A visit to Maine's wonderful state library yesterday has prompted this week's open thread topic: genealogy books.
Lots and lots of genealogical information is on-line ~ and the amount that is on-line is still increasing dramatically. For those of us who have been poking around in our family history for a few years, the access is absolutely amazing.
However, books still very much have their place in the genealogical world. Actual books are still my preferred way to find out how to interpret the records that I find online ;-) Very few websites offer the depth of explanation on types of sources that a book on (for example) the genealogical use of land records does.
Follow me over the Great Orange Squiggle for discussion of what books are helpful ~ and which ones to skip over.
Note: photos for this diary taken with mobile phone under less than ideal conditions :-(
One area where books are still very helpful is with learning the absolute basics ~ before a researcher knows enough to know what to ask Google.
For general genealogy, one of the the better introductory/advanced beginner books I've seen recently is aimed at an English audience (the copy I checked out of the Maine State Library even has the price on the dust jacket in pounds, not dollars), but the explanation of how to get started is one of the best I've ever read.
The explanations of research techniques are excellent, and the relevant illustrations are as well:
Side note: I'm sorry that The Genesis of Your Genealogy (last updated 1998) hasn't been updated for a digital world ~ it also has a great getting started set-up.
Some books are indeed outdated... a book about DNA use in genealogy from 2004 may have some basic information about genetics that is helpful but the field has changed so much that most of the details about tests available and how the results can be used is too outdated to be helpful.
Similarly, this book, despite being only four years old, is on a subject that has changed immensely. While the basic science in the DNA is likely still helpful for someone who knows nothing about genetics, the social media landscape is too fluid to really be covered well in a book:
Several companies/organizations have put together basic guides to research in specific areas. FamilySearch/the Family History Library has, as has Family Tree Maker.
It's worth an initial look at resources like this when starting research in a new place. While the websites listed in a book like this might be out of date, the general information on topics like settlement patterns can be very helpful.
For example, while recently helping a friend trace her family, a quick glance at the information she had showed her couple great grandparents (with English surnames) living in OH at the time of the Civil War. Based on settlement patterns, I was pretty certain that the English surnames meant that the families involved would very probably go back to the colonial era ~ and that they would be in New England (almost certainly CT, as these families were in the Western Reserve area), as those with southern colonial ancestry would have settled in a different part of OH.
Some books are location/era specific. Since much of my research has focused on colonial New England, I'm most familiar with the resources for that time and place.
The 'tan books' ~ as they are often called ~ were done in the early 20th century with extracted vital records from many Massachusetts towns up to 1850. Many of these records are now on-line in various formats and places, but sometimes (especially when unraveling a complicated and large family who lived in a couple adjoining towns) I still find the books (or photocopies from them) easier to work with.
The tan books for Roxbury, in the original binding:
The book on the left for Roxbury with the blue binding is the town records ~ the early equivalent to today's town council minutes; while less directly genealogical than the vital records in the tan books, always worth checking as well.
Several different eras of re-binding for Nantucket:
Ditto for Salem:
The 'silver books' are the series of genealogies of Mayflower families for five generations:
The gold standard for very early colonial New England research ~ the Great Migration Project from the New England Historical and Genealogical Society.... an attempt to trace all immigrants to New England up to 1635 (and, according to their website, eventually to 1640). Done in two stages, The Great Migration Begins covers immigrants up to 1633, while the second series covers 1634 and 1635 arrivals. This series is also available for members of the NEHGS on their website (as are most of the records in the tan books), but I often find it easier to use the actual books.
Using a new type of resource? There's likely a book about what you can and can't find in that type of record.
Land records usage for genealogists:
How the records are accessed has changed greatly since this book was published in 1996 (when microfilm was still the most frequent way to access records when not in person) ~ but the information in the actual records hasn't changed:
There are books describing the resources available, best research strategies, and common obstacles encountered for various ethnic groups:
What books do you rely on? Any hidden gems you have found helpful? Biblioholic minds wants to know....