Tip Page for May 2003
The former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has become part of the new Department of Homeland Security. It is now known as the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), but genealogists will want to find the section on History, Genealogy, and Education. You may want to choose the text only version. The site provides a lot of background information about what kind of records are available and where, the history of immigration, sample historical forms, and accounts of individual experiences to illustrate the process of immigrating and becoming a citizen. If you're seeking information about your ancestor's immigration and naturalization, this is an essential site to visit.
I sometimes think that every other woman in my family tree was named Mary. That's a problem, but I have three female Smith lines as well. Most genealogists become intrigued by the names of their ancestors, and there are some online sites that offer useful, interesting, or fun information. The U.S. Census Bureau has lists of the most frequent names (last, female, and male) in the 1990 census. Yup, Mary and Smith are still in first place. Changing Immigrant Names from USCIS discusses an issue that has given more than one genealogist gray hair. The patronymic system--giving children last names based on their father's first name--has added adventure to the quest of ancestors from several different tradaitions; here's a page that describes some of the characteristics of Dutch naming practices and another on Norwegian naming practices. Then there's Why U Can't Find Your Ancestors: Misspelled Knames -- A Commun Probblem for Reeserchers, which has valuable and detailed information and advice clearly presented.
We've been promoting the Iowa Gravestone Photo Project lately, so it seems appropriate to mention some sites on tombstones and cemeteries. Grandma Choochoo provides a lot of information at Cemetery Research and Gravestone Rubbings--A How-to Site; she includes a section on how to take photographs of tombstones. Another source on that topic is Tips for Photographing Gravestones from Genealogy.com. Symbols associated with tombstones and cemeteries is the subject of Cemetery Iconography (note: some of the links within the article are broken). A nicely-done booklet on researching cemeteries is Stones and Bones: A Genealogical Guide to Researching Cemeteries (requires Adobe Acrobat); it begins with tips on finding out where a particular ancestor is buried and addresses the issue of locating the cemetery.
I've been reading Genealogy 101: How to Trace Your Family's History and Heritage (Rutledge Hill Press: 2003) by Barbara Renick, and I would recommend it to anyone researching family history, even if they're old pros. She has a fresh approach to familiar topics, covers some less common topics such as "Working with Professionals," and includes lots of good resources and tips. The book is one of the National Genealogical Society's Guides.
April Tip Page | June Tip Page | July Tip Page | August/September Tip Page | October/November Tip Page | December Tip Page
HOME
