Records are Key

Most of my posts lately have been about DNA. That’s because DNA keeps coming through for me. But the amount of time I spend on DNA is actually super small compared to the time I spend searching for records. DNA has certainly provided breakthroughs, but in most cases I’d already found the records. DNA only confirmed what I’d found. Had I not done the research first, the DNA results would not have been nearly as useful. And as I continue to research records, I find more uses for my DNA.

So why do some people claim that DNA is the holy grail? In some cases I think it’s because they treat it as a shortcut. I could go into my DNA match list, find a tree and copy over all the people from that tree into my tree. I could convince myself that since I know we are related by DNA, their trees must be true. But you must remember that the trees of your matches are only as good as the research they did. And for all you know, the trees you are copying from were copied from others — maybe even before your matches did their DNA tests. The people in those trees could be from people who aren’t related to you at all.

If there were a world-wide tree that contained every single person who ever existed and that tree was 100 percent accurate, DNA would be a holy grail. But there isn’t. And since humans are fallible, it’s unlikely there ever will be. Besides, much of the fun of genealogy is the search.

Records are key. So here’s are some ideas for places to find records.

Commercial databases: The most obvious sources of records are commercial genealogy databases. But have you tried them all? Did you know that each database has different records? Did you also know that even if they have the same records, the transcriptions and indexes could be different? That means that a record might not appear in your search results in one database but will in another. (Examples include Ancestry and FindMyPast)

Local archives and museums: Literally billions of genealogy records are NOT online, still. Local archives have reams of documents that have never been scanned or indexed. They simply do not have the resources to do that. Unless records are deemed important by national archives or commercial genealogy services, it’s unlikely that local documents will ever be scanned and indexed. If you know your ancestors are from a particular area, it would be worth your while to visit the local archives and museums to see what they have.

Free genealogy sites: Every year more and more websites pop up to support genealogists. Some of these are forums where researchers can interact online, ask questions and receive answers from knowledgeable forum members (RootsWeb, for example). Other sites have compiled links and hints (Cyndi’s List is one). Here’s a list fo 50 free genealogy sites: familyhistorydaily.com

Free online archives: The Internet Archive has collected online records from many sources and  indexed them using optical character recognition (OCR). From vital statistics to directories to history books, and more. And then there’s Project Gutenberg, which is attempting to scan out-of-copyright books and make them available to everyone. Google Books is another source for online books that can be used for genealogy.

Libraries & bookstores: Yes, physical books are of interest to genealogists. New books are being written every year, and many old books have not been scanned. To get the most out of library or bookstore, ask the staff to help. They know the collection and will save you time and might help you find something totally unexpected.

Cemeteries: Like it or not, most of our ancestors are dead. Cremation has only been popular in the last 50 years. Before that nearly everyone was buried. Graves and cemetery records can provide you with critical information. Sometimes a gravestone will show more than one family member and provide relationships. You might also find gravestones near each for the same family.