1. Genealogy:
Beyond the Basics
Finding and Using U.S. Records
for Your Genealogical Research
Presented by:
Elaine Jones Hayes
Special Collections Librarian
Laramie County Library System
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2. Review of Beginning Genealogy
1. Record What You Already Know
2. Read a How-to Book
3. Begin Your Research At Home
4. Look for compiled information
5. Choose one ancestral line to
research
6. Look for Original Records
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3. Other U.S. Records
• Probate (Wills)
• Land
• Church
• Cemetery and Burial
• Newspapers
• Federal and Local Tax
• Military
• City Directories
• Immigration/Naturalization 3

4. Where to Find Public Records?
• Check books and periodicals in libraries.
• Check the Internet & Genealogy Internet
databases such as:
–Ancestry Library Edition
–Heritage Quest
–www.familysearch.org
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5. But not everything is on the Internet:
• You may have to go to the original source in a
county courthouse, state vital records
division, state archives, etc. And pay $ to get a
copy of the birth certificate, will, etc.
• Search the Internet on Google.com or another
search engine, but look for a .gov website.
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8. About Internet Searching:
• Verify what you find.
• Learn to do a really good Internet search.
• Try using Google advanced search at
http://www.google.com/advanced_search
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11. Ancestry Library Edition: Much more
than just census images.
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12. Probate Court Records
• Probate process involves:
–Collecting a decedent’s assets
–Liquidating liabilities
–Paying necessary taxes
–Distributing property to heirs
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13. More About Probate Court
• Probate court has general power over:
–probate of wills,
–administration of estates, and
–in some states, is empowered to
appoint guardians or approve adoption
of minors.
• May be called Surrogate or Orphan’s
Court
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14. Two Classes of Probate Records:
• Testate-
–Person died leaving a valid will
• Intestate-
–Person died leaving no will
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15. Why Use Probate Records?
• Exist in times and places earlier than
other records.
• Identify family relationships and
verify death dates.
• Name spouse or past-spouses and
children.
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16. Where to Find
Probate Court Records
• Most wills are registered and filed in the
counties where they were probated.
• Also books or periodicals.
• Internet:
• www.ancestrylibrary.com
• ancestry.com or www.familysearch.org.
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20. Land Records
• Land records exist from the very
beginning of the first permanent
settlements in America.
• In early America the great majority
of free adult males were land
owners.
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21. Why Use Land Records?
• Place individuals in a particular place
at a specific time.
• Often list the spouse.
• Often state other relationships.
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22. Land Records – Patent vs. Deed
• Patent indicates the first sale of a piece
of property.
• Once a patent is issued, the property
becomes part of the “private” sector
of land ownership and is
subsequently sold by a deed.
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23. State Land States vs. Federal Land States
• State-Land States:
–Land controlled initially by the
individual state.
• Federal Land States:
–Lands initially controlled and
dispersed by the United States
government (public domain).
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24. The State-Land States
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Vermont
• Virginia
• West Virginia 24

25. State-Land States
• Usually recorded in the deed books of
each county or town
• Look for:
Grantee (buyer) index
Grantor (seller) index
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26. Federal Land States
• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming
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27. Federal Land Records
• Applicants completed a structured process.
–Completed papers were sent to the General
Land Office.
• Case files can show:
–Places of origin
–Relationships
–Naturalization information
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28. Federal Land Records –
Homestead Records
• Began in 1862.
• Required filing fee, residence,
cultivation, and improvement of land.
• Allotted to heads of households,
widows, single persons of either sex
over the age of 21.
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29. Homestead Records
• Genealogical value:
–Contain proof of residence.
–Can show previous residence, port of
entry, place of origin.
–Final documents show name, age,
marital and citizenship status, postal
address and settlement date.
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30. Finding Homestead Records
• Search at www.glorecords.blm.gov
• To find the information needed to order
land-entry case files from the Nat’l
Archives www.archives.gov.
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http://s3w/schedule/show

