Beginning Genealogy - Delaware Public Archives

A. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

http://www.familysearch.org/

Library:

– Contains more than 2.2 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records, 742,000 microfiche, 300,000 books, and 4,500 periodicals. The collection of family history books is housed in Salt Lake City.
– Includes the Ancestral File database, which contains approximately 35.6 million lineage-linked names and the International Genealogical Index (IGI) database, which contains approximately 600 million individual names.
– Includes the United States and world records – Census, Courts, Military, Cultural and Religious groups, Family histories, Research help, Deeds, Vital Records

Click on “search for Ancestors picture”, you can enter a name

1a) Research Helps – LDS

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp

Gives you choice of searching by place, title, subject, document type

1b) Research Helps sorted by document type – LDS

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp?Page=./research/type/form.asp&ActiveTab=Type

– gives you a list of forms – you can click on form needed & print or save:

1c) Family group record form – LDS

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/Rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide=FamGrpRe.ASP

You may have to download Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader software here (free) to see the actual form

B. Ancestry.com

2) Ancestry.com – Learn/Getting Started

http://www.ancestry.com/library/archive.asp

First steps- organizing information, etiquette, ethics, computers in genealogy, legal considerations

2a)
Ancestry.com home page

http://www.ancestry.com/

Notice the “search, learn, share, record” index tabs across the top of page

2b) Search tab

http://www.ancestry.com/search/main.htm

2c) Record tab

http://www.ancestry.com/save/main.htm

Notice it says “Charts and forms” just under the top tab

2d) Charts & forms location

http://www.ancestry.com/save/charts/ancchart.htm?lfl=sln

You can download charts and forms from here

[This was the path we just used: Record/charts & forms/ Download forms… pedigree charts]

C. Cyndi’s List

3) Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet

http://www.CyndisList.com/

Over 97,250 links, categorized & cross-referenced, 150 categories
Scroll down list of topics:
Soundex, Census-1890-First in the path…-Kellee Blake
Online Newspapers

D. U.S. GenWeb & World GenWeb

4) U.S. GenWeb

http://www.usgenweb.org/

Links to individual State pages & links to each County within that state. You can post queries on the County Sites.
The USGenWeb Project consists of a group of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. The Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free access for everyone.
The organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to all the state websites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this website provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well.
This is the best place to find out about the place where your ancestor lived and what resources are available (databases, history, queries, libraries, etc.). Each county is different.

[Our pathway: US GenWeb— State Pages/Geographical map/DE]

4a) State pages

http://www.usgenweb.org/thestates.html

4b) Geographical Map

http://www.usgenweb.org/statelinks.html

4c) Delaware

http://www.rootsweb.com/~degenweb/

4d) Help for Researchers

http://www.usgenweb.org/researchers/researcher.html

calendars, forms, getting started, wars, census, maps, dictionaries

4e) The WorldGenWeb Project

http://worldgenweb.org/

The WorldGenWeb Project was created in 1996 by Dale Schneider in an effort to answer the growing needs of genealogists world-wide who were trying to research their ancestors online. Dale’s original goal (as is ours today!) was to have every country in the world represented by an online website and hosted by researchers who either live in their own country or who are familiar with their country’s resources.
The WorldGenWeb Project is divided into 11 World Regions. Each region is divided up by countries and each country is divided into individual provinces, states, or counties (terms vary depending on administrative divisions).

