Records

Important records for our research are acquiring birth, marriage, and death certificates as they include many juicy details of names, dates, places, and family relationships. What happens, though, when our ancestors are born before the government starts keeping these records (e.g., North Carolina didn’t begin birth & death registration until 1913 with a bump in compliance in 1936 due to Social Security starting but no full compliance till maybe as late as WWII)? Wow – that is a lot of ancestors for whom we won’t find official records of birth, marriage, or death for. This means we must seek alternative records to document these important vital records. We’ll explore some obvious and many less obvious places where we might find the details we seek.

Post offices aren’t just about employees or even the mail. Most of us receive our newspapers and magazines mailed directly from the publisher or purchased in a store. That wasn’t how it used to be - there was no rural door-to-door delivery before the turn of the 20th century!!! Who handled subscriptions for reading material? They were handled by the postmaster at the post office! Wouldn’t you like to see great-great-grandpa’s subscription list? Some of these subscription lists DO survive and can provide insights about a person, including religious and/or political leanings, hobbies, news interests, and much more. We’ll also talk about other post office records that tell us who our ancestors purchased from, sent mail orders to, and more! Information often found nowhere else!

While genealogists often rely on familiar resources, many overlook the wealth of scholarly and academic research that can enrich their family histories. Academics and researchers delve deeply into rabbit holes of genealogically relevant topics, publishing their findings in FREELY accessible to ALL resources. By tapping into these treasures, genealogists can benefit from already-done rigorous research and insights. In this webinar, we'll explore at least 35 such resources and provide tips on discovering more, helping you harness the power of academic research to enhance your genealogical pursuits. We promise you’ll discover a “new-to-you” resource and it might just help you break down a brick wall.