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Reference Sources - Genealogy

Axe Online Catalog & Other Book Sources

• Axe Library Catalog

Other Book Sources

• Books 24x7
• NetLibrary
• Library Catalogs Online
• WorldCat

Journal Databases

Primary Databases

• HeritageQuest
• Making of America

Secondary Databases

• Reader's Guide Retrospective
• America: History and Life
• Biographies Plus Illustrated

Multidisciplinary Databases Covering Genealogy

• With Full Text
  • Expanded Academic ASAP
  • Research Library
• Indexing, abstracts, and occasional links to full text
  • Article 1st
  • Google Scholar

"Serials Solutions"

Search by title, title keyword or subject group. The category "Sports, Leisure, and Hobbies" includes Genealogy, and "Humanities and Reference" includes History

Online Reference Sources

Dictionaries, Glossaries & Encyclopedic Sources | Genealogy Link Sites | General History

Dictionaries, Glossaries & Encyclopedic Sources

• Genealogy Quest's links to: Abbreviations used in genealogy, Occupations and Terminology
• Family History 101's Genealogy Encyclopedia - Abbreviations, Census [great descriptions of each census, what was collected, research tips, little known facts, etc.], Illnesses, Occupations, Records, and Terms used in Genealogy.
• Abbreviations Found in Genealogy
• Genealogy Terms
• Research helps: Genealogy terms in other languages (FamilySearch.org) - Adobe PDF lists of common genealogical terms in languages such as German, Swedish, Italian, French. Many others.

Genealogy Link Sites

• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet - If it has anything to do with genealogy, it will be here and it will be well organized and described. Soon to approach 250,000 links. This is the place to start.
• Yahoo! > History > Genealogy
• Google > Society > Genealogy

History, Digital Preservation, Other

• Library of Congress - Good source for all things American. Sections on historical collections, digital preservation, 'Today in History', much more. (Search the LOC)
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) - is an independent Federal agency that preserves our nation's history and defines us as a people by overseeing the management of all Federal records.
• DCO, the Database of Digital Collections Online (Univ. of Connecticut) - Search all or browse by Title or Subject (over 60 sites on History alone). All links annotated with URLs.

Selected Sources in Axe Library

Selected Titles

• The Southeast Kansas Genealogy bibliography, also try the Southeast Kansas Online Genealogy Bibliography
• Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of peerage, baronetage and knightage
• The General armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time, with a supplement.
• Guide to naturalization records of the United States
• How to outlive your lifetime!: preserving a place in your family's hearts and history
• Index of names: William C. Cuthbertson's Tombstone transcriptions, 1860's-1976, Crawford County, Kansas /
• Merriam-Webster's geographical dictionary
• The Official state atlas of Kansas
• Organizing & preserving your heirloom documents
• Printed sources: a guide to published genealogical records
• The Source: a guidebook of American genealogy
• Township atlas of the United States

Subject Headings

• Kansas -- Genealogy
• United States -- Genealogy -- Bibliography

Associations and Societies

• Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) - was founded in 1977 for the purpose of furthering the study and preservation of gravestones [and] promotes the study of gravestones from historical and artistic perspectives, expands public awareness of the significance of historic gravemarkers, and encourages individuals and groups to record and preserve gravestones.
• Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) - an independent organization whose principal purpose is to support professional genealogists in all phases of their work: from the amateur genealogist wishing to turn knowledge and skill into a vocation, to the experienced professional seeking to exchange ideas with colleagues and to upgrade the profession as a whole. The association also seeks to protect the interest of those engaging in the services of the professional.
• General Society of Mayflower Descendents - Anyone able to document their descent from one or more of the Mayflower Pilgrims may apply for membership in this society.
• National Genealogical Society (NGS) - a group of individuals and other groups that share a common love of the field of genealogy. Several good walkthroughs on how to do research.
• National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) - founded in 1890, the DAR is a volunteer women's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America's future through better education for children... As one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country, DAR boasts 170,000 members in 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally. Any woman 18 years or older-regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background-who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution, is eligible for membership.
• National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) - An outgrowth of the Sons of Revolutionary Sires, founded in 1886, the Sons of the American Revolution was organized in 1889 as a fraternal and civic society composed of lineal descendants of the men who wintered at Valley forge, signed the Declaration of Independence, fought in the battles of the American Revolution, served in the Continental Congress, or otherwise supported the cause of American Independence.