E. Delaware

5) Delaware Genealogical Society

http://delgensoc.org/

Delaware Genealogical Society home page
Includes information about the society, its trips and workshops, as well as many links to other genealogical websites
The Delaware Genealogical Society was founded in 1977 with about 40 charter members and now has over 600 active memberships. a nonprofit volunteer organization which encourages and supports genealogical research. Our primary focus is on Delaware ancestry but we also provide general educational programs and assist members with all their family research

5a) Direct links to Delaware genealogical sites

http://delgensoc.org/genweb.htm

links to many genealogical resources worldwide – a very small Cyndi’s List but concentrates on Delaware and surrounding counties

6) State of Delaware Home Page

http://www.delaware.gov/

Pathway: — Resident/exploring DE/ Delaware Libraries/ Archives

7) General State format

http://www.state.xx.us

use state abbreviation to replace xx

8) Delaware Public Archives

http://www.archives.state.de.us/

1. Identify, collect, and preserve public records of enduring historical and evidential value.
2. Ensure access to public records for present and future generations of Delawareans and promote the availability and use of public records as a unique and invaluable source of information.
3.Advise and educate in the creation, management, use and preservation of public records.

8a) Probate records at the Public Archives

http://www2.state.de.us/dpa/probate/

Choose the county and enter the name

You can identify what records you want to view before you visit probate

9) Digital Library of the First State

http://www.lib.de.us/delaweb/

Genealogy site is under “References”

9a) Genealogy

http://www.lib.de.us/search97cgi/s97_cgi?Action=FilterSearch&Filter=dwdcF.hts&path=%22reference%2C+genealogy%22&PHead=Genealogy

10 ) University of Delaware – Library

http://www.lib.udel.edu/

10a) University of Delaware – Genealogy

http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/genealogy/

Subject guide/Genealogy/Guide to Internet Resources (research, publishers, foreign sites, etc.)

11) Historical Society of Delaware

http://www.hsd.org/

Choose: Library

F. Surname Searching

12) Social Security Death Index (SSDI)

http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/

To appear in the index, the death must have been reported to the Social Security Administration. Generally, this has been done by families when filing for benefits, or by the funeral home/mortuary. If the death was not reported, it will not appear in the index.
If they did not participate in the Social Security Program, their name will not appear in the index. If you do not find a listing in the index, it does not mean the person is still living. It simply means that there was no report filed with the Social Security Administration.
The Death Index includes a few pre-1962 entries. The majority of the records begin in 1962, when the Social Security Administration began maintaining the file electronically, and continues through today.

13) Rootsweb homepage

http://www.rootsweb.com/

Search engines, databases, family trees,

14) International Genealogical Index of LDS

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp

searches several data bases – IGI, SSDI,Ancestral file

15) Family History Library Catalog – LDS

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=surnamesearch&columns=*,180,0

– the largest genealogy library in the world. Search by region.

G. Newspapers

16) Cyndi’s List

http://www.CyndisList.com/newspapr.htm

Check Cyndi’s list of Topics for “newspapers”

16a) Cyndi’s List Example

http://www.CyndisList.com/newspapr.htm#T

example for letter “T”:

17) Wilmington News Journal

http://www.delawareonline.com/

– newsessentials/obituaries…

18) University of Delaware

http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/hist/resguide/delnews/

– old newspapers, dates published, microfilm numbers

H. Conducting Interviews

19) Guide for Interviewing Family Members

http://www.rootscomputing.com/howto/intvwqus/intvwqus.htm

The purpose of this questionnaire is to guide you in recording the life experiences of a member of your family. The information you record will become an important link between you and your descendants. The questions shown here are ones to get you started. Not every question will apply to any one individual

20) Oral History Questions

http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/oralhist.htm

I. U.S. Government

21) National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

http://www.nara.gov/

The Research Room: Discover NARA’s nationwide holdings, learn about family history/genealogy research and veterans’ service records, learn how to order reproductions, search the NARA Archival Information Locator (NAIL) database, locate Government documents and library materials, and more. . .

22) The Library of Congress

http://lcweb.loc.gov/

The Library preserves a collection of nearly 121 million items, more than two-thirds of which are in media other than books. These include the largest map, film and television collections in the world. In addition to its primary mission of serving the research needs of the U.S. Congress, the Library serves all Americans through its popular Web site and in its 22 reading rooms on Capitol Hill.
Web Site Map (lower right of home page) – excellent links!

Website for this file:
http://members.home.net/tdoherty/dpatalk.htm