United States

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Revision as of 04:39, 20 November 2012

Getting started with United States research

Numerous articles are available on FamilySearch Wiki to help you get started in family history. This portal will provide links to articles about general research topics.

Principles of Family History Research

States

Click on a state to go to that state's page:

Research Strategies

Research Tools

United States Record Selection Table
Listing of all records collections for the U.S. available on FamilySearch.org.
Printable Maps from the National Atlas of the United States -- The Reference and Outline Maps of the United States and of the individual states are of most value to a genealogist. Other types of maps are also available from this site.
Tracing Immigrant Origins
United States Census Bureau State and County Map. This map will allow you to zoom in on any State or County in the United States and read the names of all of the neighboring Counties. This makes it easy to see close by locations where other relatives might have lived. This map shows current Counties, consult the individual State Maps section to find out about historical maps. You can even type in a county name in the search box to locate the county on the map.
A complete descriptive and statistical gazetteer of the United States of America ...: with an abstract of the census and statistics for 1840 (Compiled by Daniel Haskel, John Calvin Smith pub 1843)
BYU United States Research Outline largely duplicates these Wiki pages. Includes some bibliographic lists from BYU Library, 2001.

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:

Territories and Federal District

Former Territories

Help Wanted

Interested in editing or adding to the Wiki? The United States page, the state pages, and the county pages need you! Here are some simple ways you can add information other researchers need!

Add links to the David Rumsey Map Collection for the state or county in question. For an example, see the Pennsylvania.
Volunteer to be a moderator for the United States portal, or one of the unclaimed states. Contact us to express your interest in this role.
Add each state or county's creation date and parent states/counties. This information can be found using the Place Search in the Family History Library Catalog.
Add links to digitized state and county histories. A large collection of such histories is Brigham Young University's Family History Archives. A shortcut to searching it for local histories is on the BYU-FHL Digital Books Collection page.
The Research Wiki is also available in ten other languages. You can help by translating pages into one of the other languages.

News

Fold3.com has a new African American history collection online.
FamilySearch U.S. Research classes now online!
The 1870 US Federal Census indexing project was posted on FamilySearch.org
New free databases for Russian, Italian, and German immigrants were added to NARA
You never know which ancestors you'll find in the newly posted U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 at Ancestry.com.

more...

Topics

Did You Know?

A 2000 map of the top country of origin of ancestors of citizens in each U.S. county is at wikimedia.org.
More people died in the 1918 Influenza epidemic than in World War I.
The Genealogy Photo Archive contains more than 14,000 photos of families.

The Research Forums have been closed. For a limited time the United States Research forum will be available in read-only mode.

Genealogy courses: Learn how to research from an expert in Getting Started with United States Research.

Retrieved from "https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States"

