We are happy to announce that we are going to start having posts on Fridays that are related to family history and genealogy research — with an emphasis on online research and access. John and Katherine will be joining our team of bloggers, and they plan to take turns posting. Look for the first post next Friday, October 30th.
If you have any suggestions for topics you would like them to cover, questions you would like them to answer, or documents you think they should feature, just let us know.
I think a post stressing that while online research is great, it really is only the tip of the iceberg – as the wonderful poster from the California Genealogical Society and Library states: http://calgensoc.blogspot.com/2009/08/tip-of-iceberg-poster-buy-three-get-one.html
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for making a very good point: while the internet has indeed made information and research much more accessible and convenient, many records still are not yet available online. Here at NARA, we’re making efforts with online partners such as Ancestry and Footnote.com to digitize more of our holdings, but in many cases it’s still necessary to come in and view the records in person. The digitization projects will be ongoing, but it’s also nice to hold a tangible piece of history in your hand as well!
Any chance you could cover pre-colonial family history research?
Hi Jason,
Thanks for your question regarding pre-colonial family research. Since our blogs will generally focus on NARA-related research, we will not deal very much with pre-federal or colonial resources. The National Archives, of course, is the repository for the historical records of the federal government, and so we don’t have very much in the way of colonial material. I would certainly recommend that you check the appropriate state archives for any resources relating to the original thirteen colonies.
Are there good online resources for Antebellum family history research? Supposedly my family has some South Carolina roots that I am looking into.
Hi Gold, Our blogs will mostly focus on NARA records in general. Ancestry.com (which you can access for free from any NARA location and many public libraries), is a good starting point to find essential federal records for family research from the Antebellum period, including census, immigration, and military service records.
As for other online resources, FamilySearch.org and CyndisList.com offer useful starting points for research as well. More specific to your question, the web site of the South Carolina State Archives also has a research and genealogy link to information about online sources. Anyone else who is following this blog is welcome to make suggestions on antebellum South resources, too!
I’m with Jason on the pre-colonial coverage. Is there a chance you’ll cover historical icons and their relations to one another, such as the presidents?
I would really be interested in a “getting started” guide to finding family history. I am a beginner in this area. My parents are much more interested in this area but their knowledge of the internet as a research tool is limited. Really sounds interesting.
This is great!
Are there good online resources for Antebellum family history research? Supposedly my family has some South Carolina roots that I am looking into.