How to Find the Original Sources for Genealogy Records

[@dianapocalypse]

Did you enjoy this week's video? Don't miss How & Where to Research Newspapers for Genealogy and Family History kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJbdg6J4m9drntE Keep on climbing your family tree! -Diana, Genealogy TV Team

[@addicted2spn789]

Hi Diana! Just my personal preference but I absolutely LOVE this older format better, where Connie's information on the website, newsletter, Facebook, handouts, etc are at the beginning and end of the video instead of popping up in the middle. IMO it just makes the video flow more smoothly and makes it easier to follow. But Connie's channel, Connie's rules!!! Once again I loved the video. They are always so helpful and informative. Connie is an absolute pleasure to watch!

[@nightf0x-eve199]

That little tip about the Family Search Research Wiki is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks this is going to save me a ton of time.

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad it was helpful!

[@johnlmoore75638]

Enjoy learning more from u Ms. Connie. thank you ma'am

[@GenealogyTV]

You are so welcome

[@craftystash8667]

Omgoodness...you did it again...I find NEW info EVERY time I watch you 😲

[@GenealogyTV]

AH thanks Crafty!

[@annw1395]

I'm glad you mentioned FamilySearch. They are an excellent resource, as well as being free to everyone.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes they are!

[@lordperilous]

Connie I am so glad I stumbled on your channel! Great content and I feel I learned some very valuable information. I used to do genealogy back in the early 200's, but life side-tracked me until recently. I have the benefit having worked for a PI, and I am in the computer security business which means I am very good at finding slivers of data and correlating to get to the truth. One of my big pet peeves has been when Ancestry shows me information without a document or artifact. Now I know a few more ways to find it! I have recently been relying on social media to fill in some gaps as well (I bet you have at least one episode on this). Now I have to bing your past episodes! haha. Keep up the great work, so that even us hunters can get better!

[@GenealogyTV]

I'm glad you stumbled across the channel too! :) I talk about lack of documentation in a lot of videos and where to find it. Stick around, you never know what might pop up next week. :) Always seek the original source.

[@TheChrisEMartin]

It really makes sense to go back to the original records. I have found so many transcriptions on the family history web-sites have names that are spelled wrong - either genuine mistakes, or the transcriber couldn't read the handwriting in the original record and just guessed wrong!. The other thing I have found more than once - (and this is in relation to the English side of my family) is that for English parish records where sometimes the village priest recorded marriages, burials and baptisms all on the same page in the original church register, is that the transcriber has mistakenly recorded a record as a burial when it was actually a baptism! Looking at the original images of these records allow you to check these things and, as you say, you often get additional information than included in the transcription..

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes and... with foreign speaking immigrants, the, English speaking officials wrote down what they heard to the best of their understanding when an immigrant spoke their name with a heavy accent. Thanks for the comment.

[@sherryledbetter1856]

Thank you Connie!! You're so knowledgeable, and your information is always so helpful.

[@GenealogyTV]

You are so welcome!

[@charlotteruse158]

Right!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks for your support Charlotte

[@fcgn1908]

Thank you Connie. I learned a new tip today about searching the index by film number.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yeah. It’s always good to take deeper.

[@fcgn1908]

@@GenealogyTV always do -- I just never searched by film number in that way. I usually go to the catalog and search there. Of course, most of mine don't have images linked to the index, so I go by image number on the index to carry forward then next time I go to the FHC to see the locked images.

[@tammywilliams2035]

Oh gosh… I never knew there was so much to click on in the Find a Grave. I’ll need to revisit all of those !! Thank you again.

[@GenealogyTV]

I know, right?

[@randywallis9624]

I want to thank you for this video. I found out a ton of information that I was not aware of. 👍👍 Thanks Randy

[@GenealogyTV]

My pleasure Randy

[@mariacapaldi5062]

Awesome thanks Connie!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thank you. I appreciate your support.

[@jackiemedeiros8019]

Your videos are always so helpful. Thank you Connie

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks I appreciate that.

[@kimberlyrivard6945]

Wonderful information. Thank you.

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad it was helpful!

[@carlaporath7076]

Great information...I always learn something from your videos!!!!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks Carla

[@wendybond2848]

Thank you Connie. You always have such relevant content.

[@GenealogyTV]

I try

[@janabarnes1791]

This is so helpful! Thank you!

[@GenealogyTV]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nancybennett773]

Hi Connie, I just watched your video from Feb 4, 2022 about not loading mistakes from Ancestry. You can see the documentation in others peoples trees that show up in your hints. If you click on the ancestors name on the other tree, it will show you the facts that member has collected on that ancestor. You can also view their tree. I hope this helps.

[@GenealogyTV]

Yes, so true.

[@suzannemcclendon]

Thank you for this video. Over the last week, I've run into "No image available" more times than I can count on Ancestry. How can they even consider it a source if they don't let us see it? There's no way to know if the transcriber or the OCR thing properly transcribed it if you can't see it. Thanks for telling us how to find them so that we can verify the information ourselves, with our own eyes.

[@GenealogyTV]

Keep in mind that Ancestry negotiates contracts with the owners (usually county or state governments) for different record sets... as does FamilySearch. We don't know the details of those contracts or the rights they are granted within the contracts. In some case, I suspect it has to do with which company offered to microfilm their records in exchange for rights to the images. In other cases, the companies might just be buying the index. Either way, I'm grateful for all they all do to bring us records online.

[@suzannemcclendon]

@@GenealogyTV I am grateful for the records they bring online, too. There is no way that I could go to all of the courthouses, etc., that would be necessary to research our families anymore. It just get frustrating at times to be met with "no image available". Thank you for explaining what may be the reason for no images along with the index.