Category: United States

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+| valign="top" style="padding-bottom: 0pt; margin: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt" | <div style="width: 75%; float: right">
-[[Image:Liberty-statue-from-below.jpg|right|335px]]
+[[Image:Liberty-statue-from-below.jpg|right|335px|Liberty-statue-from-below.jpg]] <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
-== Getting started with United States research  ==
+=== Getting started with United States research  ===
 Numerous articles are available on FamilySearch Wiki to help you get started in family history. This portal will provide links to articles about general research topics.
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 == Research Tools  ==
-*[[United States Record Selection Table|United States Record Selection Table]]<br>
+*[[United States Record Selection Table|United States Record Selection Table]]
-*[http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable.html Printable Maps from the National Atlas of the United States] -- The Reference and Outline Maps of the United States and of the individual states are of most value to a genealogist. Other types of maps are also available from this site.<br>
+*Listing of all [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&region=UNITED_STATES records collections for the U.S.] available on FamilySearch.org.
+*[http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable.html Printable Maps from the National Atlas of the United States] -- The Reference and Outline Maps of the United States and of the individual states are of most value to a genealogist. Other types of maps are also available from this site.<br>
 *[[Tracing Immigrant Origins|Tracing Immigrant Origins]]
 *[http://ftp2.census.gov/geo/maps/general_ref/us_base/stco2003/stco2003.pdf United States Census Bureau State and County Map]. &nbsp;This map will allow you to zoom in on any State or County in the United States and read the names of all of the neighboring Counties. This makes it easy to see close by locations where other relatives might have lived. This map shows current Counties, consult the individual State Maps section to find out about historical maps. You can even type in a county name in the search box to locate the county on the map.
 *[http://www.google.com/books?id=1ooBAAAAMAAJ&pg A complete descriptive and statistical gazetteer of the United States of America ...: with an abstract of the census and statistics for 1840] (Compiled by Daniel Haskel, John Calvin Smith pub 1843)
-*[http://net.lib.byu.edu/fslab/researchoutlines/US/UnitedStates.pdf BYU United States Research Outline] largely duplicates these Wiki pages. Includes some bibliographic lists from BYU Library, 2001.<br>
+*[http://net.lib.byu.edu/fslab/researchoutlines/US/US.pdf BYU United States Research Outline] largely duplicates these Wiki pages. Includes some bibliographic lists from BYU Library, 2001.<br>
-== Help Wanted  ==
+'''Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:'''<br>
-Interested in [[Help:Edit and Contribute|editing or adding to the Wiki]]? The United States page, the state pages, and the county pages need you! Here are some simple ways you can add information other researchers need!
+*[[United States Census Mortality Schedule, 1850 (FamilySearch Historical Records)|United States Census Mortality Schedules, 1850 through 1880 (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]
+*[[United States Census Slave Schedule, 1850 (FamilySearch Historical Records)|United States Census Slave Schedule, 1850 (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]
-*[[Create an external link|Add links]] to the [http://www.davidrumsey.com/directory/where/ David Rumsey Map Collection] for the state or county in question. For an example, see the [[Pennsylvania]].
+*[[United States Index to General Correspondence of the Record and Pension Office (FamilySearch Historical Records)|United States Index to General Correspondance of the Records and Pension Office (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]
-*Volunteer to be a [[FamilySearch Wiki:Moderator|moderator]] for the United States portal, or one of the [[FamilySearch Wiki:Moderator#Who_are_the_Moderators.3F|unclaimed states]]. Contact a [http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Special:Emailuser/Nixiao Sysop] to express your interest in this role.
+*[[United States, Remarried Widows Index to Pension Applications (FamilySearch Historical Records)|United States, Remarried Widows Index to Pension Applications (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]
-*Add each state or county's creation date and parent states/counties. This information can be found using the [https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog Place Search&nbsp;] in the Family History Library Catalog. <br>
-*Add links to digitized state and county histories. A large collection of such histories is Brigham Young University's [http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.html Family History Archives]. A shortcut to searching it for local histories is on the [[BYU-FHL Digital Book Collection|BYU-FHL Digital Books Collection]] page.
