Compiled by Donna Burton
Updated 2008
"The
Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy," 3rd edition, 2000.
[676 pages]
Schaffer Library call number:
[Ref] CS47 .G73 2000 for
"In Library Use Only."
The Source : a guidebook of American genealogy / edited by edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves, 2006, is an update to the original edition by Arlene Eakle and Johni Cerny (Ancestry Publishing Company, 1984). The new edition has the excellent information from the original and added a new section on computers and technology. Available at the Schenectady County Public Library main branch, call number: R 929.1 Sou 2006
"The
Handybook for Genealogists," 11th edition, 2006. Everton [gives you such valuable information as when a county
was formed and what counties it was formed from, where the county seats are
located and the addresses for their record offices. This source also gives record availability and time periods for which those records
are available from counties, states and territories.] Schenectady
County Public Library main branch, call number: 929.1 Han
See also their "Free Genealogy Center"
"The
American Census Handbook," 2001. A
guide to published census indexes, arranged geographically by state, then
subdivided by county and then by date (98% or so of the pages) and with a small
section on general topics (African Americans, Immigration, Military, Native
Americans, etc.) Schaffer Library call number:
[Ref] CS49 .K4 2001 for "In Library Use Only."
"State Census Records," by Ann Smith Lainhart, 1992 edition at Schenectady County Public Library in Reference. Call number: R 929.3 Lai
"Guide
to Genealogical Research in the National Archives," 3rd edition.
(2000) [Given the proximity of a NARA branch office, this might
be particularly valuable.]
Schaffer Library call number:
[Ref] CS68 .U54 2000 for "In Library Use Only."
"Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources," 1989 edition Ancestry Publishing. Available in Reference at the Schenectady County Public Library, call number: R 929.1 Anc
OTHER USEFUL BASIC BOOK AND ONLINE SOURCES
"Biography
and Genealogy Master Index" Multi-part Gale publication in
Schaffer Library, call number:
[RefBib] Z5305.U5 B5610 and also searchable online,
URL:
http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BGMI?locID=nysl_ca_unionc&finalAuth=true
Genealogy Glossary a free online version with some terms
Historical and Genealogical Societies of the United States or A Directory of Historical Societies in the United States, Canada and Australia or Yahoo's US Historical Societies
"Passenger and Immigration Lists Index," Multi-part Gale publication listing over 500,000 arrivals. [It's not locally owned except at the NYSL, but there is free searching of Ship's Lists , Immigrant Ship Passenger Lists online, among others, but you put up with ads and popups]
Relevant Subject Headings to check in your library's catalog:
Genealogy
Biography
Heraldry
Cemeteries--Recording
Families of royal descent
Interviewing in genealogy
Newspapers in genealogy
Nobility--Genealogy
Photographs in genealogy
Probate Records
Registers of birth, etc.
Genealogical literature
Genealogical correspondence
Genealogical libraries
Genealogists
Genealogy--Religious
Genealogy teachers
Genealogy--countries, cities, names of individual persons, family names, ethnic
groups
Steps to researching :
Write down what you know
Decide what you want/need to find out
Choose an information source
Acquire what's available and learn from it
Use it as the jumping off point for more research
About.com's "Genealogy
for Beginner's: Genealogy 101"
Ancestry.com's "Getting
Started"
Dear Myrtle's
"Lessons"
Genealogy.com's "Beginning
Genealogy" and numerous helpful "How-To"
articles
Cyndi's List "Beginners
Guides, Hints and Tips"
LDS's "Discovering
Your Family Tree" under their Research
Guidance section which has a state approach
RootsWeb "Guide to
Tracing Family Trees"
NARA's "Resources for
Genealogists and Family Historians"
HELPFUL SITES:
Genealogy.com's About Dates and Dates for Genealogists
Genealogy.com's article about Finding Marriage Dates with suggestions for alternatives
Period Approximation Chart which gives the researcher a target range in which to concentrate the search.
Relationship Chart for those pesky "removed cousin" questions
Pictures of my family members? Genealogy Today's article "Looking at Our Ancestors," gives an excellent timeline as to the types and timing of particular forms of photographs and photography.
"Standards for Sound Genealogical Research" (National Genealogical Society) and
"Standards for Use of Technology in Genealogical Research" (National Genealogical Society) and
"Standards for Sharing Information with Others" (National Genealogical Society)
"Guidelines For Using Records Repositories And Libraries" (National Genealogical Society) and
"Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet" (National Genealogical Society)
Accredited Genealogists These have passed the accreditation examinations given by the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists. Although many of these individuals are located in Utah, the listing is by their regional area of specialization (i.e. eastern states, Canada, etc.). This has some helpful suggestions for contacting a genealogist. There are PDF files for listings for US and Canada and another for International.