[@amyprice1224]

Everyone thinks my 4th GG name was Amarytha McCracken but in looking at the record it was actually Amaryllis McMackin. The mistaken transcription has become the standard in online trees, unfortunately. Amazing the difference a few letters make.

[@GenealogyTV]

Name variations like this are very common in every family.

[@BillTxn]

While researching part of my wife's family, I found relatives to one individual's memorial in find a grave with separate memorials but who were not linked to the first person. I clicked on "Suggested Edit" to inform the editors at find a grave that there were more family members who could be linked. In another situation, I found a duplicate of my own paternal grandfather's memorial with scant information and a wrong nickname attached. Again, using the "Suggested Edit" button, I was able to clean up the erroneous duplicate.

[@GenealogyTV]

That’s good to know!

[@karajames6345]

Hi Connie, I watch your show every week since I found you during COVID and have learned so much from you. Question: You mentioned during your show today about digging deeper for birth certificates. How do you go about doing that besides taking a trip to all the health departments and then they are not free. Also, what year was it a requirement for the parents to fill out a birth certificate? My half brothers grandpa is listed with a different last name in the birth index of the 1800's (don't remember the year off the bat) and no one in the family knew he was born under a different name. Is there any other way to find this out? Thank you, Kara

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks Kara. I appreciate the comments. Birth certificates are often (not always) found on FamiySearch.org. Indexes sometimes (depending on the state) on Ancestry. Look for the original certificates at the county level if you can't find them either of those two places. Many are available online at the county for a fee. Search FamilySearch first before paying for anything. They have a lot. Regarding dates, most states were mandating birth certificates starting about 1912, sometimes earlier... and some states took several years to come into compliance. So it might be as late as 1918-1919 before some of the smaller rural counties they started issuing them. For earlier birth records, look to the churches. This varies, but if you can identify the religion, many churches kept birth registries and baptismal records.

[@desertpatient]

Thanks bunches...too funny...as I was just dealing with this for the first time as I really want to try to get a marriage certificate

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@boydhayes3882]

@Genealogy TV, in watching this video about finding the original records, are there other sources, places that I can find an original birth record and certificate for my paternal grandfather? I've written to the county court house for where he was born, but they don't have a record of his birth. After that, my aunt told me that there may not be a copy of his birth record because that court house burned down shortly after the turn of the century (early 1901). My grandfather was born in Nov 1900. That court house did, however, send me a copy of his sister's birth certificate, even though I hadn't asked for it. His sister was born in 1897. Also, I've discovered that grandpa was a ward of the state of SD for awhile so how do I find information on that? His sister told me one time that grandpa was adopted out, which would have given him a different last name. But I discovered just this past week that he was a ward of the state and not adopted. Any information you can share with me will be greatly appreciated. Boyd Hayes

[@GenealogyTV]

Boyd, Most states did not issue birth certificates before about 1909 depending on the state. I'm surprised you got the sister in 1897. Some delayed birth certificates were issued around 1935 when people had to prove their age in order to get a social security card. Focus on looking for evidence of birth rather than a birth certificate. In other words, any document that would show how old he was. Perhaps the 1910 or 1920 census. The 1910 would be the most accurate since it was closest to his age. If he had a social security card those records might help with the "ward of the state." Also look to the state archives for help.

[@boydhayes3882]

@@GenealogyTV Thank you for your reply. I saw a South Dakota 1905 census form that showed my grandfather's age being 4 years of age and his birth year being 1901. He was also on the 1910 US census at the age of 10. You've given me some other ideas to check out. I figured that I got grandpa's sister's birth certificate because I'd sent payment for my grandfather's certificate. Another idea that I got from watching your video again was to check with the state capitol, being that the birth record could have been sent to the capitol before the county court house burned down.

[@boydhayes3882]

@@GenealogyTV Thank you for your reply. I did see in the SD 1905 State Census that my grandfather was there and age 4 there. Since censuses are usually done in the beginning of the year, that would be right for his birth year being 1900. I've written down the other items you mentioned in your reply so that I can check on them. Seems to me I saw he had a Social Security number in the one Social Security Death item I looked at. I'll check it again. If he had a Social Security number then I'll be able to find out when he was a ward of the state of SD. Thanks again. Boyd

[@stevelaursen1691]

if someone pops up in a tree. how do I find out the connection to me. it stops with that person. thanks

[@fables4564]

My significant others parents were immigrants (Mexico), is there any way to obtain family history outside the United States?

[@GenealogyTV]

Ancestry has been adding records from Mexico. See also www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Mexico_Genealogy

[@charlotteruse158]

The dreaded no image available. I didn't know about the FHL number that is so great! The month that the census was taken is also helpful if for instance on a family tree the youngest child is shown as being born in 1880 along with the next youngest born in the same year so either they are twins or the birth year is incorrect. When you look at the 1880 census to confirm the birth year the second youngest child is listed as age 3 months born in 1880. So you know that the youngest child on the family tree could not have been born in 1880 and is not a twin. If the child on the census is 5 months old it is possible that the youngest was born in 1880 but not likely. If they are they will be the same age each year for a few months. It does happen. I hope that makes sense. As always Thank you!

[@GenealogyTV]

Thanks

[@jamesondelroy2795]

Hello, I was wondering is it a way you can help me with my results?

[@GenealogyTV]

I have coaching services, but I'm pretty booked up right now. If you are flexible on times, I might be able to fit you in. Got to GenealogyTV.org and click on the coaching tab to learn more.