We Dig These Gems! New Genealogy Records Online
Here’s our weekly roundup of new genealogy records online. Should you search for your ancestors in any of these databases?
BRITAIN, MERCHANT SEAMAN. Findmypast.com has added nearly a quarter million records to its 1918-1941 database of British Merchant Seaman.
IDAHO VITAL RECORDS. New indexes of Idaho births (1861-1911) and deaths (1938-1961) are now searchable for free at FamilySearch.org.
ILLINOIS DEATHS. Over 3.7 million records have been added to a free index of Cook County, Illinois deaths at FamilySearch.org. Cook County is home to the city of Chicago.
INDIANA CHURCH RECORDS. A new database of Indiana United Methodist Church Records(1837-1970) is available at Ancestry.com. According to the collection description, “The registers may contain baptisms, marriages, burials, memberships, and lists of clergy.”
IRISH BIRTHS, BAPTISMS AND MARRIAGES. Complementing recent online Irish parish records collections are two databases of Non-conformist church records (meaning those not in alliance with the Church of Ireland) now at Findmypast: births/baptisms and marriages.
ONTARIO BIRTHS. FamilySearch has added over 125,000 indexed records to its collection of Ontario, Canada birth records.
UNITED STATES and NEW ZEALAND ARTICLES. Findmypast.com has updated its PERSI database with over 45,000 new indexed entries and images. Ten publications spanning 1883-1984 include articles covering several New Zealand and several U.S. states, including Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Utah.
VARIOUS MARRIAGE RECORDS. FamilySearch.org has published or updated several new free marriage records collections. Click here to see the full list, which includes British Columbia, Durham (England), Indiana, Kansas, Liberia, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah.
Don’t see the records you hoped to among these new genealogy records online? Click here to read a blog post on two powerful tools to help you search for elusive records.
15 Freebies for Genealogy
A ton of genealogy and family history research can be done for free. In this episode I’ll share 15 fabulous free websites and what I love about them. These are essential for everyone serious about saving money while climbing their family tree.
(Get your ad-free Show Notes Cheat Sheet at the bottom of this page in the Resources section.)
LISA’S SHOW NOTES: Get your ad-free downloadable handout in the Resources section at the bottom of this page.
Episode 77 Show Notes
1. Genealogy records – Familysearch
Website: https://www.familysearch.org/en/
Features:
- Free account
- Download and print
- Historical records
- Digitized Books
- Browse Images
- Trees
2. Books, Magazines & Newspapers – Google Books
Website: https://books.google.com
Features:
- 10 million free digitized book
- Google’s newspaper collection
- Magazines
- Catalogs
- Almanacs
- City directories
- County histories
- Court records
- Government reports…
Tip: Use the Tools button on the results page to reveal the filter menu. Filter your results down to just full digitized and searchable books by selecting Full View.
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 30.
3. Records – Find free records at Ancestry
Website: tinyurl.com/lisaancestryfree (affiliate link)
Features:
- Use the link to zero in on only free records
- All types of genealogical records!
- Use fields to search just the free records and free indexes.
- Free Trial available
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 17.
4. Burial Records – Find a Grave
Website: https://www.findagrave.com
Features:
- over 170 million burial records.
- birth, death, and burial information
- many submissions include additional biographical details (possibly an obituary) and information about spouses, children and parents.
Search Tips:
- Name fields:
? replaces one letter. - * represents zero to many letters. g. Lars?n or Wil*
- Search for an exact birth/death year or select a range, before or after.
Select “More search options” to:
- Search for a memorial or contributor by ID.
- Include the name of a spouse, parent, child or sibling in your search.
- Use partial name search or similar name spellings to catch alternate spellings or broaden your search.
- Narrow your results to famous, Non-Cemetery Burials, memorials with or without grave photos and more.
5. Free downloadable worksheets – Family Tree Magazine
Website: https://www.familytreemagazine.com/FREEFORMS/
Features:
- 5 Generation Ancestor Chart
- Family Group Sheets
- Ancestor Research Worksheet
- Records Checklists
- Family Relationship Chart
- Online Search Tracker
- Ancestor Surname Variant Chart
- Oral History Interview Worksheet
- S. Census Checklist
- Genealogy Source Documentation Guide
6. Resources & Information – US Gen Web
Website: https://usgenweb.org/
Features:
- Free, volunteer organization for 25 years
- Organized by State then Organized by County
- Free guidance from experienced researchers in that area
- Links to free records
7. Resources & Information – FamilySearch Wiki
Website: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki
Features:
- Organized by country, state, county…
- Provides an overview
- Directs you to where known records are located
- Alerts you to pitfalls and tips from experts at the FHL
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 64.
8. Passenger Lists – Ellis island Website
Website: https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger
Features:
- Passenger lists images & transcriptions
- Photos of Ships
Search by:
- name
- the Wizard
- One page form
Snagit Clipping Tool: Here’s our link for purchasing your copy of Snagit (screen clipping tool) Thank you for using our link. Use coupon code GENEALOGY15 to get 15% off. (We will be compensated at no additional cost to you, which makes the free Elevenses with Lisa show and notes possible.)
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 34.
9. Books, Images, Videos – Internet Archive
Website: https://archive.org
Features:
- Old webpages
- Books
- Images
- Records
- Audio Recordings
- Storage
- Videos
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 43.
10. Photo Identification – Dead Fred photos
Website: https://deadfred.com
Features:
- A place to post photos for potential identification
- Reunite orphaned photos with families
- Find old family photos
11. Military Records – Soldiers and Sailors
Website: https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm
“Cooperative effort between the National Park Service and several public and private partners whose goal is to increase Americans’ understanding of this decisive era in American history by making information about it widely accessible.
11. Soldiers and Sailors Database
Features:
- Men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.