-*Want your name in lights? The [[United States Maps]] needs a major overhaul, and as soon as it's done I'd like to put it on the Featured Content section of this page. [http://www.bestessays.com/ Writing services]. The current [[United States Maps]] article, was written years ago with printed sources in mind. Today roughly 80% of a genealogist's needs for U.S. maps can be met by using a few incredible, free Websites. If you'd like to overhaul this page, have at it! For ideas, see the [[Talk:United States Maps|United States Maps discussion page]].
 == Territories and Federal District  ==
-{| class="FCK__ShowTableBorders" border="0" width="99%"
+{| width="99%" border="0" class="FCK__ShowTableBorders"
 |-
 | valign="top" align="left" |
-*[[Image:American Samoa flag.png|border|22x11px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Portal:American Samoa|American Samoa]]
+*[[Image:American Samoa flag.png|border|22x11px|American Samoa flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[American Samoa|American Samoa]]
-*[[Image:District of Columbia flag.png|border|22x11px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[District of Columbia|District of Columbia]]
+*[[Image:District of Columbia flag.png|border|22x11px|District of Columbia flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[District of Columbia|District of Columbia]]
 | valign="top" align="left" |
-*[[Image:Guam flag.png|border|22x13px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Guam|Guam]]
+*[[Image:Guam flag.png|border|22x13px|Guam flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Guam|Guam]]
-*[[Image:Northern Mariana Islands flag.png|border|22x11px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Northern Mariana Islands|Northern Mariana Islands]]
+*[[Image:Northern Mariana Islands flag.png|border|22x11px|Northern Mariana Islands flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Northern Mariana Islands|Northern Mariana Islands]]
 | valign="top" align="left" |
-*[[Image:Puerto Rico flag.png|border|22x15px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Portal:Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]]
+*[[Image:Puerto Rico flag.png|border|22x15px|Puerto Rico flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]]
-*[[Image:Virgin Islands flag.png|border|22x14px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Portal:Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]]
+*[[Image:Virgin Islands flag.png|border|22x14px|Virgin Islands flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[U.S. Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]]
 |}
@@ Line 70: / Line 67: @@
 == Former Territories  ==
-{| class="FCK__ShowTableBorders" border="0" width="99%"
+{| width="99%" border="0" class="FCK__ShowTableBorders"
 |-
 | valign="top" align="left" |
-*[[Image:Cuba flag.png|border|22x11px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Cuba|Cuba]]
+*[[Image:Cuba flag.png|border|22x11px|Cuba flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Cuba|Cuba]]
-*[[Image:Marshall Islands flag.png|border|22x12px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Marshall Islands|Marshall Islands]]
+*[[Image:Marshall Islands flag.png|border|22x12px|Marshall Islands flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Marshall Islands|Marshall Islands]]
 | valign="top" align="left" |
-*[[Image:Micronesia, Federated States of, flag.png|border|22x12px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Micronesia|Micronesia]]
+*[[Image:Micronesia, Federated States of, flag.png|border|22x12px|Micronesia, Federated States of, flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Micronesia|Micronesia]]
-*[[Image:Palau flag.png|border|22x14px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Portal:Palau|Palau]]
+*[[Image:Palau flag.png|border|22x14px|Palau flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Portal:Palau|Palau]]
 | valign="top" align="left" |
-*[[Image:Panama canal zone flag.png|border|22x13px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Panama Canal Zone|Panama Canal Zone]]
+*[[Image:Panama canal zone flag.png|border|22x13px|Panama canal zone flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Panama Canal Zone|Panama Canal Zone]]
-*[[Image:Philippines flag.png|border|22x11px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Portal:Philippines|Philippines]]
+*[[Image:Philippines flag.png|border|22x11px|Philippines flag.png]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[Philippines|Philippines]]
 |}
-</div><div style="width: 24%; float: left">
-{| style="background: rgb(255,255,240)" class="FCK__ShowTableBorders" border="0"
+== Help Wanted &nbsp;  ==
+Interested in [[Help:Contributor Help|editing or adding to the Wiki]]? The United States page, the state pages, and the county pages need you! Here are some simple ways you can add information other researchers need!&nbsp;
+*[[Create an external link|Add links]] to the [http://www.davidrumsey.com/directory/where/ David Rumsey Map Collection] for the state or county in question. For an example, see the [[Pennsylvania]].&nbsp;
