Description of Tabs
DIRECT LINE: A chart that shows your family in a direct line according to a particular surname.
PEDIGREE: The chart that starts with you and shows your maternal and paternal grandparents for several generations.
FAMILY GROUP: Records that include information such as names, birth dates, marriage dates and death dates of the parents and the children.
NOTES: A place to put blank paper to use while doing research. Remember to keep the types of different types of research separate, so it will be easier to place in the proper categories.
BIOGRAPHIES: Copies of articles about your ancestors found in newspapers, genealogical magazines, and various research books.
CENSUS: These records begin in 1790 (according to the state) and continues to 1920. They are done in ten year time periods. In the year 1850 and after, the record will show head of household, spouse, and children's names. It would also give the age and the state of birth. There is no census for the year 1890.
FHC COMPUTER: These records are complied from the various computer files found in local Family History Centers. This would also include the following: Military records and Scottish Church records.
Ancestral File: A computer file that contains genealogies of families from around the world. The information is mostly about deceased people, linked into pedigrees to show their ancestors and descendants.
IGI: The International Genealogical Index lists the dates and places of birth, christening, and marriages for millions of deceased people. It includes people who lived during the early 1500’s to the early 1900’s.
Social Security Death Index: The Social Security Death Index is a computerized index of of millions of people who have died in the United States since 1962.
COUNTY: These are records found on a county level. These records can be found directly from the county courthouse or from various research books containing county records. Some county records can be found on microfilm and microfiche.
Land: These records show who owned a particular tract of land. When the land was sold or changed hands this transaction was recorded as seller (grantor) to buyer (grantee).
Marriage: These are records that give the names of the groom, bride, person who performed the marriage and if any witness’. It will also give the date when the marriage took place.
Taxes: These records are show where a person paid taxes. It is a good way to find where a person was at a particular time.
Vital: These are statistics of birth and death dates compiled by the county. Death records are also referred to as mortality schedules, some of which are published in book form.
Wills: These records are important in finding all the children a person may have had. They give an account of how the person who wrote the will wished their belongings and property to be divided.
FAMILY: These records are compiled from various family sources such as: oral histories, obituaries, and from notes written by a family member.
Bible: Families years ago usually kept a bible with all the important dates that pertained to that family such as: birth, marriage and death dates.
Cemetery: This record of birth and death dates can be obtained directly from the cemetery or from various research books that have compiled cemetery information by counties of states. This is a good way to verify dates and to find in-laws and cousins.
Church: These are records, such as birth, marriage, death, christening and cemetery information, that are kept by individual churches.
Letters: This is a place to put all the letters of correspondence concerning a particular surname received from family members.
Obituaries: These records are a great place to verify your ancestor’s birth and death dates. Usually, the article will give the names of any living relatives. This would also give the married names of any living sisters.
MIGRATION: These records are used to tract an ancestors voyage across the seas to the state in which they finally settled.
Ship Lists: This record shows the passenger’s name and age. It will also give the name of the vessel, and the dates and places of departure and arrival.
Passenger Lists: This record shows the names of immigrants on a particular ship.
Immigration: This record shows the name of the vessel, the ship’s master, and the ports of departure and arrival. The immigrant’s name, age, sex, and occupation. Also the country they came from and the country they plan to settle.
Naturalization: The process by which the rights and privileges of citizenship are granted to an alien. This record provides information about place of birth, date and port of arrival, and other personal information.
Citizenship: This is a process by which an immigrant receives all the rights and privileges of a natural born citizen of a particular country.
MILITARY: These are records dealing with ancestors that served in a war. Some would include muster rolls, pension lists, rank, place of enrollment, type of service during the war, any injury, and place of death if known.
Rev War: Revolutionary War records can best be found by looking under the heading: DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Pension lists for some of these soldiers would list the name of the wife and names of their children.
Civil War: These records can verify the state in which your ancestor was living at the time of the war. There are books containing rosters of the Civil War solders compiled by states in various libraries across the United States.
QUERIES: These are "ads" you can run in various places to find other people who are searching for the same ancestors you are.
EMail: This is a place to keep E-mail from the different genealogy web sites concerning certain ancestors. These contacts are great for finding cousins you never knew about.
Periodicals: Publications such as: "The Genealogical Helper" and "Southern Queries", have sections dedicated just for queries. They are also packed with other types of resources to help in your research.
SOUNDEX: This is a record that is used to find an ancestor in a particular state between 1880 and 1920 (with the exception of 1890) in which one does not know the county in which they lived. The Soundex is listed by surnames not counties. The surnames are coded. This record will show the ages and the state of birth for the head of the household, spouse, and children. Also the county in which the information was taken from.