by Lisa Cooke | Mar 27, 2015 | 01 What's New, Canadian, Digital Archives, Military, Newspaper, Photographs
We learn about great new genealogy records online every week! On Fridays we round up a few for you. Watch for databases and documents that your 
ancestors might appear in–and get inspired by the types of records that may be out there for your family, waiting for you to discover. This week: a photo archives for Canadian Mennonites, a Georgia state newspaper collection, a genealogy index for a northeast Ohio archive and WWII Cadet Nursing Corps membership cards (US).
CANADIAN MENNONITE PHOTO ARCHIVE: A new database is now online with over 80,000 images of Mennonite life from across Canada and dating back to 1860s. A press release says that the archive “is a project of the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada and includes Mennonite archival partners in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.” An online ordering system allows visitors to order image copies for noncommercial use.
GEORGIA NEWSPAPERS: The Digital Library of Georgia has launched an archive of north Georgia historical newspapers. “The North Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive provides online access to six newspaper titles published in three north Georgia cities (Dalton, Gainesville, and Rome) from 1850 to 1922. Consisting of over 33,000 newspaper pages, the archive provides historical images that are both full-text searchable and can be browsed by date. The site is compatible with all current browsers and the newspaper page images can be viewed without the use of plug-ins or additional software downloads. The archive includes the following north Georgia newspaper titles: Gainesville News (1902-1922), Georgia Cracker (Gainesville) (1894-1902), North Georgia Citizen (Dalton) (1868-1921), Rome Courier (1850-1855), Rome Tri-Weekly Courier (1860-1880), Rome Weekly Courier (1860-1878). The Digital Library of Georgia will add additional titles from the region over time.
OHIO GENEALOGY INDEX. The Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, OH has created an online Genealogy Index to some of its most valuable and unique genealogical records, including original funeral home and Bible records. Also in the index are Jewish marriages and death notices, an index of names in a significant African-American manuscript collection, a 1907 Cleveland voter registration index, a photo database of Cleveland military personnel from WWII and the Korean War and a biographical sketch name index. Currently, there are about 320,000 records in the index; more are being added on an ongoing basis. The Society primarily archives records relating to Cleveland and northeast Ohio. Soon to be added are indexes to the 1870 mortality census for Ashtabula, Ohio and indexes to several church records collections.
WWII CADET NURSING CORPS (US): The WWII Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, new on Fold3, contain membership cards of women who joined. According to Fold3, the cards “are organized by state, nursing school, and cadet name. Some cards include the date of admission to the school, date of admission to the corps, and date of graduation (or date of other reason for termination from the school). Others contain details like the woman’s marital status, father’s/husband’s name and profession, years of college completed, place of residence, and how they heard about the corps. Still others also record the woman’s age in addition to the previously mentioned information.”
To search for images you can use without violating copyright, do a keyword search in Google Images (or just do a keyword search from Google’s home page and then click “Images” above your search results). Click Search Tools. Another toolbar will pop up. Click “Usage rights.” You can sort search results by those that are labeled for reuse in different ways. You won’t capture every copyright-free image, but hopefully you’ll get a decent selection of options! This tip comes to you courtesy of the book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, Second Edition by Lisa Louise Cooke–the fully-revised 2015 edition that’s packed with strategies that will dramatically improve your ability to find your family history online.
by Lisa Cooke | Jan 22, 2016 | 01 What's New, Records & databases
Here’s our weekly roundup of cool new genealogy records online. Should you search any of these: an 1831 England census substitute; parish records for Hertfordshire; images of French forts in North America; Michigan death records; outgoing passenger lists for the US and War of 1812 pension records?
ENGLAND 1831 CENSUS SUBSTITUTE. There’s a new 1831 census substitute database at Findmypast! England, Pollbooks and Directories 1830-1837 allows you to discover where your ancestors lived, how they earned a living and how they voted. This collection of assorted documents also plugs the important gap left by the lack of a complete 1831 census.”
ENGLAND PARISH REGISTERS. Findmypast now has a browsable collection of parish records for Hertfordshire. The collection spans 1538-1988: that’s 450 years and 1.9 million pages of baptisms, marriages and burials.
NEW FRANCE. Library & Archives Canada has published a new Flickr photo collection with images of North American forts built or captured by the French during the era of New France. It’s free to explore and the history is fascinating!
MICHIGAN DEATHS. A new collection of Michigan Death Records, 1857-1960 is available to Ancestry.com subscribers. Death registers and certificates contain varying amounts of genealogical information.
US TRAVELERS ABROAD. Ancestry.com has a new database of departing passengers and crew from various U.S. locations (1916-1962) by ship and air. These include military transports. “Details requested on the forms varied, but they typically include the name of the vessel, departure date, ports of departure and destination, shipmaster, full name, age, gender, physical description, military rank (if any), occupation, birthplace, citizen of what country, and residence.” Later documents may include visa or passport information.
WAR OF 1812 PENSIONS (US). Images of pension records for US soldiers with surnames beginning A-M have been posted on Fold3, where they are available to view for FREE. This is part of the ongoing Preserve the Pensions project led by the Federation of Genealogical Societies. Click here to learn more and contribute to funding for this crowd-sourced effort.
Looking for a specific type of record about your ancestor? Want to find more new genealogy records online yourself? Click here for step-by-step instructions on using Google to search for specific records.
by Lisa Cooke | Mar 2, 2022 | 01 What's New, Elevenses with Lisa, Records & databases |
Grab your mug! This Elevenses with Lisa LIVE show is exclusively for Premium Members. In this Premium episode we’ll be discussing how to find hard-to-find genealogical records. Our case study will be on divorce records, but you use these strategies with all types of records.