+*Volunteer to be a [[FamilySearch Wiki:Moderator|moderator]] for the United States portal, or one of the [[FamilySearch Wiki:Moderator#Who_are_the_Moderators.3F|unclaimed states]]. Contact [https://help.familysearch.org/help/?wicket:bookmarkablePage=:org.familysearch.help.helpcenter.page.OpenCase us]&nbsp;&nbsp; to express your interest in this role.&nbsp;
+*Add each state or county's creation date and parent states/counties. This information can be found using the [https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog Place Search&nbsp;] in the Family History Library Catalog. <br>
+*Add links to digitized state and county histories. A large collection of such histories is Brigham Young University's [http://www.lib.byu.edu/fhc/index.html Family History Archives]. A shortcut to searching it for local histories is on the BYU-FHL Digital Books Collection page.
+*The Research Wiki is also available in ten other [[FamilySearch Wiki:Non-English versions of the wiki|languages]]. You can help by [[FamilySearch Wiki:Translation|translating&nbsp;pages]] into one of the other languages.
+</div>
+<div style="width: 24%; float: left">
+{| border="0" class="FCK__ShowTableBorders" style="background: rgb(255,255,240)"
 |-
-| style="font-family: verdana; background: rgb(238,238,238); color: rgb(51,51,51)" align="center" | '''News'''
+| align="center" style="font-family: verdana; background: rgb(238,238,238); color: rgb(51,51,51)" | '''News'''
 |-
-| style="background: rgb(250,245,255)" align="left" |
+| align="left" style="background: rgb(250,245,255)" |
-*[http://www.footnote.com Footnote.com] [http://www.diamondlinks.net/ link building service] has a new [http://go.footnote.com/blackhistory/ African American history collection] online.
+*[http://www.footnote.com Fold3.com] has a new [http://go.footnote.com/blackhistory/ African American history collection] online.
-*New FamilySearch [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/education/frameset_education.asp?PAGE=education_research_series_online.asp%3FActiveTab=2 U.S. Research classes now online!]
+*FamilySearch [https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html U.S. Research classes now online!]
 *The 1870 US Federal Census indexing project was posted on [https://www.familysearch.org/ FamilySearch.org]
 *New free databases for Russian, Italian, and German immigrants were added to [http://aad.archives.gov/aad/series-list.jsp?cat=GP44 NARA]
 *You never know which ancestors you'll find in the newly posted [http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1264 U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918] at [http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=List&dbid=1264&offerid=0%3a7858%3a0 Ancestry.com].
 [[Finding Genealogy News and Events within the United States|more...]]
 |-
-| style="font-family: verdana; background: rgb(238,238,238); color: rgb(51,51,51)" align="center" | '''Topics'''
+| align="center" style="font-family: verdana; background: rgb(238,238,238); color: rgb(51,51,51)" | '''Topics'''
 |-
-| style="background: rgb(250,245,255)" align="left" |
+| align="left" style="background: rgb(250,245,255)" |
+*[[United States, How to Find Genealogy Records|How to Find Genealogy Records]]
 *[[United States Basic Search Strategies|Basic Search Strategies]]
 *[[United States Record Selection Table|Record Selection Table]]
@@ Line 118: / Line 128: @@
 *[[United States Court Records|Court Records]]
 *[[Major Databases for Beginning United States Research|Database Websites]]
+*[[United States Digital Collections|Digital Collections]]
 *[[United States Directories|Directories]]
+*[[United States Emigration and Immigration|Emigration and Immigration]]
 *[[United States Funeral Homes|Funeral Homes]]
-*[https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/United_States_Emigration_and_Immigration Emigration and Immigration]
 *[[United States Gazetteers|Gazetteers]]
 *[[United States Genealogy|Genealogy]]
@@ Line 126: / Line 137: @@
 *[[United States Historical Geography|Historical Geography]]
 *[[United States History|History]]
-*[[Portal:United States Land and Property|Land and Property]]
+*[[United States Land and Property|Land and Property]]
 *[[United States Maps|Maps]]
 *[[United States Migration Internal|Migration]]
@@ Line 147: / Line 158: @@
 |-
-| style="font-family: verdana; background: rgb(238,238,238); color: rgb(51,51,51)" align="center" | '''Did You Know?'''
+| align="center" style="font-family: verdana; background: rgb(238,238,238); color: rgb(51,51,51)" | '''Did You Know?'''
 |-
-| style="background: rgb(250,245,255)" align="left" |
+| align="left" style="background: rgb(250,245,255)" |
 *A [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.jpg 2000 map] of the top country of origin of ancestors of citizens in each U.S. county is at wikimedia.org.
 *More people died in the [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/ 1918 Influenza epidemic] than in World War I.
@@ Line 162: / Line 173: @@
 }} {{Online course badge
 | layout = vertical
-| course link = https://learning.familysearch.org/researchcourses#usa_research
+| course link = https://www.familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/ancestors-season-1-getting-started/157
-| course name = researching your family in the United States
+| course name = Getting Started with United States Research
 }}
 </div>
 |}