5 Steps to Finding Marriage Records

Show Notes: Marriage records are essential to building your family tree. Here are the 5 steps you need to in order to find an ancestor’s marriage record. 

Watch the Video

5 Steps to Finding Marriage Records for Genealogy

Downloadable ad-free Show Notes Marriage Records Worksheet for Premium Members

A really good Spring cleaning task is to look through your family tree, starting with yourself and working backwards, and just checking to see if you have all the vital records for everyone. Vital records include birth, marriage and death records. Civil marriage records are typically some of the oldest vital records, and offer valuable information. 

Step 1:  Determine the time and place.

Time and place are critical to marriage record searches. Records like census records can help you get within 10 years of a marriage, and can also help you narrow in on the location of the wedding. Thankfully, all U.S. Federal Census records are free and online at FamilySearch.

Marriage records are typically filed at the county level. However, they can sometimes be found at the town level, particularly in New England. 

It’s very important to identify the correct county at the time of the estimated marriage. You can do that using the Newberry Library’s Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Click on the state and then select the time frame. 

Step 2: Use a genealogy guidance website

Genealogy “guidance” websites pull together information from a variety of sources to aid you in your research in a particular area. Here are two of my favorites:

The FamilySearch Wiki 

Click on North America > United States > State. Scroll down the state page and click on the county. Use Alt + F to quickly search for the word marriage.

The wiki will likely also provide you with links and clues as to where to find the records. Remember, it’s not always a comprehensive list, but it’s a great place to start.

Learn more about the Wiki with these videos:

If civil marriage records had not yet started when your ancestors married, look for church marriage records. Learn more with my video: How to Use Church Records for Genealogy (Premium)

US GenWeb

  • All-volunteer website
  • Organized by state and then county.
  • Great place to tap into the collective brain trust of genealogists interested in the same area.
  • Provides information such as when records started, how to access them, or if they are no longer available.
  • Provides links to online records.

Step 3: Genealogy Records Websites

If those leads don’t pan out, next turn to major genealogy websites. Start with the free FamilySearch, then if you have subscriptions to sites like Ancestry or MyHeritage, use those. (Note: These are affiliate links and we are compensated if you make a purhcase.) Only a fraction of these website’s record collections are included in their hints and suggestions. This means that the card catalog is essential if you want to scour all the records. 

Learn more about searching Ancestry’s card catalog: Ancestry Top Tips and Hot Keys (Premium)

Step 4: Contact the jurisdiction that originally created the records

If you don’t get the record that way, you’ll need to do it the old-fashioned way: contact the county or town clerk.

Early vital records are often moved to the state level. That contact information can likely be found on the FamilySearch Wiki page you found, or you can Google:
County name, state “marriage records”

Check the following repositories:

  • State Library
  • State Archive
  • State Historical Society
  • County Historical Society
  • Other: _________________________________________

Step 5: Google Search

If all else fails, turn to Google to see if there are any other repositories or online resources outside of the largest genealogy websites and archives. Use search operators to focus your search.

Example:  Randolph County Indiana “marriage records” 1880..1900

The quotation marks ensure that the exact phrase (Marriage records) is included on each web page result you get.

Two numbers separated by two periods is called a Numrange search. This instructs Google to also ensure that each web page result includes a number (in our case, a year) that falls within that range. It’s a great way to target marriage records from a particular time frame. 

Learn more about marriage record research with these two instructional videos:

Resources

Downloadable ad-free Show Notes Marriage Records Worksheet for Premium Members

 

History Hub Tutorial

Show Notes: Are you trying to work on a genealogy brick wall, and you think the records you need might be at the National Archives? In this video, I’m going to show you a new way that you can get answers and hopefully get the records quickly.

The National Archives is a great place to do that, but as I’ve mentioned before in this video, their website can be a bit daunting. However, I’ve got some good news. They have updated the website, and tucked away in that update is a special area where you can ask questions and get answers from many different sources including the staff at the National Archives.