- Histories of Union and Confederate regiments.
- Links to descriptions of significant battles.
- Selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records.
Learn more: Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 149.
12. Postcards & Newspapers – Old Fulton Postcards
Website: https://fultonhistory.com/
Features:
- Started as New York post cards
- Expanded into newspapers
- Now boasts “Search over 41,433,000 Historical
Newspaper Pages from the USA & Canada”
Tips:
- Take the time to visit the Help & FAQ section
- Visit the Old Fulton New York Post Cards page at the FamilySearch Wiki.
13. Newspapers – Chronicling America
Website: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
Features:
- Newspaper Directory (1690-present)
13. Chronicling America: the Newspaper Directory
- Digitized Newspapers (1777-1963)
- Image search with Newspaper Navigator
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 26.
14. Land Records – BLM GLO
Website: https://glorecords.blm.gov
Features:
- Land Patents
- Land Surveys
- Legal Land Descriptions
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 67
15. Video – YouTube
Website: https://www.youtube.com
Features:
- Home Movies
(search by surname,
“old home movie”, locations) - Old Newsreels
- Local TV station coverage
- Documentaries
Learn more: Elevenses with Lisa episode 58.
Resources
- Download the ad-free show notes (Premium Member log in required. Not a Premium Member? Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member.)
- Subscribe for free to our Genealogy Gems YouTube channel so you’ll never miss another episode.
- Subscribe to my free email newsletter to get notifications of new videos and articles.
Questions and Comments
Please leave your questions and comments below.
Standing in Judgment of Our Ancestors
Standing in judgement of our ancestors may be unavoidable. Genealogists dig up the good, the bad, and the ugly. We cannot pick and choose what we find, but we might be able to pick what and how we share it with others.
Recently, I received a letter from a Gem’s reader which included a very delicate and sensitive matter. She writes:
Hi Lisa!
I love your blog and podcast. Thank you for all you do getting gems together for us! I have a question for you and would love to know your opinion (or the opinion of anyone else as well!)
I was recently at a family wedding. I printed out all the family and ancestor’s paper trails and documents and was passing them around to my aunt, uncles, and cousins. My mom’s eldest brother brought up a memory he had of his grandfather, my great-grandfather, a German immigrant. My uncle whispered it to me because the saying my great-grandfather often said is very prejudice. I won’t tell you what the quote is but it’s prejudice against Jewish, Irish, and Dutch people. Here’s my question – should I write down that my great-grandfather was prejudice against certain people to preserve this part of his character or should I let this information fade into history? As genealogists we are always trying to get a full view of the person we are researching – past the census records, military service paperwork, and wills – and into the real person and personality. So, I now have a more broad view of my great-grandfather, but it’s negative. Should I preserve this character flaw in my ancestry notes? I’m conflicted about what to do. Maybe if this was a further distanced relative I would have an easier time brushing aside this prejudice but I’m having a hard time with the “right thing to do.” Any advice would be wonderful!
As a side note I will tell you that in the following generations this mans’ children and grandchildren have married Irish and Jewish spouses. Haha. I guess the “saying” was never echoed by his descendants!
Thanks,
Jennifer
Judgement of Our Ancestors
This is a great question and I applaud you for thoughtfully taking a moment to really think it through and ask for advice before moving forward on recording what you were told.
You asked – Should I write down that my great-grandfather was prejudice against certain people to preserve this part of his character or should I let this information fade into history? My opinion is, no. Mother Lisa says this is gossip and you didn’t hear it straight from your great-grandfather. I certainly wouldn’t want anyone else attributing a negative comment to me without having the chance to review or rebuke it. It’s a slippery slope.
Little Tea & Gossip by Robert Payton Reid, Source: http:⁄⁄www.liveinternet.ru⁄users⁄pmos_nmos⁄post357791815⁄
You also asked – Should I preserve this character flaw in my ancestry notes? And there’s the slippery slope. I believe that we, in modern times, should avoid sitting in judgement of ancestors who are not here to defend themselves. We don’t want to presume that we are in a position to decide how wrong “the crime” is. We certainly don’t want to be negatively prejudiced against others ourselves, but it is impossible to put oneself in another’s shoes in a differing time and circumstance. We know nothing about what the person really said. Perhaps they were joking (even though in extremely bad taste!) Maybe the person who heard this, and passed it on, had an ax to grind and part or none of it is true. Or, maybe there was an experience that our ancestor suffered that could have given him a reason to gripe based on his personal experience. You just don’t know.
In my book, I would chalk this up to gossip and either prove it with substantiated evidence or move on. What goes around comes around so let’s hope it will prevent an occurrence of someone gossiping about you and your future descendant spreading it into the ages.
Deciding to Write the Whole Story
In cases where you have secured substantial evidence that a negative story is true, you still have a choice to make. When I come across particularly sensitive or negative information about an ancestor, and before I make it public, I ask myself, “who will this help, and who will it hurt?” Does adding it to the family history enrich it? Is there anyone living today who might be hurt? If someone stands to be injured, but you’re set on capturing the story, I encourage you to do so privately for your own records and of course, cite all of your sources.
If you do decide to write and publish sensitive stories, I know that you will want to do so in as gentle and fair a way as possible. Here are some things to consider when writing about delicate stories of our ancestors:
- Be sure to cite your source – who told you the story and when. The reader can decide whether to take the story with a grain of salt or believe it.
- Let your readers know your reason for sharing the story in the first place. Genealogy Gems blogger Amie Tennant recently read a family history that included a horrible childhood memory. The writer stated it was important to put the family dynamics in full view so that other stories would be seen in the “right light.”
- If naming everyone in the story will cause hurt or embarrassment, consider documenting the essence of the story without naming names.
Whatever you decide, writing a family history, though difficult at times, can be a rewarding experience.