Search Results

Have you looked at other records? … If you look at all the records available online, such as city directories, historical newspapers, and court records, you see that the records fall neatly into two separate groups. …

Research which of those records might still exist, and which records are accessible to the public (not subject to privacy restrictions). Research what repositories might hold those records. … I see what records they use in their searches, then I ask if equivalent records might exist for the time and place I am working in. Search PERSI (the PERiodical Source Index). …

You don't say whether you have looked for Naturalization records for your father or grandmother. … It might help to review research guides like NARA's introduction to Immigration Records or Naturalization Records. …

Indirect evidence can help when sorting out which one of these index records might be your relative. … It isn't always possible to make a large leap from the last known residence to the records that turn up in the SSDI. …

The records are available at Massachusetts Archives. (emphasis mine) As of 1 January 1896, the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, 150 Mt. … So far the process of creation looks like this: Towns submit copies of their records to the state. Some state agency indexes the records. …

Probate records, church records, and newspapers can be especially valuable, but make it a game to try and discover as many records as you can find. … date and place can be recorded along with those other records. …

I want to use multiple approaches, because experience has taught me that I will find more records that way. Pretend you are doing an all-new search. … Try to find records to show these are two different people. (Let the evidence itself drive you back to the conclusion that all these records refer to the same person.) …

Here's the checklist I use when when trying to find records about a place or topic: Learn what records might have been created in a particular time and place. … Research which of those records might still exist, and which records are accessible to the public. Research what repositories might hold those records. …

You may have to look for general collections of town records, rather than a database with "poor records" in the title. … Under Town Records, there are two entries, Municipal Records (not online) and Road and Highway Layout Records (some are online). …

What records were created? … They might have copies of records that were created on a local level that were forwarded to the Federal Government (such as Naturalization records). …

Have you mapped out the locations mentioned in the historical records you've already found? What other research have you done to put the records into their historical context? … Clues about your research subjects might be found in the records of their descendants. …