It’s called History Hub. This updated platform is a place where the staff will actually answer your questions. You’ll also get responses from other archivists, librarians, museum curators, genealogists, and history enthusiasts. We all have areas of expertise and a wide array of experience, and the new History Hub makes it easier to help each other.

History Hub Show Notes

Downloadable ad-free Show Notes handout for Premium Members

History Hub Free Account

Before you can ask a question or help answer a question, you’ll need to register for a free History Hub account. To do so, click the Create your History Hub account now link on the home page. Type in the account name you want, enter your email address and a password and click the box to agree to the terms of service.

If you are a returning History Hub user, you will need to reset your password and re-accept the community Terms of Use when you first log in. 

Be aware that accounts that have not been used for over 1 year are automatically deactivated. So, you can email them at historyhub@nara.gov and they will reactivate your account.

Searching History Hub

Searching for answers at the History Hub is pretty simple and easy to do. You can enter your question in the “Ask” field on the History Hub homepage, or within a specific community. And we’ll talk about communities in just a second.

Let’s first ask a question. There’s a very good chance that someone else has already asked a very similar question to the one you have and there may already be a lot of contributions that will have the information you need.

Go to History.gov and type your question or some keywords into the Ask box. Don’t click the Ask button just yet. Give it a second to show you any potential answers that are already on History Hub. They will appear as a list below the Ask box.  

Again, those answers will build up over time, so if when you ask your question you don’t see a similar answer, that’s OK. Go ahead and click the Ask button now and you’ll be taken to a page called Ask a Question in Researchers Help where you can write up your question. Include any relevant information you already know, such as names, dates, and places, and also mention specifically where you’ve already looked. That’s going to help them help you.

You can also add Tags to your question so that if someone searches for a tag, your request will also pop up. And be sure to check the box at the bottom so that you’ll be notified when someone replies to your post.

There are a couple of things to understand and keep in mind. First, all questions are public. So don’t post your phone number or other personal information about you or other living people.  

Second, all questions are reviewed and moderated to make sure they comply with History Hub’s Terms and Conditions which again you can read when you sign up for your account. They only moderate and answer questions on weekdays during regular business hours, so patience is a virtue here.

In addition to the Ask a Question box, you’ll find a search bar at the top of the page. This search field searches the entire History Hub website. It’s very similar to the Ask a Question search bar in that once you enter your search terms, you’ll want to wait and let it populate possible answers that are already on the website. It will show you Forums, blogs and communities where your terms are being discussed.

You’ll also find a link to Advanced Search in the bottom right corner of that prepopulated list. This gives you a place to filter down in several creative ways which is very handy if you’re looking for information on a pretty broad topic or one that has had a lot of activity on History Hub.

History Hub search example

History Hub search example

They even give you an RSS feed for your specific query. So, if you use an RSS reader to follow blogs and podcasts, you could add this link to it to sort of bookmark this search and keep up to date on the activity on this topic. If you don’t use a Feed Reader currently, but that sounds interesting to you, check out a feed reader like https://feedburner.google.com/ or just google Feed Reader.

Browsing History Hub

Even if you don’t have a specific question, History Hub is worth browsing. There are a couple of ways to do that.

When looking at a community (for example, the Genealogy page), you’ll see:

  1. Ask a Question.
  2. Recent Blog Posts from this community.
  3. Top Questions where you can look through the most popular questions and topics. This also includes threads from related forums. Use the filters underneath the title of this section to focus even more.
  4. Activity Stream which features the most recent conversations.
  5. Explore Communities. History Hub currently hosts 19 communities, including “Researchers Help,” Military Records, Genealogy, and more. To see them all, click on Communities at the top of any page on the History Hub website.

At History Hub you can not only ask questions, you can also answer them. Since all of us have expertise in our own areas of genealogy, History Hub encourages everyone to share their knowledge and experience with other users who are new to archival and genealogical research. So, you can help out a fellow genealogist by clicking Reply at the bottom of their post and sharing what you know about the topic.

Notifications, Updates, and Subscriptions

As I mentioned before, this site is building up content over time. So, you’re probably going to want to follow topics, and History Hub offers a couple of ways to do that.

