Step-by-Step Rhode Island Research, 1880-Present

Rhode Island Step-by-step research 1880--present

Step 1. Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What should be asked?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :
 * Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews What to Ask the Relatives
 * Genealogy: 150 questions to ask family members about their lives
 * Creating Oral Histories

What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.

Step 2. Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
A census is a count and description of the population of a country, state, county, or city for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day. For each person living in a household you might find (depending on the year) their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military.

Using the clues to lead to census record searches.
This obituary clipping, found in old home papers, gives clues as to when and where to begin searching census records for the Grant family. Apparently, Ralph W. Grant and Hazel Skinner are possibly natives of Valley Falls, Pawtucket, or Central Falls, Rhode Island, even though she died in New Jersey. The family chose to hold the funeral in Rhode Island and to bury her there. She was 50 years old at the time of death, but the clipping has no date. To be 50 years old, she had to have been born in 1960 or earlier. We will hope to find Ralph W. Grant and wife, Hazel, in the 1940 census, as it is the most recent census available. They could be in New Jersey or Rhode Island.



Step 3: Find birth, marriage, and death certificates for ancestors and their children.
States, counties, or even towns in some states recorded births, marriages, and deaths. In addition to the child's name, birth date, and place of birth, a birth certificate may give the birthplaces of the parents, their ages, and occupations. A death certificate may give the person's birth date and place, parents' names and birthplaces, and spouse's name.

Using the census clues to lead to a birth certificate.
Now, we want to try to find important birth records for the various people represented in these census records. This example of a more recent birth certificate, not related to the Grant family, shows the detail you will find in birth certificates from the last hundred years.

Using the census clues to lead to a marriage certificate.
One main purpose for locating records for is to establish the identity of the wives--their maiden names. In some cases, particularly more recent records, the names of the parents of the bride and groom are given. This example of a more recent marriage certificate, not related to the Grant family, shows the detail you will find in birth certificates from the last hundred years.

Using the census clues to lead to a death certificate.
Some of the examples shown above are index entries. That means for each of them an actual, original, full certificate exists. It is highly advisable to order the original certificate. It will contain many details not given in the index. In some cases, the image of the original is found online. Instructions are given below on obtaining the original certificate in other cases.

Obituaries

 * Online Rhode Island Death Records &amp; Indexes
 * Archives.com Obituaries for Rhode Island ($)
 * Newspaper Obituary collection for Rhode Island: about 2003 to 2011 ($)
 * Ancestry.com United States Obituary Collection for Rhode Island ($)
 * Rhode Island Obituaries, index
 * — index and images
 * Search for obituaries in ProQuest Newspapers.com Library ($)

Cemeteries

 * Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission, index, incomplete.
 * Online Rhode Island Death Records &amp; Indexes
 * Rhode Island, Find A Grave Index, 1620-2011
 * Find A Grave for Rhode Island
 * Interment.net for Rhode Island
 * Billion Graves for Rhode Island
 * American Ancestors Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Database Index ($)
 * Rhode Island Cemetery Records, index
 * Rhode Island Cemetery Records, index

Step 5: Search military records: World War I and World War II draft cards.




Step 8: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.

 * Rhode Island Passenger Lists ($)
 * Rhode Island Passenger Lists by Maureen A. Taylor ($)
 * Browse only.

Rhode Island Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

 * Browse Only.
 * Rhode Island, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1802-1945, index & images ($).
 * Rhode Island, Indexes to Naturalization Records, 1890-1992 ($)
 * , images
 * , images only
 * at FamilySearch — index
 * at FamilySearch — index

Step 9: Search for printed local histories or biography collections online.

 * American Biographical Library for Rhode Island ($)
 * County and Town Histories, with biographies
 * The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Rhode Island, e-book
 * Representative men and old families of Rhode Island; genealogical records and historical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the old families ... v.1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3
 * Biographical encyclopaedia of Connecticut and Rhode Island of the nineteenth century

Step 7: Search for online wills and probate packets.

 * Rhode Island, Wills and Probate Records, 1582-1932, ($), index and images, incomplete.

Step 10: Contact a county historical or genealogical society.
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 * County historical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
 * Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
 * Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the county.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia than you.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia than you.


 * If you can find the society on the internet, they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, you can hire one of their members to search the collection for you.

This online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by county: Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings. Here is an example of an internet website for a local genealogical society.

Historical Images
Records collected and digitized by FamilySearch can all be found through their Historical Images feature.
 * Rhode Island, United States Historical Images, New Version
 * Rhode Island, United States Historical Images, Old Version

Rhode Island Online Genealogy Records
Search any other online records listed in Rhode Island Online Genealogy Records. The steps given here are intended to list record sources which can most efficiently identify descendants. Many other online records which might or might not mention descendants are listed in the Rhode Island Online Genealogy Records page, including immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, and probate records, and others. These can be records that cover a smaller group within the population, such as men who served in the military, etc.
 * Rhode Island Online Genealogy Records

Step 12: Study the Research Wiki pages for any county in Rhode Island.
This article focused more on Rhode Island state or state-wide records. There is a separate Wiki article for each county in Rhode Island. These articles give information, office addresses, and links to county records.