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Document Research

Finding Clues to Your Family in Genealogies and Local Gazetteers

Genealogies help trace family branches, while local gazetteers help explain people and places. Find the original text first, then verify whether it belongs to your family.

  1. Search with the Clues You Have

    Prepare the surname, the original written form of the ancestral home, elders’ names, and approximate dates. If an old place name is still uncertain, retain the original text.

  2. Verify Editions and Original Pages

    Check the title, source, and volume. Machine-recognized text is for reference only; sharing the same surname and name cannot directly prove kinship.

  3. Keep Records That Can Be Rechecked

    Record the source address, volume, image page number, and original text. Organize confirmed information separately from inferences still awaiting verification.

Tracing the Original Text: A Feature on Tracing Family Roots

Open the ancestry research notes tool: Save original texts, page numbers, and family oral histories, then export them for further organization.

Starting with a specific question, read alongside the original page, then organize your own family clues.

First Batch: 30 Genealogies and 20 Local Gazetteers

The original-page links for the materials below have been checked for accessibility. This does not mean that all catalog entries or the main text have been manually proofread. More holdings can be found in the full collection above.

Showing 50 materials

How to organize the materials you find into a family archive