Forum Updates & Notifications

If you’re interested in following a particular topic, such as Census Records, or Army and Air Force Records, you can get updates by email and on the platform for all new questions and answers in that specific forum. To do that, click on any community’s  Question and Answer Forum tab, then click the Turn Forum notifications on link in the sidebar of that Forum’s homepage.

Subscribe to Community Updates

You can also receive daily or weekly email updates within a specific community, including new blog posts and questions. To do that on any Community Overview page, click “Email digest options” in the right column sidebar.

Getting Help with History Hub

History Hub Help Files: Getting Started.  Again, this website is newly revamped, so they are still working out the bugs. You can report any problems or ask questions in the Technical Help and Support Forum.

Resources

Downloadable ad-free Show Notes handout for Premium Members

 

 

Newsletter Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy of lisalouisecooke.com

This Application collects some Personal Data from its Users.

Owner and Data Controller

Genealogy Gems, Lisa Louise Cooke, P.O. Box 531, Rhome, TX 76078 USA

Owner contact email: genealogygemspodcast@gmail.com

Types of Data collected

Among the types of Personal Data that this Application collects, by itself or through third parties, there are: Cookies, Usage Data and email address.

Complete details on each type of Personal Data collected are provided in the dedicated sections of this privacy policy or by specific explanation texts displayed prior to the Data collection.
Personal Data may be freely provided by the User, or, in case of Usage Data, collected automatically when using this Application.
Unless specified otherwise, all Data requested by this Application is mandatory and failure to provide this Data may make it impossible for this Application to provide its services. In cases where this Application specifically states that some Data is not mandatory, Users are free not to communicate this Data without consequences to the availability or the functioning of the Service.
Users who are uncertain about which Personal Data is mandatory are welcome to contact the Owner.
Any use of Cookies – or of other tracking tools – by this Application or by the owners of third-party services used by this Application serves the purpose of providing the Service required by the User, in addition to any other purposes described in the present document and in the Cookie Policy, if available.

Users are responsible for any third-party Personal Data obtained, published or shared through this Application and confirm that they have the third party’s consent to provide the Data to the Owner.

Mode and place of processing the Data

Methods of processing

The Owner takes appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorized destruction of the Data.
The Data processing is carried out using computers and/or IT enabled tools, following organizational procedures and modes strictly related to the purposes indicated. In addition to the Owner, in some cases, the Data may be accessible to certain types of persons in charge, involved with the operation of this Application (administration, sales, marketing, legal, system administration) or external parties (such as third-party technical service providers, mail carriers, hosting providers, IT companies, communications agencies) appointed, if necessary, as Data Processors by the Owner. The updated list of these parties may be requested from the Owner at any time.

Legal basis of processing

The Owner may process Personal Data relating to Users if one of the following applies:

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In any case, the Owner will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of Personal Data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.

Place

The Data is processed at the Owner’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located.

Depending on the User’s location, data transfers may involve transferring the User’s Data to a country other than their own. To find out more about the place of processing of such transferred Data, Users can check the section containing details about the processing of Personal Data.

Users are also entitled to learn about the legal basis of Data transfers to a country outside the European Union or to any international organization governed by public international law or set up by two or more countries, such as the UN, and about the security measures taken by the Owner to safeguard their Data.

If any such transfer takes place, Users can find out more by checking the relevant sections of this document or inquire with the Owner using the information provided in the contact section.

Retention time

Personal Data shall be processed and stored for as long as required by the purpose they have been collected for.

Therefore:

  • Personal Data collected for purposes related to the performance of a contract between the Owner and the User shall be retained until such contract has been fully performed.
  • Personal Data collected for the purposes of the Owner’s legitimate interests shall be retained as long as needed to fulfill such purposes. Users may find specific information regarding the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner within the relevant sections of this document or by contacting the Owner.

The Owner may be allowed to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever the User has given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, the Owner may be obliged to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever required to do so for the performance of a legal obligation or upon order of an authority.

