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The Search for Our Ancestry: Records and Where to Find Them

Angelo Coniglio | Aug 4, 2011, 2:14 p.m.

Although I have covered the topic before, I continue to receive numerous questions about which online genealogy sites are best and what sort of records may be found there. The rapid proliferation and growth of Internet genealogy sites calls for a refresher on the subject.

Later, I’ll present an updated and fairly comprehensive list of major sites and the type of information available there. First, it’s important to be aware of the various information that exists, some of which may be found directly online.

Births: The original document recording a birth at the birthplace, or a photocopy thereof, is a primary birth record. Other records giving birth dates are secondary records. A transcribed summary (“extract”) of the birth record is a secondary record, because of possible human transcription errors. Because extracts are just that; they don’t give the full information of the original.

Birth dates given on marriage records, military records, etc., are secondary records. Duplicate copies of birth records, made just after the original record, are technically secondary records but in most cases are considered as primary. National and state censuses give a person’s age at the time of publication, from which an approximate year of birth can be calculated. Even if it’s on an official document, such information is secondary.

Baptisms: A record made at a child’s baptism is a primary record of the baptism, and a secondary, though usually reliable, record of the birth. The baptism record includes the names of the parents, though the exact date of the child’s birth may not be given.

Marriages: The record of marriage between two people is a primary record of that event: It confirms that the two were married on the date and at the place noted. The ages and birth dates given for the newlyweds, their parents, or others are secondary records. Some marriage files include duplicates or photocopies of birth, marriage, or death records of others, and these can be considered primary records of those events.

Censuses: Other than the address where the census was taken, most items on a census are secondary records; the information, including names, is based on the report of the interviewee, without documentary evidence. As long as these limitations are recognized, valuable information can be extracted.

U.S. censuses range from simple listings of the residents of a town or county to detailed tabulations such as the names (however misspelled) and occupations of family members, their ages at the time of the census, etc. Other nations’ censuses vary between these extremes.

Immigration: Like censuses, passenger records may be abbreviated, no more than lists of the names of those who emigrated on a given ship on a given date. But even limited lists may present some corroboration of a fact supported by other information.

Records of passage to the United States after the mid-1890s and especially from 1907 through 1924 may give a passenger’s age, marital status, occupation, nearest relative left behind, and town of origin and/or birth, and other important information. Other than the dates of travel and the ship name, the data is secondary but can be extremely valuable in tracking an ancestor.

Naturalization: Naturalization required submission of varied documents depending on the year. Generally, a Petition for Naturalization was submitted by the immigrant, with written testimony by witnesses to the character of the applicant and his/her written oath renouncing the homeland and accepting the responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. This often was followed by a diploma-like certificate of citizenship.

The naturalization documents are “primary” only regarding citizenship. However, a wealth of secondary information can be found on these records: the applicant’s birth date and place; ship name and date of voyage; and the names, birthdates, and addresses of all family members living with the applicant at the time of submission.

Deaths: Original death records, death certificates, or photocopies thereof are primary records of the death of an individual. Newspaper reports such as obituaries and death notices are secondary records of death, as are dates on gravestones.

Military: Military records range from “muster rolls” of the various wars to photocopies of WWI and WWII draft registration cards, the latter records holding such secondary information as the registrant’s birth date, next of kin, and employer’s name.

Legal Records: Wills and probate records can be useful in determining legal heirs of an individual and may even give names of the individual’s parents or other ancestors. Deeds and other records of ownership can corroborate the residency of a subject at a given time.

To summarize: A primary record is the original record of a specific event. A secondary record is generally an undocumented reference to a specific event, made sometime after the actual event occurred. Each of the record categories above, while they may be “primary” only for the event that was recorded, may also be a secondary record of some other event. One example: a father’s age given on his child’s birth record is a secondary record of the (calculated) year of the father’s birth.

Next month: whether primary or secondary, how can the Internet help to find the records?

New Feature: Many families have widespread organizations that celebrate their roots, often encompassing numerous surnames, around the country and even the world. I will post reunion information for such groups if you provide me with pertinent information at least three months before the event. Include a contact name and number to be published.

The Foote Family Association of America (FFAA) is the reorganization of the original association of Foote descendants who trace their roots back to England of the early 1500s and the settlement of Wethersfield, Conn., in 1634. The association has a website at www.footefamily.org.
 

A “Meet Your Foote Family” reunion will be held Sept. 22–25, 2011, in Niagara Falls, N.Y., with opportunities to discuss common ancestors, to share “Foote” scrapbooks and information, and to see scenic Niagara Falls. For information on Foote family reunion reservations, contact Charles Gilbert at (716) 834-5236 or at footereunion2011@roadrunner.com.

 

  Write to Angelo at genealogytips@aol.com or visit his website, www.bit.ly/AFCGen.
He is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel (La Ruotaia),
based on his genealogical research of Sicilian foundlings.
For more information, see www.bit.ly/SicilianStory.

Angelo F. Coniglio's 50Plus Author's Page

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