"Tracing Our Roots" Newsletter Archive (A monthly genealogy newsletter written by the late Brenda Kellow, dec'd, for the Plano Star Courier newspaper. We've included all the ones we could recover.)
Last week I talked about the 1880 national census that changed searching in that decade or those playing hide-and-seek. This week I want to introduce you to the 1870 Texas census that will enable us to find those who stayed here after the Civil War or who moved here after it. Heritage Quest indexed heads of household, all males over age 50, every female over age 70 and whoever was living in the household with the same name or a different name. The index is alphabetical by surname then by given name. It gives their birthplace locality and county, film number and page number.
Also from Heritage Quest comes the 1870 census index of the Western Sates, which include Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Both of these censuses are extracted from the original records of the National Archives Microfilm Series M593. The Texas extract contains over 235,000 entries and the Western States contains over 445,000 names.
Because of a generous donation by Genealogy Friends both of these CDs will be available in the library before the end of the year, as well as the 1870 CD indexes for Kansas, Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Alabama, Florida, and Missouri. They are also donating Genealogical Dictionary of New England, 1600-1700s.
EARLY NC AND KENTUCKY PUBLICATIONS
North Carolina is an important state in the migration of settlers. They came and went, sometimes without leaving a record. In the past, some of the early settlers were mentioned in books without us ever knowing it because of a lack of indexed records. Few of us really read a book cover-to-cover hunting for a mention of a particular surname. Family Tree Maker (FTM) is correcting this flaw with their Genealogical Record Series published on CD.
CD No. 524 titled Early North Carolina Settlers, 1700s-1900s is indexed to make this search easier. It quickly links a name with the record, one of 12 titles in this series for North Carolina. The records are a unique collection of marriage records, death records, land records, historical sketches and biographies referencing approximately 200,000 people. Some of the records reference records on South Carolina ancestors. These records are the most comprehensive books published by the Genealogical Publishing Company (GPC) on the Old Albemarle region. The North Carolina CD is item number GPC7524. $29.99.
Another important state in the development of our mighty land is Kentucky, and FTM came to the rescue again with a fully indexed publication, CD No. 185 titled Kentucky Genealogies, 1700s-1800s. This index contains the images of the three-volume set of Genealogies of Kentucky Families, containing valuable family history articles from The Filson Club History Quarterly and The Register of Kentucky Historical Society. These contain every Bible record and genealogical fragment published in the register referencing over 51,000 individuals. It is item number GPC7185. $29.99.
Both of the above records are available from GPC at www.genealogical.com/ or by calling 800-296-6687.
GRIFFITH S VALUATION
Griffith s Valuation of Ireland goes online early next year at www.Origins.net. This most valuable primary source of information for genealogists is used as a substitute for the Irish censuses destroyed at the Public Record Office when it burned down in 1922.
HERITAGE QUEST ENDS MICROFILM RENT AL
November 1st marked the end of HeritageQuest s (HQ) microfilm rental program. They are responding to the increased demand for purchased film rather than microfilm obtained through the rental program. Film is still available for purchase. HP suggests renting film through the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Order from NARA by calling 604-3699 or visit their site on the Internet at www.archives.gov/publications/microfilm_catalogs/how_to_rent_microfilm.html#. The cost is $2.50 each for a period of 30 days. You either have to be a member or you must ask your library to order a copy for you.
Brenda Kellow, dec'd, Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Instructor, had a Bachelor s Degree in history and taught genealogy courses at the local Community College and computer genealogy at the University.