Once the retention period expires, Personal Data shall be deleted. Therefore, the right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after expiration of the retention period.

The purposes of processing

The Data concerning the User is collected to allow the Owner to provide its Services, as well as for the following purposes: Interaction with external social networks and platforms, Analytics and Managing contacts and sending messages.

Users can find further detailed information about such purposes of processing and about the specific Personal Data used for each purpose in the respective sections of this document.

Detailed information on the processing of Personal Data

Personal Data is collected for the following purposes and using the following services:

Analytics

The services contained in this section enable the Owner to monitor and analyze web traffic and can be used to keep track of User behavior.

Google Analytics (Google Inc.)

Google Analytics is a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. (“Google”). Google utilizes the Data collected to track and examine the use of this Application, to prepare reports on its activities and share them with other Google services.
Google may use the Data collected to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.

Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.

Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy – Opt Out. Privacy Shield participant.

Interaction with external social networks and platforms

This type of service allows interaction with social networks or other external platforms directly from the pages of this Application.
The interaction and information obtained through this Application are always subject to the User’s privacy settings for each social network.
This type of service might still collect traffic data for the pages where the service is installed, even when Users do not use it.

Facebook Like button and social widgets (Facebook, Inc.)

The Facebook Like button and social widgets are services allowing interaction with the Facebook social network provided by Facebook, Inc.

Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.

Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy. Privacy Shield participant.

Pinterest “Pin it” button and social widgets (Pinterest)

The Pinterest “Pin it” button and social widgets are services allowing interaction with the Pinterest platform provided by Pinterest Inc.

Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.

Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy.

Managing contacts and sending messages

This type of service makes it possible to manage a database of email contacts, phone contacts or any other contact information to communicate with the User.
These services may also collect data concerning the date and time when the message was viewed by the User, as well as when the User interacted with it, such as by clicking on links included in the message.

Constant Contact (Constant Contact, Inc.)

Constant Contact is an email address management and message sending service provided by Constant Contact, Inc.

Personal Data collected: email address.

Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy.

 

Displaying content from external platforms

This type of service allows you to view content hosted on external platforms directly from the pages of this Application and interact with them.
This type of service might still collect web traffic data for the pages where the service is installed, even when Users do not use it.

YouTube video widget (Google Inc.)

YouTube is a video content visualization service provided by Google Inc. that allows this Application to incorporate content of this kind on its pages.

Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.

Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy. Privacy Shield participant.

Vimeo video (Vimeo, LLC)

Vimeo is a video content visualization service provided by Vimeo, LLC that allows this Application to incorporate content of this kind on its pages.

Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.

Place of processing: United States – Privacy Policy

The rights of Users

Users may exercise certain rights regarding their Data processed by the Owner.

In particular, Users have the right to do the following:

  • Withdraw their consent at any time.Users have the right to withdraw consent where they have previously given their consent to the processing of their Personal Data.
  • Object to processing of their Data.Users have the right to object to the processing of their Data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent. Further details are provided in the dedicated section below.
  • Access their Data.Users have the right to learn if Data is being processed by the Owner, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the Data undergoing processing.
  • Verify and seek rectification.Users have the right to verify the accuracy of their Data and ask for it to be updated or corrected.
  • Restrict the processing of their Data.Users have the right, under certain circumstances, to restrict the processing of their Data. In this case, the Owner will not process their Data for any purpose other than storing it.
  • Have their Personal Data deleted or otherwise removed.Users have the right, under certain circumstances, to obtain the erasure of their Data from the Owner.
  • Receive their Data and have it transferred to another controller.Users have the right to receive their Data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance. This provision is applicable provided that the Data is processed by automated means and that the processing is based on the User’s consent, on a contract which the User is part of or on pre-contractual obligations thereof.
  • Lodge a complaint.Users have the right to bring a claim before their competent data protection authority.

Details about the right to object to processing

Where Personal Data is processed for a public interest, in the exercise of an official authority vested in the Owner or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner, Users may object to such processing by providing a ground related to their particular situation to justify the objection.