Find a Certified Person (Board for Certification of Genealogists) This is searchable by person, state, or special interests, organization or country.
Association of Professional Genealogists This is searchable by a number of elements also, including state. Listing for NY is more extensive here than for the BCG above for NY.
Check also at the local level with organizations such as the Capital District Genealogical Society for referrals.
There are numerous other genealogical and family associations that can be explored.
This is a very nice, newish (1994), handicapped-accessible facility with free parking and a number of helpful volunteers and staff to help patrons locate information on their more than 69,000 rolls of microfilm.. They have Internet access, a number of CD databases from compilations like Family TreeMaker™ and Family Quest Archives™, the complete federal census (all available censuses for all states and the accompanying indexes, including Soundex), naturalization records for New England, city directories (not comprehensive), a variety of other federal records that give names, a book collection with a variety of resources and an excellent bookstore concentrating on genealogical publications and forms. They also conduct workshops, like a recent one on the recently released 1930 census, and will also do tours. The trip is 60 to 90 minutes from the Capital District.
Genealogy Page NARA headquarters in Washington maintains this page that is informative about genealogy in general, as well as what can be provided by the National Archives. Full information about the Pittsfield facility's services to the public is on its own page. There are also information sites for New York City and Boston which are within reasonable travel distance for dedicated genealogists.
As the repository of the permanently valuable records of the U.S. Federal Government, the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) primarily has U.S. Federal Government records from
its beginning in 1789. However, NARA does have some records from the
pre-Federal era.
Other records of the colonial era will be found in the
state archives of the original 13 colonies.
While NARA does not have a lot of searchable databases online, it does offer the AAD (Access to Archival Databases) interface. AAD allows you to search for and retrieve specific records from selected series and data files over the Internet. gives you online access to electronic records that are highly structured, such as in databases. The initial release of AAD contains material from more than 30 archival series of electronic records, which include over 350 data files totaling well over 50 million unique records. The series selected for AAD identify specific persons, geographic areas, organizations, or dates. Some of these series serve as indexes to accessioned archival records in non-electronic formats.
Other Federal Agency Websites with Information Useful in Genealogical Research
Other Genealogy links, both federal and non-federal are compiled on one of NARA's pages in their "Reference at Your Desk" series of topics.
The "Census Microfilm Rental Program" tells how libraries or individuals can obtain access locally to needed reels.
There are 3 limitations on doing genealogical research with NARA records:
New York State Library's extensive genealogy and local history collections have a wealth of records, local histories, family histories, pamphlets and databases for researchers to freely use.
The New York State Library Genealogical Services offers an "Introduction to Genealogy at the State Library" (a "lay of the land, rules of the road overview of what the State Library has in genealogy and where to find it") as well as a nice series of information leaflets on their Genealogy Research Topics page that give advice, background, resources and alternatives. (also available in print at the library).
Although Library staff cannot conduct genealogical searches for a patron, they will provide on-site assistance in the use of the collections, suggest research strategies, and provide referrals to sources not available in the State Library.
Volunteers from the Capital District Genealogical Society are also available to provide assistance. The volunteers can explain the resources of the Library (including the online catalog) and help users get started doing research. The volunteers use a desk located close to the service desk. Feel free to consult with them as well as with the Reference Services staff at the Local History/Genealogy Service desk.
The State Library's online catalog and databases offer access to the "Genealogical Library Master Catalog" (GLMC) a CD database which catalogs over 300,000 family histories, local histories, and genealogical sources at 18 libraries across the US. The New York State Library is one of those facilities, as is the New York Public Library and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society Circulating Library. The three CDs comprising this resource are relatively inexpensive and are available for PC or Mac platforms. (click the "buy GLMC" button for complete information). Also available are the LDS Ancestral and International Genealogical Index CDs and, of course, general internet access. Also, check out their "Selected Genealogical Resources" links, topically divided for easy use.
The New York State Newspaper Project, while not specifically part of the genealogy site, offers a page where "NYS Newspaper Microfilm at the State Library" (Newspapers are listed by City within the County of Publication) and gives dates published, frequency and call number of the NYS Library microfilm. Another list "NYS Newspaper Microfilm Around the State" gives the same basic information but includes locations in addition to the State Library where microfilmed copies may be found and links to the those locations if available. Alternatively you can wade through the alphabetical "City Links."
For out of state inquiries, referrals to other state's State Libraries might be in order.
