Ancestor Searching Newsletter, Volume 1, # 3

Library Genealogy Databases and New Books

If you couldn’t make it this past Friday evening, June 2nd, you missed a GREAT experience with our ‘Sitting Up with the Dead’ night in the Heritage Room. We had a VERY enjoyable evening of researching, eating and conversation with an ANXIOUS group of people wanting to do genealogy with even some from out-of-state, namely Tennessee and even one from Georgia! The night was a HUGE success and, yes, we WILL be doing it again!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many researchers are not aware of the online databases being offered by the library. Currently, there are three (3) that may be utilized FREE OF CHARGE (except for copies which are 15 cents per page).

The first service is Ancestry.com. By far, the largest collection of databases on the Internet, genealogists can search over 4 billion names for genealogy information ranging in scope from census, vital records and family histories to court, land, probate and military records, to name just a few.

Secondly, is Heritage Quest Online. An online source of Revolutionary War records, Bounty-Land warrants, PERSI, family and local histories, as well as Federal census records from 1790 to 1930 for clues and answers to family history puzzles. An added bonus to this service is that any card-carrying patron of the Huntsville Library can access the wealth of information on Heritage Quest from their home computer. All you need to have is your 4-digit PIN number. PIN numbers may be obtained from the main service desk at any of our locations.

And, finally, the newest addition is The New England Historic Genealogical Society. If you have ancestors who were from the area, you need to visit the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s online collection of over 2,200 family research databases which currently contain access to over 110 million names.

Also, we’ve added more to our collection of new titles that can now be found in the Heritage Room.

Alabama Obituaries and Death Notices from the Gadsden Times, 1900 - 1905 by Brenda Headrick and Julie Martin

(H 976.167 Hea)

Bible, Family and Marriage Records: Gleaned from Pension Applications by Deidre Burridge Dagner (H 355.1 Lu, Vol. # 22)

The Diary of Johann Gottfried Arends by Jo White Linn

(H 284.1756 Are)

Index to the Twenty-Four Volumes of Cemetery and Bible Records Published by the Mississippi Genealogical Society

(H 976.2 Mis)

Kanawha County (WV) Images: A Bicentennial History, 1788 - 1988 by Stan Cohen

(H 975.437 Coh)

Musgrave to Mosgrove 1066 - 1979: Allied Families - Squire, Keller, Shaffer, Truby, Graff, Brown, Gillespie and Ross by Glenna James Mosgrove (H 929.2 Mos)

South by Southwest: The Saga of Isaac Brinker and His Descendants by Carrol D. Cagle

(H 929.2 Cag)

Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley, Vol. 1 by David S. Rodes and Norman R. Wenger

(H 973.7097 Uni, Vol. 1)

1765 Chester County, Pennsylvania Archives by Katharine F. Dix (H 974.813 Dix)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

… and from the ‘Genealogy Workshop’…

FACT: Many early bounty land application files were destroyed in War Department fires in 1800 and 1814. Remaining papers have been combined with the Revolutionary pensions and are available on microfilm.

TIP: When working with deeds, they will be indexed under both seller and buyer. Depending on the county, there might be separate indexes: one for the Grantor (or seller), sometimes called a Direct Index, and one for the Grantee (or buyer), sometimes called an Indirect Index. And, in some cases, the Grantors and Grantees may be listed together in one volume called a General Index.