Genealogy Research & Family History Records Checklist to Grow Your Family Tree

When I first started out in genealogy, I wanted a genealogy records checklist. I guess I’m a checklist kind of person. So here I’ve created a list of types of records to look for when researching each ancestor. This is a “suggested” list of what to look for, not necessarily where to find them.

There is no list in the world that could possibly list everything, but these are just some of the common family history records we would seek when researching our family history.

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TIMING
0:00 Intro
0:20 Connie’s records checklist & handout
1:18 Survey results in Community Tab
5:10 Records checklist discussion
7:04 Wills and probate records
8:15 Census records
10:04 Immigration, Emigration and Naturalization
11:15 Vital records
12:08 Land and deed records
14:07 Church records
15:28 City directories
16:02 Court records
16:48 Newspapers
17:39 Cemeteries and funeral homes
17:56 Maps
19:14 Can be used over and over again

Best YouTubers for genealogy are Genealogy TV, The History Guy, Aimee Cross Genealogy Hints, Family History Fanatics, Geneavlogger, Legacy Tree Genealogy, , Ancestry, FamilySearch, Useful Charts, Dear Myrtle, Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow, and 23andMe.
#Genealogy #GenealogyTV #FamilyHistory
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Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

[Kati_diaryofamom]

Thank you for the checklist! Printing it out and it's gonna keep me on track! I have too many "squirrel" moments when researching!

[Sunjoy]

My genealogy resolution for 2023 is to become more organized and this checklist certainly will help... TY

[CaminoTurtle]

Thanks for the checklist. Researching in New Jersey I found Tax Lists to be very useful since the census records for the early 1800s were destroyed.

[barbaramcmillan]

I live in Australia and how I wish that we had census records available like UK and US. It would make things soooo much easier for family historians here. I like your check lists and your videos are very helpful. TFS.

[saraschneider]

18:16 On a related note it would be so great if there was a way to look up addresses changes. Not movement of families, but if a residential address changed due to road construction.

[debbybrady]

Again, you provide great information. I found church records for an ancestor in Virginia that showed I am related to George Washington.

[marvthedog]

I totally agree with your comments on the importance of newspapers. I found a good bit of information on my great grandparents because they were active in the community and were written about in the local newspaper. I also was able to find information on what really happened to my aunt who died at the age of 2 on my dad's side. for years the family story was that she died of malnourishment in 1932 but the newspapers and as it just so happened, a hand written document found in my grandfather's wallet my dad had, destroyed that story. She was sick with a disease and was never able to overcome it after a lengthy fight.

[snuggs]

I would love to see a video on tips on how to leverage funeral homes and cemeteries to get additional information about our families. I haven't had great luck when I call a cemetery, but I think its because I don't know what i'm doing and they don't have time to talk to me. Can you do a video on it, and maybe a little script we can use to contact each of these places to get some additional information? And how to locate the records from funeral homes from the 1800s that may no longer be in business etc. I love all your videos! and especially the handouts! Thanks for all your hard work! <3

[nellanddudley]

Well, I finally did it...Happy Dance here. Love your channel!

[brittnew]

Thank you so much for this information!

[glendastaples]

Thank you for this video, as I forgot some of the places to go look.

[saraschneider]

16:48 Ancestry can do a LOT more to populate Newspaper related hints.

[saraschneider]

15:39 What about directories for rural farm communities?

[NonoMe]

Thank you for all the great videos! I'm getting back into my genealogy research so you're channel has been a great find. I'm having trouble finding this handout on the membership tab on YouTube. Is there a way to search that tab for this specific video? Thanks again!

[Godiswatching]

Yes, I need help, 6mos on ancestry, hidden, shocking finding.😮

[saraschneider]

I wish Ancestry would have this embedded. It does for some extent with vital statistics and what comes up in hints, but if it's not a vital records or something that comes up in a hint, it's not being suggested to look for it. And the checklist will change based on time period and location your ancestors lived.

[sr]

In Madeira Portugal the parish baptism, marriage and death records go back to the 1500's.

[shamusosullivan]

Orphans court/ oyster court when looking in early PA

[vccgenealogysig]

In Europe, Vital Records go back a very long way. They may be called something different (e.g. often the information was in Church Records). Since none of my ancestors lived in the U.S., all were from Sweden, England or Scotland where the information about birth, christening, marriage and death goes back hundreds of years. That is why they would be most important to me.

[Virginiafamilies]

I would say Wills/Probate are the most important. Without them you can't go further and further back if your ancestor made a Will. In a sense, a Will is a death certificate just without the mentioning of the parents.