Selected Web Sites

Comprehensive Web Sites | Genealogy Search Engines (incl. Surname) | Starting Points | Helpful Tools | Records ( Bible - Cemetery/Obituraries - Census - Military - Immigration/Ship Passenger - Non U.S. - Vital - Other ) | Historical Societies | Libraries/Archives | State/County (incl. KS) | Maps | Online Publications

Comprehensive Web Sites

• Access Genealogy.com - A good starting point for research. Well organized by type of information or location. Also offers links to free online census information, military records searching, world genealogy sources and much more.
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet - If it has anything to do with genealogy, it will be here and it will be well organized and described. Soon to approach 250,000 links. This is the place to start.
• RootsWeb.com - Has a great deal of good information, and a great deal that requires a subscription.

Search Engines

• All-in-One Genealogy Search Page - over a hundred genealogy search engines, surnames databases and indexes
• Google - Google could be your best avenue to locate raw data to begin research or fill in gaps. This site is also good to get you past a brick wall. Names, places, dates... someone has talked about it on the web. If you are looking for a Smith, born in Brown County it won't be the best place to start, however. The easiest and biggest mistake is to ignore the Advanced Search and Advanced Search Tips screens. Here are some Google features you need to be aware of:
  • Must contain - A plus sign before a word makes sure it appears in the results.
  • Synonyms, Google's version of Soundex - put a tilde in front of your surname to search for synonyms. ~sanders gets results for sanders AND saunders... also information on woodworking tools, so use in combination with the next technique...
  • Exclude/Remove - A minus sign takes out results you know you'll get, but don't want, i.e. ~sanders ~genealogy -wood
  • Phrase searching - Using quotes to search for a phrase. Use in conjunction with the previous features.
  • Cache - has one of those geocities hits returned a "page not found"? Click on the Cached link!
  • "site:" - add this to limit your search to a particular domain, i.e. site:www.rootsweb.com
  • "link:" - If a results page is providing good information, find out who is linking to the page. There has to be a reason, you know... i.e. link:http//www.site.com/myunclejasper.html
  • "related:" - along the same lines, the 'related' search tells you if there are any pages that cover the same general content as the site you are on. i.e. related:http://www.goodsite.com/
  • Limiting by date - When used in combination with a search for an individual, this technique limits to years within a starting and ending date. Use three periods. This gets results for years anywhere within the date range. i.e. 1843...1886.
  • Google Alerts - create and register a search with Google to get daily, weekly, or "as it happens" updates by e-mail. A great way to keep current after you think you've exhausted everything on a particular line.
  • Image Searching - Have a photograph of Uncle Newton's tombstone (or Uncle Newton)? Someone else may have. Be sure to search in 'family safe' mode...
  • Google Local - Find and zoom in to an area using Google Maps, do a search for "cemetery", "church", etc. Enter your surname and see if Google Local will pinpoint locations on the map for you. You can get some very interesting results using this feature.

Surname Searching

• Family Tree Searcher - Enter your ancestor information just once to search family trees at multiple online genealogy databases. This free service will create the best searches based on your ancestry. This site also includes hints for searching genealogy online.
• GenCircles - 90 million ancestors listed in this user-built "Global Tree". Free registration includes "My GenCircles", ability to post to surname 'clubs', upload your own GEDCOM files, etc.
• Surname Helper - is a surname engine for queries and surname registrations posted on various genealogy sites. Participating sites include many USGenWeb and WorldGenWeb sites. All GenConnect boards are indexed in Surname Helper. Surname Helper is also used by the USGenWeb QueryExpress system for registering counties.
• Surname Navigator - Searches multiple sites and can be searched by country. The results display in pop-up windows, so may not work for those with pop-up blockers installed.
• GENS-US Surname Map - Very basic. A surname search results in a U.S. map showing the concentration of that name. The U.S. Surname Distribution site provides similar information, however, searching "All Years" (1850, 1880, 1920, 1990) gives you an animated migratory map.

