Last week, I shared some of my favorite online genealogy websites.
However, just as important are the offline records you’ll find. The online records are a great place to start, but to delve deeper into your search and find out more about your family you’re going to make the greatest progress by jumping off into the offline records.
So what can you find offline?
- Probate records—these are the wills and estates of individuals that are deceased. Some counties now offer online indexes to search to see if there is a record.
- Land Records and Deeds—this is the exchanging of land records.
- Vital Records—these include birth, marriage, divorce and death records that can be found. Birth and death records are available through the Department of Health and marriage records through the probate court.
- Court Documents—this can include a wide variety of issues from divorce records to small claims court to criminal court.
- Printed Histories—many libraries have both family and county histories that have been printed and provide additional information.
- Church Records—many churches or denominational libraries have numerous records that include notices of birth, marriage and death; as well as when an individual joined the church, was thrown out of church or asked to leave church.
- Obituaries—I love to search obituaries for clues. While many newspapers are online, there are still numerous newspapers that remain offline {especially for back issues}. These are a great place to start searching your family history.
- Schools, Societies and Organizations—these have a variety of information and no two are going to be the same in what is available, however they are always worth checking.
- Libraries—they have a lot of great sources and resources you may have never considered before. The librarians are usually well acquainted with their collection and can provide necessary assistance in getting started.
What other offline resources have you discovered?
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