Users must know that, however, should their Personal Data be processed for direct marketing purposes, they can object to that processing at any time without providing any justification. To learn, whether the Owner is processing Personal Data for direct marketing purposes, Users may refer to the relevant sections of this document.

How to exercise these rights

Any requests to exercise User rights can be directed to the Owner through the contact details provided in this document. These requests can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the Owner as early as possible and always within one month.

Additional information about Data collection and processing

Legal action

The User’s Personal Data may be used for legal purposes by the Owner in Court or in the stages leading to possible legal action arising from improper use of this Application or the related Services.
The User declares to be aware that the Owner may be required to reveal personal data upon request of public authorities.

Additional information about User’s Personal Data

In addition to the information contained in this privacy policy, this Application may provide the User with additional and contextual information concerning particular Services or the collection and processing of Personal Data upon request.

System logs and maintenance

For operation and maintenance purposes, this Application and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with this Application (System logs) use other Personal Data (such as the IP Address) for this purpose.

Information not contained in this policy

More details concerning the collection or processing of Personal Data may be requested from the Owner at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.

How “Do Not Track” requests are handled

This Application does not support “Do Not Track” requests.
To determine whether any of the third-party services it uses honor the “Do Not Track” requests, please read their privacy policies.

Changes to this privacy policy

The Owner reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by giving notice to its Users on this page and possibly within this Application and/or – as far as technically and legally feasible – sending a notice to Users via any contact information available to the Owner. It is strongly recommended to check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the bottom.

Should the changes affect processing activities performed on the basis of the User’s consent, the Owner shall collect new consent from the User, where required.

Definitions and legal references

Personal Data (or Data)

Any information that directly, indirectly, or in connection with other information — including a personal identification number — allows for the identification or identifiability of a natural person.

Usage Data

Information collected automatically through this Application (or third-party services employed in this Application), which can include: the IP addresses or domain names of the computers utilized by the Users who use this Application, the URI addresses (Uniform Resource Identifier), the time of the request, the method utilized to submit the request to the server, the size of the file received in response, the numerical code indicating the status of the server’s answer (successful outcome, error, etc.), the country of origin, the features of the browser and the operating system utilized by the User, the various time details per visit (e.g., the time spent on each page within the Application) and the details about the path followed within the Application with special reference to the sequence of pages visited, and other parameters about the device operating system and/or the User’s IT environment.

User

The individual using this Application who, unless otherwise specified, coincides with the Data Subject.

Data Subject

The natural person to whom the Personal Data refers.

Data Processor (or Data Supervisor)

The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes Personal Data on behalf of the Controller, as described in this privacy policy.

Data Controller (or Owner)

The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of Personal Data, including the security measures concerning the operation and use of this Application. The Data Controller, unless otherwise specified, is the Owner of this Application.

This Application

The means by which the Personal Data of the User is collected and processed.

Service

The service provided by this Application as described in the relative terms (if available) and on this site/application.

European Union (or EU)

Unless otherwise specified, all references made within this document to the European Union include all current member states to the European Union and the European Economic Area.

Cookies

Small sets of data stored in the User’s device.

Legal information

This privacy statement has been prepared based on provisions of multiple legislations, including Art. 13/14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation).

This privacy policy relates solely to this Application, if not stated otherwise within this document.

 

Recent New and Updated Genealogy Records Online

There are a wide range of genealogical records newly available online. Here are new and updated collections as of this week. We’ve included important information about each collection that will help you determine whether it is suitable for your genealogical research. We include affiliate links for which we may be compensated, at no expense to you. Thank you for supporting free article like this by using our links. 

new genealogy records

The latest genealogy records from Genealogy Gems.

NEW: HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA NEWSPAPER DIGITIZATION PROJECT

About the collection:

“The Hall County Newspaper Digitization Project is a collaborative project supported by the historical and genealogical societies, newspapers, public libraries, and museums in Hall County. This project will digitize the 28 historic newspapers published in Hall County since 1870. The Grand Island Independent (up to 1924) is included in this project.”  