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34. Federal Land Records –
Cash Entry System and Credit Sales
• Land ordinance of 1785 opened lands
for sale.
–Case files often only contain a receipt.
• Credit Sales
–1800 -1820.
–Gave owner 4 years to pay.
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35. Military Bounty Land Grants
• Given in lieu of monetary
compensation for military service.
• Citizenship not a requirement for
military bounty land.
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36. Finding Military Bounty Land Grants
• All federal military bounty-land original
records are housed at the National
Archives in Washington, D.C.
• Bounty Land Warrants can also be found
at glorecords.blm.gov.
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37. Finding Military Bounty Land Grants
• Books:
Laramie County Library System (LCLS)
has several indexes for the revolutionary
war bounty land.
• Also check Ancestry.com, Ancestry
Library Edition , glorecords.blm.gov and
Heritage Quest.
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38. Individual or Private Lands
• If located in federal-land state, will be
described by township, range and
section.
• If located in a state-land state, will retain
metes and bounds.
• Registered in deed books at the county
or town recorder’s office.
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39. Private Land Records
• Genealogical value:
–Names of the buyer and seller
–Dates
–Description and acreage
–County and state of residence
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41. Church Records
• Kept before civil records.
• Report births, marriages and deaths
(baptisms, marriages and burials.).
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42. Church Records
• May be difficult to locate.
– Difficulty determining your ancestors religious
affiliation.
Many church records have been published,
microfilmed or are available on the Internet.
• Check PERSI. PERSI is available on Heritage Quest at
www.laramiecountylibrary.org. You’ll need your
library card # and PIN # (Default is wyld).
• Check the LDS Family History Library catalog and
database at familysearch.org.
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44. Cemetery and Burial Records
• Cemetery caretakers usually keep good
records
• Note names and dates of others in that
plot.
–See the Sexton’s records.
• Older records may also be found in:
–local libraries, archives, or historical
societies. 44