"Records in the New York State Archives document functions and activities of State government; none of the
records were created for the purpose of genealogical research. However, the Archives does hold many records
containing information on individuals. Among these records are indexes to vital records (births, marriages, deaths);
records documenting war service (Revolutionary War through World War I); land records (mostly transactions
involving the Colony or State of New York); trial court records (including colonial wills and early nineteenth century
civil cases); and records of some State-run correctional and custodial institutions."
(quoted from the home page introduction of "Information Leaflet #1")
A lot of online information is provided in a leaflet series (available in hard copy at the archives) regarding their accessibility and materials holdings:
"The Archives will attempt to locate records relating to specific individuals, but will search only those record series that are indexed or otherwise easily accessible by name. The researcher must provide specific information on the individual who is the subject of the search. There is a charge for photocopies or abstracts of records." (quoted from Leaflet #1)
There is also a "Genealogy" link on the Archives "Rediscovering New York; History and Culture" page.
Red Books (County records) for all NYS counties: "Guide to historical resources in [blank] County, New York, repositories" are available at the state library and many local libraries as well. In 1978, the New York Historical Resources Center at Cornell University initiated the Historical Documents Inventory (HDI) to survey the holdings of New York’s publicly accessible archives and manuscript repositories. The survey results were carefully edited and compiled into 62 county level guides. The guides contain contact information and summary collection descriptions for more than 1200 repositories located throughout the State. Holdings for Nassau County and new and updated records are only available on-line.
For other state archives sites, go to the Directory of State Archives and Records Programs or the Repositories of Primary Sources site.
Church of Later Day Saints (Mormon) Family History Center in Loudonville (Rt. 9, 2 tenths of a mile south of jct. of Rte 378 on the left going towards Albany) and other LDS locations in NYS (there are 44 local history center branches) allow access to records nationally and internationally that the church has been compiling for over a century. All centers coordinate their efforts with the main library in Salt Lake City, Utah where there are original records from over 100 countries on over 2 million rolls of microfilm. Staffed by volunteers, the local centers are very willing to help users and will even supply the novice user with a folder of basic information about their facility and doing genealogy. They also have forms and research guides available for a nominal fee (for example, a 45-page "Research Outline: New York" for 50 cents).
Free access to their Ancestral File containing 15.1 million names and which links lines and pedigrees, is also available online as well as in the local Family History Center on CD and in the NYS Library. As is the International Genealogical Index which contains 200 million entries (not necessarily separate names) of deceased individuals from over 90 countries as far back as 1500 that were collected from vital records sources. This file does not link individuals into pedigrees or family group sheets, it may not have the same names as the Ancestral File, and there may be multiple entries for the same person (i.e. birth and marriage). It is only an index and source documents should be checked.
Free access to their Family History Library Catalog can be searched for family names and the returned sources can be borrowed through the LDS Family History Center in Loudonville for most materials. Loan periods are several weeks and are generally renewable.
SITES FOR NEW YORK STATE
NY Genealogy Forum
NYGenWeb Project
NY History and Genealogy (part of USGenNet--one of several sites)
NY Political Graveyard [state or county of birth or death]
Cemeteries of New York [Interment.net]
Local historical societies (Use ALA Library Directory to locate and/or Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States & Canada Altamira Press 2001") Local phone book appears unreliable in listing these in yellow pages.
Local Genealogy groups (check local libraries for affiliate groups), regular meetings, newsletters, certified genealogists. Capital District Genealogy Society and others.
Historical and Genealogical Societies of New York, such as Schenectady County Historical Society's Historical and Genealogy Resources, and the Rensselear County Historical Society's genealogy page. There are also specialized societies such as Shaker, Polish and other ethnically related groups.
The Association of Public Historians of New York State offers a page with a
linked map for locating "New
York State Public Historians" [According to Ancestry's Red Book;
American State, County and Town Sources, "...it is best to start with
the county historian, whose office may contain original or transcribed county,
church, cemetery, newspaper, and other material, and in some cases, specialized
indexes to these and other types of records. While most initial inquiries about
records should be made with the county clerk and county surrogate's clerk, the
information sought might actually now be housed in a county records
center/archives." [Counties with archives are Broome, Cayuga, Montgomery,
Ontario, Warren and Westchester.]
State Bureau of Vital Records (NYS Health Department) in Albany. In most of the United States, birth and death registration became a government requirement beginning between 1890 and 1915. Prior to that, evidence of births and deaths were usually maintained in county records, or possibly churches. It's a very local resource for this area as the Department of Health is located in the Corning Tower on the Empire State Plaza. What is not clear from their web site is whether you can visit with requests in person or only by mail.
Local Library newspaper collections or other special collections and/or compilations specific to a city , region or county