If you’re Texan (congratulations!) And ready to do your ancestral research and make a family tree, your best genealogy research resources in the Lone Star state are expert librarians and stellar genealogical research resources. This article brings you both! Susan Kaufman, President of the Texas State Genealogical Society (2012-2013) and Manager of the Center for Genealogical Research at the Clayton Library / Houston Public Library shares her experience with genealogy researchers. A genealogy librarian for 25 years, Ms. Kaufman began her career in Illinois. He has served on boards of directors in Midwestern genealogy societies, as well as the Federation of Genealogical Societies. What she has to tell you about genealogical research at the Lone Start state is really big and brilliant. So, pack your saddlebags, let’s go for a ride.
Welcome to Texas, all of you. We have prepared a lot of goodies for you to bite your teeth. No, it’s not ribeye, they’re good homegrown genealogy research resources, and Sue Kaufman, president of the Texas State Genealogical Society, will be telling everyone about them right now. *
RC: What are the first steps a genealogist should take?
Kaufman: Start with yourself and ask the questions: Who, What, When, Where and How? Identify who you specifically want to investigate. What do you want to know about this person? When did this person live and where did they live? How and where will you find information about this person?
Fill in the family group sheets and a pedigree chart, often referred to today as a pedigree; They are the same. The pedigree is your ancestral “map”. The holes become your research area.
Do your homework. Take the time to read about how master genealogists conduct genealogical research, such as The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy (edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, Ancestry Publishing; 2006; third edition) and A Researchers Guide to American Genealogy (Val Greenwood; Genealogical Publishing Company; Baltimore, MD; 2000) among others.
Genealogy research is not done in a vacuum; Talk to other lineage researchers for research tips and advice. Join a lineage research society. Some of the genealogy websites offer informational podcasts and blogs with helpful tips for finding resources; Ancestry has a learning center; FamilySearch.org offers free online learning classes and a wiki. Take advantage of what your local libraries have to offer in the form of workshops and seminars.
The Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in Houston offers workshops and seminars that teach researchers how to maneuver through websites and stacks of books; offers library guidance, including the use of library catalogs; and conducts educational sessions each month on a variety of topics and information on conferences and workshops outside of the library. These types of activities and events will help you adopt and improve the efficiency of your genealogical research methods.
How could genealogy researchers use genealogy collections and library consultants more efficiently?
Think of libraries as a destination experience. Whether the genealogy center is near or far from you, you are investing time, effort and money in the business. Before your visit, identify your genealogical research questions and keep them specific. For example: if you are buying towels, you would not ask the clerk for the “household goods” department, but would ask specifically for “towels.” The same goes for the questions you ask the library consultants; remember, they don’t have time to listen to your family stories; especially, with all the budget cuts, there are fewer librarians to help you.
What do you think about genealogical research websites?
Most researchers use Ancestry for two reasons: They want results in five minutes, and they think it’s all on the Internet. Ancestry has a search box – I call it the “magic box” – that lulls visitors into believing that they can type a name and that the research will be done for them. They don’t stop to browse the rest of the website to find the various databases that are available to them.
It is important for people conducting family research to learn what is available to them beyond the “magic box.” Take the time to search for databases that are available online, but remember that there are limitations to researching online only. You pay your $ 200 to access a limited number of research databases; they may have the information you need and they may not. Many people think that if they can’t find it there, it can’t be found, and that’s not the case.
For example, the state of Texas did not begin collecting birth and death records until 1903. If you are looking for records before then, you will need to go to the courthouse (or the place where the documents are kept) in the county where the person was born. or died. Texas marriage records did not exist at the state level before 1965; once again, you have to go to the county; you will not find it online.
If you could create the perfect investigator program, it would be related to sources, teaching the mechanics of how to investigate. Educating lineage researchers is extremely important. There are several genealogy websites that offer blogs with valuable information from genealogy researcher resources, online learning centers, podcasts, and more. These tools help the genealogy researcher navigate online resources to make the most of what is offered.
What research materials do you recommend for me?
I think the best research resources are published source materials, such as vital records, microfilms, censuses, supplemented by databases, the Internet, household sources, and anything that provides information about a specific person in a specific place in a period of time. specific time.
What do you recommend investigators do when they come across the proverbial “brick wall”? How can a genealogy researcher regroup to find other avenues of inquiry to find the answer?
The best thing an investigator can do when he is at a standstill is to read more about the subject or the time. If immigration is the issue, read more about the immigration laws for the time in question. Find out about the research area. Talk to someone and share ideas with them. Review the list of research protocols to make sure you are not missing a step.
I see that the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research and other Texas libraries are affiliated with the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. How does an affiliation like this affect the operations of the library?
It is very helpful to be affiliated with the Family History Library (FHL). Salt Lake City now serves as remote storage for a large number of research materials (microfilm, digital maps, video / audio presentations) including Hispanic, Eastern European and British genealogy research resources, all of which can be found at through the FHL Library catalog and are available to order online from your home computer. The materials are then shipped to any FHL location you specify, including Clayton. The FHL has a large number of resource materials that smaller libraries could never afford, and is continually digitizing more materials, so the depth of resources is always growing.
With all the digitization of genealogical records, why bother with a brick and mortar building?
Because you will discover within the walls of a library or research center a great deal of human expertise that is needed to help find and understand published and electronic records. At Clayton, there are eight expert staff members trained in genealogical research and library science, all sharing their genealogy vocation with researchers and visitors. Being part of a larger library system also makes special collections available. A brick and mortar building, be it the Texas State Archives or the Waco Genealogy Center, makes historical research a destination.
Do you follow a particular blog on genealogy? If so, what are your favorites?
I like to follow the daily Geneabloggers blogs, and I especially like to monitor the blogs that Thomas MacEntee (creator of Geneabloggers.com) reads. Additionally, I follow the blogs of Houston-based Caroline Pointer (4YourFamilyStory) and Amy Coffin. Another good read is MoSGA Messenger; is the official weblog of the Missouri State Genealogical Association.
What are some of the best “must do” genealogy events in Texas?
There are a number of great events in Texas. The Texas State Genealogical Society annual conference will be held the first weekend in November at the Riley Center in Fort Worth. The Dallas Genealogical Society organizes seminars. The Victoria County Genealogical Society is another active organization in this regard. The Hispanic Genealogical Society of Houston lists organizations throughout Texas, along with event-related information. Then there’s the Texas Research Ramblers Genealogical Society, which offers additional lectures, programs, newsletters, and resources. For more information, contact your local library and ask the librarian if there is a genealogy or historical society in your area. There are ALWAYS meetings and conferences you can attend, even if you are not a member!
* Opinions expressed are those of Susan Kaufman and not those of the Texas State Genealogical Society or the Houston Public Library.