Starting Points

• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet - If it has anything to do with genealogy, it will be here and it will be well organized and described. Soon to approach 250,000 links. This is the place to start.
  • Cyndi's List: Beginners
• DoHistory - helps you explore the process of piecing together the lives of ordinary people in the past. It is an experimental, interactive case study based on the research that went into the book and film A Midwife's Tale, which were both based upon the remarkable 200 year old diary of midwife/healer Martha Ballard... you can learn basic skills and techniques for interpreting fragments that survive from any period in history. We hope that many people will be inspired by Martha Ballard's story to do original research on other "ordinary" people from the past. Also look at their History Toolkit for info on Beginning, Researching, Organizing and Other How-To Sites.
• FamilySearch (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) - Search by surname, or use advanced search capabilities. This site offers a wealth of general genealogy information, guides and links.
• Genealogy "How-To" Guide - Genealogy.com's concise guide on the basic steps in research. How to Start Collecting Information, How to Find Missing Information, How to Organize Your Research and more.
• The Genealogy Resource Page - provides a number of links to pages such as a "Test your Genealogy IQ" page, a guide to the U.S. Census, and search engine tips.
• GenealogyBLOG. Hey, a blog! Good source for up to the minute happenings in the genealogy world. Side links on various categories can provide some very helpful Internet sources.
• Heritage Quest and Ancestry.com are two popular sites that charge for their material, but can provide a great deal of census and vital record information.
• RootsWeb's Guide To Tracing Family Trees - A good starting point for the beginner.
• World GenWeb A massive project to include information from a worldwide level to the local level. Links to the USGenWeb Project

Helpful Tools

• Geography
  • Geographic Names Information System Query Form (U.S. Geological Survey) - search by geographic feature name (valley, island, forest), or by a constructed place (cemetery, bridge, hospital). Results give city, county, state, elevation, etc.
  • Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names Online - A database of modern and historical names, coordinates, and descriptions of geographic places, arranged in hierarchical order.
  • RootsWeb Town Search - type in a name,
  • Gazetteers and Place Name Locators - Lloyd Reeds Map Collection, McMaster University Library - information about gazetteers for: Canada, United States, World, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia.
  • CousinConnect.com - post/search this message board by nation/state/county, also by surname.
• Ethnic/Area Resources
  • Access Genealogy's African American Genealogy
  • Access Genealogy's Native American Indian Genealogy
    • Dawes Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes - Dawes is a list of those members of the Five Civilized Tribes who removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) during the 1800's and were living there during the above dates. Only those Indians who RECEIVED LAND under the provisions of the Dawes Act are listed. It also lists those Freedmen who received land allotments as provided for in the Dawes Act. These pages can be searched to discover the enrollee's name, age, sex, blood degree, type, census card number and roll number. Check the headings in each column. Type denotes whether the record is from a Dawes card.
  • AfriGeneas: African Ancestored Genealogy - An African ancestry research community and a good beginning site for anyone with an African American background. Features a library of online resources, forum and help desk.
  • B'nai B'rith International
  • Cyndi's List of:
    • African-American resources
    • Asia & The Pacific
    • Italy / Italia
    • Native American
    • Societies & Groups - General - includes religious and military organizations
    • United Kingdom & Ireland Index
• Medicine
  • Cyndi's List: Medical & Medicine - Diseases & Medical Terms, Doctors, Nurses & Hospitals, Epidemics & Plagues, etc.
  • Archaic Medical Terms - Archaic medical terminology, Descriptions of the more common causes of death in the past, Folk and slang terms, etc.
  • Genealogy Quest Glossaries - You've uncovered a letter that mentions your great grandmother's bout with "bone shave"... so like, what's that all about? Try their links to "Diseases", or "Epidemics"!
• Photographs
  • Ancient Faces - an online photograph archive, searchable by surname. Over 30,000 photos.
  • Care, Handling, and Storage of Photographs (Library of Congress information leaflet)
  • Cyndi's List: Photographs & Memories - Dating Photographs, Identifying Photographers, Image Search Engines, etc.
  • Finding Photographers - locates sources that identify photraphers and photographic studios worldwide.
  • Ancestor Genealogy Photo Archive - Online photos (identified and not), how to date photgraphs, links to similar sites.
  • Dead Fred, the original online genealogy photo archive - Surname and detailed searching of over 11,000 names and 40,000 images.
  • Costumer's Manifesto: Costume History - Information on clothing styles by period. Various links to clothing history.
  • Don't forget to search sites such as Curioscape or Ebay to identify items in photographs.
• Other
  • American Secular Holidays Calendar - Enter a year and receive list of holiday dates and weekdays. Many links to other sites related to dates, observances, holidays.
  • Deciphering Old Handwriting
  • Family Tree Magazine: Tool Kit - Ethnic toolkits, downloadable forms, resource guide, soundex generator, etc.
  • 10,000-Year Calendar - What day of the week was July 19, 1854?