Newspapers included in the first completed phase of digitization include:

  • Platte Valley Independent (1870-1884);
  • Grand Island Times (1873-1892);
  • Grand Island Independent (1884-1900);
  • Wood River Gazette (1884-1892);
  • Doniphan Eagle (1892-1895);
  • Staats-Anzeiger und Herald (1894-1918);
  • Wood River Interests (1894-1919);
  • Wood River Sunbeam (1906-2003).

Search the collection here. 
 

DIGITAL LIBRARY OF GEORGIA

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Select Georgia towns and cities. 1923-1941)

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps at the Digital Library of Georgia

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps at the Digital Library of Georgia

About the collection:

“The Digital Library of Georgia has just made Sanborn fire insurance maps produced between 1923-1941 for 39 Georgia towns and cities in 35 counties freely available online. The maps, which are now in the public domain, can be retrieved at dlg.usg.edu/collection/dlg_sanb, and complement the DLG’s existing collection of the University of Georgia Map and Government Information Library’s 539 Sanborn maps dating from 1884-1922 that have been available since 2005. The DLG has also upgraded its image viewer, which will allow better access and improved navigation to the new and older Sanborn images from this collection.”

Search the collection here. 

MYHERITAGE

Search the following collections here at MyHeritage

NEW: New York, Birth Index, 1881-1942

About the collection: 

“This collection consists of indexes of births from the state of New York between the years 1881 and 1942. The State of New York began statewide registration of births in 1881, supervised by the local board of health. A record may include the following information when it is available: given name and surname, birth date, town of birth, and gender. The images in this collection have been obtained through the outstanding work and efforts of Reclaim the Records.

This index does not contain lists of births from New York City. New York City is considered to be a separate vital records jurisdiction from the rest of New York state, and consequently the city has its own birth indices. However, a small number of New York City birth listings are found throughout this index. This is due to the births happening in towns that were previously independent before the consolidation of the city in 1898 (for example, a pre-1898 birth in a place like Canarsie [Brooklyn] or Flushing [Queens] might be listed here) or because there was a late birth registration.”

NEW: Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001

About this collection: 

“This collection includes an index of death records from Minnesota, between 1904-2001. Information may include the deceased name, date of death, county of death, date of birth, county of birth and certificate number. It may also include the mother’s maiden name when available. 

Information for the years 1908-2001 is recorded from death certificates as recorded by a physician or a mortician. Information in this collection for years prior to 1908 is taken from death cards. Unlike death certificates, many death cards were filled out very incompletely. Cards, especially for the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, frequently contain little more information than the name of the decedent, date of death, sex, marital status, birthplace, cause of death, and person reporting the death.”

Number of records: 4,460,579

NEW: Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934

About this collection: 

“This collection contains an index to birth records from Minnesota between 1900-1934. Information may include: first name, middle name, and last name of the child. It may also include the date and county of birth, certificate number. It may also include the mother’s maiden name when available.

Birth certificates were used to record birth information beginning in 1907. When a child was born, a physician or midwife compiled information about the child on a birth certificate. The certificate was registered with the local county registrar. Birth cards were used to collect birth information from 1900 to 1907. Unlike birth certificates, many birth cards were not completely filled out. 80% of this collection takes place between 1907-1937, 19% is from 1900-1907 and 1% is from before 1900.”

Number of records: 3,406,802

Updated: MyHeritage Photos and Docs

About this collection: 

“This collection includes public photos, videos and documents posted by MyHeritage members on their family sites. You may contact a member who submitted a photo to get in touch or request additional information.”

Number of records: 141,129,707

ANCESTRY

U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995

About the collection: “This database is a collection of directories for U.S. cities and counties in various years. The database currently contains directories for all states except Alaska.

Generally a city directory will contain an alphabetical list of citizens, listing the names of the heads of households, their addresses, and occupational information. Sometimes a wife’s name will be listed in parentheses or italics following the husband’s. Other helpful information might include death dates for individuals who had been listed in the previous year’s directory, names of partners in firms, and forwarding addresses or post offices for people who had moved to another town.”

