Have you ever looked deep within the history of your ancestors' hometown? Perhaps you wanted to know who founded a church your ancestor worshiped in. If so, you need to be researching your ancestors' local history.
Why You Should Be Researching Your Ancestors' Local History?
1. FAN Club (Family, Friends, Associates & Neighbors)- You may find a collateral ancestor mentioned inside a town history or a book about the locality. Even if you don't find an ancestor mentioned in a book, your ancestor may have known a prominent figure(s) in the community.
2. Historical, Social, & Economic Context- Understanding what was going on in our ancestor's city or town, will put perspective on our ancestors' lives.
My Own Research
Over the past year, I have done in-depth research on one of my ancestral hometowns. Many of my maternal ancestors were from a small rural town called Vestal which in Broome County, New York.
I started by creating a county locality guide. Using the FamilySearch Wiki, I accumulated links to databases, articles, and added it to the locality guide.
Tip #1- Start Online
Use the FamilySearch Wiki as your first place to look when researching a new location. Next, try to find digitized town and county histories for your locality. There are many being continuously added every day now and you can find some in the major digital library sites. Here is a list of them below.
Over the past year, I have done in-depth research on one of my ancestral hometowns. Many of my maternal ancestors were from a small rural town called Vestal which in Broome County, New York.
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| A snippet of my locality guide |
I started by creating a county locality guide. Using the FamilySearch Wiki, I accumulated links to databases, articles, and added it to the locality guide.
Tip #1- Start Online
Use the FamilySearch Wiki as your first place to look when researching a new location. Next, try to find digitized town and county histories for your locality. There are many being continuously added every day now and you can find some in the major digital library sites. Here is a list of them below.
Genealogy Gophers
Tip #2- Keep a Research Log or Make a Note
Keep track of websites you come across as you're searching. You can create a table, add information in the notes field on your genealogy software, use a research log, or whatever you use to track your searches.
Tip #3- Buy Locality books
Lastly, buy books about the region, town, or city in which your ancestors lived. By doing so, you will gain a greater understanding of the area and will give you context about the area, your ancestors' lives, and more.
A good place to start is to go to historical and genealogical societies. These societies should have a book about the town or county you are looking for.
If you can't go to either society, you can go to WorldCat and use the search term "history of [county name and state] " to find history books. Once you have located the book(s), enter your ZIP code to find the closest library to you that has the book.
I also recommend Arcadia Publishing. This publishing company produces a variety of local history books on topics ranging from baseball, music, haunted houses, and state fairs.
*These books are only about states, cities, and towns located in the United States. *
One series they have is Images of America. Local historians in the town or county usually write these books. These books can provide a wealth of information, including photos of the area as well. I wrote a book review of the town of Vestal that is included in the series. You can find it here.
Take a look to see if your city or town is in the series yet!
I hope these tips are beneficial for you and in your research.
Thanks for reading,
Tip #2- Keep a Research Log or Make a Note
Keep track of websites you come across as you're searching. You can create a table, add information in the notes field on your genealogy software, use a research log, or whatever you use to track your searches.
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| Sample of my military resource list |
Tip #3- Buy Locality books
Lastly, buy books about the region, town, or city in which your ancestors lived. By doing so, you will gain a greater understanding of the area and will give you context about the area, your ancestors' lives, and more.
A good place to start is to go to historical and genealogical societies. These societies should have a book about the town or county you are looking for.
If you can't go to either society, you can go to WorldCat and use the search term "history of [county name and state] " to find history books. Once you have located the book(s), enter your ZIP code to find the closest library to you that has the book.
I also recommend Arcadia Publishing. This publishing company produces a variety of local history books on topics ranging from baseball, music, haunted houses, and state fairs.
*These books are only about states, cities, and towns located in the United States. *
One series they have is Images of America. Local historians in the town or county usually write these books. These books can provide a wealth of information, including photos of the area as well. I wrote a book review of the town of Vestal that is included in the series. You can find it here.
Take a look to see if your city or town is in the series yet!
I hope these tips are beneficial for you and in your research.
Thanks for reading,
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