45. More Cemetery Records
• Look for cemetery listings on the Internet.
• Funeral director’s records may be as good as
official records.
• But try to visit the cemetery in person if
possible. If not possible try www.raogk.org.
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47. Cemetery Records on the Internet
• Find A Grave at www.findagrave.com
• Interment.net at www.interment.net
• The USGenWeb www.usgenweb.org and
WorldGenWeb www.worldgenweb.org
• RootsWeb Cemetery search
http://userdb.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ce
meteries/.
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49. Newspapers
• Most states have on-going newspaper
digitization projects. This only covers pre-
1922 newspapers.
• Look for newspapers from the geographical
area where your ancestor lived.
• Search WorldCat.org and try ILL (Interlibrary
Loan).
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50. newspapers.wyo.gov
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52. City Directories
• After 1800
• Many are available on Ancestry Library
Edition. Also check local libraries and
Google Books.
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54. Military Records
• In general the U.S. National Archives and
Records Administration (archives.gov) has
military records from 1775 to ~1917.
• The National Personal Records Center (NPRC)
in St. Louis, MO has records from ~1917 to the
present day.
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55. More about Military Service Records
• Colonial wars (1675-1763).
• Revolutionary and Post Revolutionary (1774-
1848).
–Most rosters and rolls have been published
and are also available in genealogy libraries
and/or on the Internet.
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56. Revolutionary War Records
• Revolutionary war records.
•Available at the National Archives
and regional branches. There is a
NARA branch in Denver.
•Check the Internet and computer
databases like FamilySearch.org,
Ancestry.com, Ancestry Library
Edition and Heritage Quest.
•Also see www.dar.org.
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57. Revolutionary War Records cont.
• Three types of records:
–Pensions
–Bounty-land warrant applications
–Military service records
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59. Civil War Records
• Some 2.8 million men served the Union
and Confederate armies during the Civil
War 1861-65.
The Civil War Pension Index is available
at Ancestry.com, Ancestry Library
Edition, and FamilySearch.org is one of
the best places to start looking for
Union soldiers.
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60. Civil War – Confederate Records
• The National Archives does not have
pension files for Confederate soldiers.
• Pensions were granted to Confederate
veterans and their widows and minor
children by the southern states. These
records are in the state archives or
equivalent agency.
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62. Military Service Records cont.
• WWII to present (1938 to present).
–Service records restricted to immediate
family.
• Right-to-privacy laws (75 years).
–Housed at National Personnel Records
Center St. Louis, MO.
• Fire in 1973 destroyed millions of
records.
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63. World Wars I and II
• World War I draft registration cards.
–Required males between 18 and 45 to
register.
–Are available from the National Archives
and the Family History Library and on
Ancestry Library Edition.
• Discharge records for World Wars I and II
areon file at the local county courthouse.
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66. Types of Tax Records
• Personal Property tax lists
• Tithables
• Poll Lists
• Land Tax Lists
• Rent Rolls
• Tax records can be found in county
courthouses, state archives, books, Internet
databases, LDS Family History Library etc.
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67. Why Use Tax Records?
• To trace a family’s location.
• Indicate the amount and type of
property owned.
• Estimate birth and death dates.
• Some tax lists can be found on the
Internet or on genealogy databases such
as Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage
Quest.
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68. Tax Records – Federal Tax
• Federal direct tax to raise money for armies.
–1798 French war direct tax on real property
and slaves.
–War of 1812 (1814-1816).
–Civil War direct taxes.
• Income taxes.
• Property taxes.
• License fees.
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69. Tax Records – County Taxes
• Poll tax lists.
–Colonial and antebellum counties usually
taxed free adult males (poll or head tax))
when the young man reached 18 or 21
and ceased when the man reached 50 or
60.
• Search county poll tax lists and property
tax lists.
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71. Immigration Records
• From the earliest colonial period until
approximately 1820, immigration records
were kept by the colony or state where the
port was located.
• Customs passenger lists
• From 1820 until approximately 1891
• Immigration passenger lists
• From 1892 until ~1957
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72. Immigration Records cont.
• Federal immigration records are in the
National Archives in Washington, D.C.
–Copies of some of these records are also
located in the regional branches of the
National Archives.
• We have books such as Filby’s Passenger and
Immigration Lists Index, 1538-1940.
• Also on Ancestry Library Edition or through
other Internet databases.
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73. Immigration Records on the
Internet
• Ellis Island
–libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger
• Castle Garden
–www.castlegarden.org
• Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild
–www.immigrantships.net
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77. Naturalization Records
• Naturalization is the process by which an
alien becomes an American citizen
• From the first naturalization law passed
by Congress in 1790 through much of the
20th century, an alien could become
naturalized in any court of record.
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78. Recent Naturalizations
• In 1906 congress created the
Immigration and Naturalization Service
(now the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Service).
• www.uscis.gov/files/form/g-639.pdf
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79. US Citizenship & Immigration Service
• The USCIS has a Genealogy Program
which is a fee for service program.
• See www.uscis.gov/genealogy.
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80. Naturalization Process cont.
• Naturalization process took a minimum of 5 years.
– After residing in the United States for 2 years, a
person could file a "declaration of intent“ to
become a citizen.
– After 3 additional years, the person could
"petition for naturalization."
– After the petition was granted, a certificate of
citizenship was issued.
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82. Additional Sources
• Agriculture Society Records
• Association Records
• Biography Indexes
• Employment Records
• Insurance Records
• Non-US Records
• And more (use your imagination/creativity)
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83. Other Good Genealogy Websites
• Cyndi’s List www.cyndislist.com
• FindAGrave www.findagrave.com
• RootsWeb www.rootsweb.com
• U.S. GenWeb www.usgenweb.com
• Library of Congress www.loc.gov
• WorldGenWeb www.worldgenweb.org
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84. Upcoming Genealogy Classes:
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We repeat the basic series (Genealogy Basics and
Genealogy Beyond the Basics) in February, June
and October every year.
Handouts for the basic genealogy classes are also
available on the Laramie County Library System
website and in the Special Collections department.

85. Thanks for Attending!
• Please consider:
–checking out a
genealogy how-to book (929)
–Becoming a member of a genealogy society
(CGHS meets 2nd Tuesday – Sept. to May).
–researching in our Genealogy room.
–accessing Heritage Quest from our website
• www.laramiecountylibrary.org you’ll
need a LCLS library card number and a
PIN (default PIN is wyld).
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