United States Research Tips and Strategies

United States Research Strategies

 * United States Record Selection Table
 * How to Locate Your Ancestor in the United States
 * How to Recognize your United States Ancestor
 * Tracing Immigrant Origins

United States Research Tips

 * Birth Information - For information on finding birth records see How to Find United States Birth Records. The best substitute record for locating birth information is death records (the majority of death records will list the date of birth of the decedent, and since death certificates are considered a primary resource, they can provide you with the same documentation as a birth certificate). Or, try these other substitute records.
 * Finding Parents - Death certificates will often list the names of the parents.
 * Look in all censuses: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census. There are clues regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records. Sometimes parents can be found living with their children later in life. Search U.S. Censuses.