Search the collection here.

NEW: New York State, Address Notification and Absentee Ballot Application Cards, 1944

About the collection:

“This collection consists of notices received in 1944 by the War Ballot Commission from members of the United States Armed Forces, American Red Cross, and other service organizations serving in World War II that resided in New York requesting absentee ballots or notifying the office of a change in address. For more information on this collection, please visit the Finding Aid page on the New York State Archives site. There are two main forms present in this collection – pre-printed applications for war ballot, and postcards with change of address information.”

Information contained varies, and may include:

  • soldier’s name
  • soldier’s rank or rating and service number
  • soldier’s birth date
  • soldier’s residence at time of request

Search the collection here.

Updated: 1860 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules

About the collection:

“The slave schedule was used in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.”

Search the collection here.

Updated: 1850 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules

About the collection: 

“The slave schedule was used in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.”

Search the collection here. 

Updated: New Zealand, Cemetery Records, 1800-2007

About the collection: 

“These transcriptions of headstones from cemeteries in New Zealand typically include details such as name, birth date, death date, and the cemetery name and plot location. But they may also provide family relationships with name and other details about a spouse, cause of death, military dates, an epitaph, or even a description of the headstone.”

378,207 new records were added.

Search the collection here.

Updated: U.S. Virgin Islands, Danish West Indies Slave Records, 1672-1917

About the collection: 

“This database contains Danish records relating to slavery in what became the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

During Danish rule, officials kept voluminous records, including the slave-related records found in this database. They include the following:

  • case papers concerning contested slave ownership
  • emancipation records
  • registers of free men, women, and children of color
  • lists of baptisms, marriages, and burials
  • lists of slave owners and former slaves
  • mortgages and loans
  • slave lists and censuses
  • records of Royal Blacks
  • compensation agreements
  • courts martial

The records can be a valuable source of names, dates, places, and other details. These records have not yet been indexed, but they can be browsed by record type. Most of the records are in Danish.

This collection was previously published as image only. The collection has since been indexed and this update adds 80,184 new records.”

Search the collection here.

About the collection: “This database consists primarily of the voter indexes published every two years, including indexes to the Great Registers, to affidavits for registration, and to precinct registers.

Voter registrations were kept on the county level by the county clerk. Indexes to these records are organized according to county and voting wards and/or precincts. Within each precinct voters are listed alphabetically according to surname.”

Information may include:

  • Name
  • Age
  • Address
  • Occupation
  • Political Affiliation

Search the collection here

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO – CITY DIRECTORIES

The University Libraries has recently digitized early city directories of Reno, Sparks, and the surrounding areas, which date from 1900.

Nevada City Directories at the University of Nevada

Nevada City Directories at the University of Nevada

Search the collection here. 

FINDMYPAST

NEW: Canadian Directories & Almanacs

Findmypast has launched brand new collection with records from the province of Prince Edward Island. According to the company, more will be added from across Canada over the coming months.

About the collection:

“The eclectic mix of five directories cover the late 19th century from 1880 to 1899.”

The titles included are:

  • Frederick’s Prince Edward Island Directory
  • McMillian’s Agricultural and Nautical Almanac
  • McMullan’s Almanac
  • Teare’s Directory & Hand Book Of The Province of Prince Edward Island
  • The Prince Edward Island Almanac

Search the collection here. 

Updated: PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)

About the collection:

“Over 7,000 images have been added covering a variety of PERSI publications, perfect for fleshing out family stories. The new periodical titles that have been added are:

  • Vermont Quarterly Gazetteer: A Historical Magazine / Bound With New Title: Vermont Historical Gazetteer
  • Recherches Historiques
  • Cambridge Historical Society Publications/proceedings
  • Archivium Hibernicum / Irish Historical Records
  • Queen City Heritage / Ohio Valley History
  • Connecticut Historical Society Collections

Simply filter by periodical to get to the latest additions.”

Search the collection here. 

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