Show Notes – A Case Study: Divorce Records
Are you having trouble finding a particular genealogical record you need? It happens to all of us, so in this episode we will take one Premium Member’s question and follow the process of how to find those elusive records.
Resource
Download the handout PDF
Georgiann’s Question:
“I have found my great-grandma’s sister in 1910 census in Boulder, Colorado. In 1911 her husband had moved to Arkansas and married his second wife there. In a 1912 city directory of Boulder, Colorado, this sister is listed as a widow. Also listed as a widow in 1920 census. I have looked in Arkansas and Colorado for a divorce and have found nothing so far. I’m not sure what my next step would be.”
This is a great example of what we’re talking about. Everything you know so far indicates there’s a record out there, but it’s not in the usual places.
The process we will cover can apply to any type of record, though certainly not every situation. But I think it’s a great exercise for us all. And if you’re like Georgiann and specifically looking for a divorce record, well then you’re definitely going to be able to use these strategies in a very specific way.
State the Research Question
Great research plans begin with great research questions. The question should be specific. If it feels a little broad, try to break it down into a number of more specific questions. In this case our research question is: Did Clara and John Byerly divorce?
Create a research plan
Not every genealogical search requires a plan. However, when a record is hard to locate, that’s the perfect time to use this more structured process. A research plan doesn’t have to be formal, but it does help you search in a more strategic way.
Create a Timeline:
A timeline can help you tease apart the events and determine your target. Here’s a brief timeline for Clara B. Byerly:
1910 – Boulder, CO, listed as married in the census
1911 – her husband remarries in Arkansas
1912 – Boulder CO, listed as widowed in the city directory
1920 – Boulder CO, listed widowed census
Target identified: Divorce record between 1910 and 1911.
Identify the states where the divorce likely occurred
Google maps is an easy way to find your best geographic targets based on what we know. Here are our top two for Clara based on the current records:
- Colorado
- Arkansas
It’s worth making note of the bordering states on the way to Arkansas where her ex-husband John remarried just in case he filed for divorce: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico.
Target update: Divorce record between 1910 and 1911, in Colorado or Arkansas.
Identify the Types of Records to Look for
Next, make a list of the types of records that might be able to tell us what happened. In Clara’s case, divorce records are our first choice, but other types of records may help. Here’s our list of targets in priority order:
- Divorce
- Newspapers – Is there an article or notice about the divorce?
- Marriage – What does John say his marital status is at the time of the second marriage?
List where each record might be found
The next step in creating your research plan is to brainstorm a list of potential locations for each record target. Here’s our starting list for this case:
Divorce records:
- org (free)
- Ancestry ($)
- MyHeritage ($)
- Google search (state libraries, courts, other niche genealogy sites)
Note: the search feature at the genealogy websites listed don’t search all collections. Check the Card Catalog as well.
Newspapers:
- Chronicling America (free) Check the Newspaper directory as well for offline papers.
- Check the top newspaper websites ($) to see if they have papers that match the target time and place (Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank)
- Google Search for repositories
As Georgiann discovered, in this case, the genealogy websites do not have a divorce record for Clara and John Byerly.
Online Searching for Online or Offline Records
If you can’t find the record you need at one of the big genealogy websites, it’s time to search online for records that may be on another website online, or listed in the catalog of a repository and online available offline.
When googling, we focus on finding the record collection rather the ancestors. Try both broad search and narrow searches so you catch everything. Your query will include targeted information such as type of record, geographic location and timeframe.
Example of a broad search query:
Colorado Divorce Records
Example of a narrow search query:
“divorce records” “boulder county” 1910..1912
In this query we place quotes around the record type to tell Google we want websites that include these exact phrases. Dates can be presented in a numrage search where we put the first date, two periods, and the second date. This tells Google to return only website that include a date (4-digit number year) that falls within this range. Learn more about Google search strategies in my book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox.
Search results:
Colorado Genealogy on the Internet – includes links to the following:
Colorado State Archives – Divorce Records
This website remind us that although they provide an online search it is incomplete: “You can search for historical divorce records at the Colorado State Archives website here. This is not a complete database. If you don’t find the records, contact the State Archives directly.” This is the case with many libraries and archives.
Thankfully, we hit the jackpot at the Colorado State Archives. A search of the historical index for Clara Byerly retrieved the details of the record. Georgiann can use this information to order a copy (for a fee) from the archives. It’s always advantageous to see the original record as there could be an error in the transcription, and it may include additional information.
Our timeline for this case now looks more complete:
1910 – “married” in the census Boulder, CO
1910 – July 2 Divorced in Boulder, CO
1911 – husband remarries in Arkansas
1912 – “widowed” Boulder CO city directory
1920 – “widowed” Boulder CO census
More Online Strategies: Websites to Check for Links to Records
FamilySearch Wiki
Filter down to United States > Colorado > Boulder County
Result: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Colorado_Court_Records
USGenWeb
Google it: boulder county colorado usgenweb
https://www.cogenweb.com/boulder/
Filter at USGenWeb by Country > State > County
Question the Assumptions
Sometimes we’re looking for a record that doesn’t exist because things didn’t happen the way other records lead us to believe they did. In this case the question is “Did Clara and John Byerly really divorce?” It’s very possible that he left her and they didn’t formalize their divorce in Colorado. Also, a woman stating that she is a widow could be for the purpose of covering that up, or if they did actually divorce, to avoid the social stigma of being divorced.
If we exhaust all resources for divorce records and come up empty handed, we can then move on to the other record types. Getting the marriage record for the second marriage may answer the question if he disclosed the first marriage.
More Records to Look for Marriage Status and Divorce
In addition to actual historical divorce records check:
- newspapers
- obituaries
- city directories
- Census – Sometimes “M2” is listed indicating a second marriage. Did the husband in this case get listed that way?
