United States Compiled Genealogies

= Previous Research, Part 1 =
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part One: Home and Relative Sources
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Two: Online Family Tree Collections
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Three: Digitized Books
 * Collecting Previous Research by Others Part Four: FamilySearch Wiki Tools

Introduction
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.

This guide describes some basic sources you should check when you start researching your family. You may want to check the sources again after you find additional relatives.

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.
 * Other biographical information.

Step 1. 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.

Step 2. Look in FamilySearch databases.
Genealogies are pedigrees and family group records submitted to FamilySearch.
 * Search Genealogies

Step 3. 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

Step 4. Find published family histories or genealogies.
There are two basic types of books to hunt for that contain compiled genealogies:
 * 1. 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.
 * 2. 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
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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.

Major Bibliographies of Printed Genealogies

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

Step 5. 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.

Step 6: 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.

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?