Records

• Search Systems Free Public Records Directory - is the largest directory of links to free public record databases on the Internet. Find business information, corporate filings, property records, unclaimed property, professional licenses, offenders, inmates, criminal and civil court filings, and much more. Click on the links below to browse the public record links by geographic location or use our "Public Record Locator" above to search for a type of public record in a specific area. Almost 30,000 free searchable public record databases

Historical Societies

• State Archives & Historical Societies (Ohio Historical Society Online)

Libraries & Archives

• Popular genealogy research libraries:
  • Allen County (IN) Public Library
  • Latter-day Saints Family History Library
  • Library of Congress
  • Mid-Continent Public Library, Independence, Missouri
  • Southeast Kansas Library System
  • WorldCat focus on: Genealogy - learn how to use this worldwide database to obtain genealogy data from the world's libraries.
• Cyndi's List: Libraries, Archives & Museums Index
• Repositories of Primary Sources (U. of Ohio) - A listing of over 5500 web sites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. Worldwide listings.
• GWM Directory of Genealogy Libraries in the U.S. - Links or mailing addresses for many U.S. libraries with genealogy collections.
• State Libraries and Archives (Library of Congress)

State & County Information

• USGenWeb Project State web sites - Volunteers working together to provide Internet web sites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States.
• Ancestry.com message boards - U.S. States
• Websites: United States of America at Rootsweb.
• Cyndi's List: United States

State of Kansas

• KSGenWeb Project
• Links from The Kansas Collection by Lynn H. Nelson
  • History of the State of Kansas, by William G. Cutler (Andreas)
  • Old Kansas Area Maps
  • Kansas Historical Quarterlies (1931-1977)
• Kansas Heritage Group
• Kansas History Web Site (KU)
• Kansas Interactive Genealogy
• Kansas State Historical Society
  • Kansas Memory - Digital archive of Kansas history, containing letters, diaries, photographs, government records from the State Archives, maps, museum artifacts, and historic structures in Kansas.
• Kansas Vital Records - Kansas State Library Information Desk. General information and where to write for Kansas vital records
• Territorial Kansas Heritage Alliance - A non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to building an understanding of and appreciation for the history, heritage, and national impact of the Kansas Territory
• Territorial Kansas Online - a growing digital library of searchable Kansas information during the time period 1854 through January 1861, when Kansans were debating joing the Union as a free or slave state. Learn about history, politics, places, people. Bibliographies and lesson plans are provided.

Map Sources

• Cyndi's List: Maps, Gazetteers & Geographical Information
• David Rumsey Map Collection has over 10,000 maps online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South America maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa are also represented. Collection categories include antique atlas, globe, school geography, maritime chart, state, county, city, pocket, wall, childrens and manuscript maps. The collection can be used to study history, genealogy and family history.
• Guide to Citing Maps & Atlases - Lloyd Reeds Map Collection, McMaster University Library -
• Historical County Lines - Links to all things involving county lines, borders, and related historical information. U.S. and State pages.
• Map Collections: 1500-2004 from the Library of Congress. Organized by categories such as Cities & Towns, Discovery & Exploration, Military Battles & Campaigns, General, etc.
• Northeastern Genealogy Online and Southeastern Genealogy Online both provide maps of state development and population expansion by year. County formation maps and other helpful genealogy links are available at this site.
• Odden's Bookmars: The Fascinating World of Maps & Mapping - (Cartography Section of Utrecht University) Search or browse the 22,500+ map links to find worldwide map information, map sellers, departments of cartography, map collections, tourist sites, more.
• Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection - University of Texas at Austin - Over 5,000 images from their collection of over 250,000 that cover all parts of the world, including historical maps. Many links to other map sites.
• United States Digital Map Library - Part of the USGenWeb project, this site provides maps for U.S., state, and county maps. Many state pages contain links to other map sites for that state.

Online Publications

• Genealogy Today: For What's New in Genealogy! - Lots of articles (almost 10 years archived) on all aspects of genealogy and family research.