Tuesday, September 16, 2014

HISTORICAL & FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES–GREAT RESOURCES FOR YOUR RESEARCH


DO YOU USE HISTORICAL OR FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES IN YOUR RESEARCH?

Let’s talk about some of the benefits you can derive from these societies.
  • Knowledgeable people who work or volunteer at the society.  These people may have lived their whole lives in the area.  They may even have ancestors that knew your ancestors.
  • Perhaps they know others with the same surnames you are researching, who still live in the area.  This, of course, is more common in a smaller community.   However, don’t discount the societies in the larger communities.
  • They may know where all the cemeteries are in the area.  Even the smaller, hard to find cemeteries on private property.
  • Perhaps they can provide maps of specific areas with indications of who owned what property and when?
  • They can, in many cases, show you which books or publications they offer that would help you in your particular research.
  • They can put you in touch with local historians or other researchers who may know details that they don’t.
  • Most historical societies have books or publications right on site.  Take advantage of this.
When I visited Keene, New Hampshire where my husband’s family is from, we visited the Historical Society of Cheshire County.  I found all sorts of information in books and in probate records they had copies of.  The volunteer there was incredibly helpful.

One of the largest historical societies I can think of is the New England Historic Genealogical Society.  This society has been around since 1845 and has a wealth of information at their physical site and on their website.  

Simply use your search engine and type in whatever town, city or county you may be interested in, add the words “historical society” OR “family history society” and see what you can find.  

Here is a link to a site I found by typing this into Google "historical societies in the United States"
http://www.preservationdirectory.com/preservationorganizationsresources/organizationcategories.aspx
 


I selected A and the following screen came up.  When I typed MICHIGAN into the state box I got a list of over 80 societies all over the state. 



I have to admit that I did not know about this website until just now.  It’s very interesting that while I am sharing with you, I am also learning.  

Let’s continue our discovery and type into Google “historical societies in Europe.”  This brought up 13,800,00 results.  Here is a screenshot of a portion of the first page.
(Apologies for the blurry screenshots)

Historical societies page - 3

I selected the very first entry which took me to a Wikipedia site.  As I scrolled through the site and selected various items, some were relevant and some were not.  However, when I got to the very bottom of the screen I noticed this:

Historical societies page - 4

Doesn’t that first entry look interesting?  I selected it and up came a list of various genealogical & family history societies.  The list is not complete as wikipedia is always a work in progress.  However, what I did was to keep on selecting various links, which then led me to other links.  In doing that I have now learned of many organizations that are new to me. 

You get the general idea.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get tunnel vision in my research.  I use the same sites day in and day out.  I mean after all, I have a huge list of bookmarked sites that I’ve saved over the years. Those sites are very useful, but sometimes we need to step back, stop and THINK 

Where else might I look for information?

Writing this post has given me new ideas and I’m anxious to see what else I can find today.

OTHER POSTS THAT YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL
SEMINARS, WEBINARS, SOCIETIES - WILL THEY HELP YOUR RESEARCH?
FACEBOOK - HOW IT CAN BE VERY USEFUL IN YOUR RESEARCH

Happy hunting,













Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION




6 comments:

  1. I really enjoy researching at historical society archives and libraries. They have some of the best records. Ones a researcher may not think about looking for. One of my Michigan favorites is Ypsilanti Historical Society. The workers there are so helpful.

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    1. I feel the same way Brenda. Whenever I've been to historical or family history societies they've been very helpful. I enjoy the atmosphere. Well, I just love libraries too. The internet is wonderful, but there is nothing like researching on site for me.
      Thanks for your comment and thanks for stopping by.

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  2. Diane,

    I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/09/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-september_19.html

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Thanks so much Jana. Always an honor.
      You have a good weekend too.

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  3. HOW TRUE! I was at the Greene County, VA Historical Society about a year ago and couldn't get over the books and "old school" family histories that were on the shelves. My perception before then had been that this was just a small town with a small time society with little to offer. How wrong I was.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Wendy. I think it's important in this day and age of internet research that we remember all the other resources available to us. Especially with so many new people beginning to explore their histories, what with WDYTYA and other shows like that. I too have been incredibly surprised at the offerings at small local historical or family history societies.
      Thanks for stopping by

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.