removal and settlement papers, etc. See also Medical records.
 * Population (1) For statistical studies of the characteristics of human population of particular places, especially with reference to the size and density, growth, distribution, migration, and vital statistics and the effect of all these on social and economic conditions.
 * Postal and shipping guides (1) For lists of post offices, railroad stations, ports, terminals, etc. See also Gazetteers.
 * Probate records (1) For wills, settlements, court proceedings, laws, etc., dealing with the estates of the deceased. See also Guardianship.
 * Public records (1) For records created by civil authorities that are not specifically designated to be cataloged under other subject subdivisions.
 * Religion and religious life (1) For general works on religion and religious practices and customs of regions, countries, cities, etc. For works about specific religious subdivisions see the name of the religion, e.g. Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, etc.
 * Schools (1) For works dealing with educational institutions or their records.
 * Shinto history (1) For the history of the Shinto religion in particular places or among particular peoples.
 * Shinto records (1) For records, documents, registers, etc., created by Shinto sects.
 * Slavery and bondage (1) For works dealing with slaves, serfdom, manumissions, etc.
 * Social life and customs (1) For works discussing the folkways, manners, customs, ceremonies, popular traditions, etc., in regions, countries, cities, etc. See also Religion and religious life.
 * Societies (2) For works discussing societies active within regions, countries, cities, etc. Also for works discussing institutions, organizations, or societies active in a particular subject field.
 * Statistics (2) For compilations of numerical data about a particular place or topic.
 * Taxation (1) For discussions of the tax system of the place in question and for records generated as a result of the administration of the tax system.
 * Town records (1) For records created by civil governments or works dealing with them.
 * Visitations, heraldic (1) For works which determine and authenticate pedigrees and the rights of people to bear coats of arms, such as the visits of the heralds of the College of Arms.
 * Vital records (1) For Compilations of birth, marriage, and death records. For records made by civil authorities outside the United States and Canada see Civil registration. For records made by Christian churches see Church records. For records made by other religions see the name of the religion, e.g. Jewish records, etc.
 * Voting registers (1) For lists of registered voters.
 * Yearbooks (2) For publications appearing annually, each volume of which summarizes those accomplishments or events of the year.