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Our group meeting on April 25th covered a lot of material in an hour and half. Some of our members have gone north for the summer, but we were fortunate to have a few new people join us for the first time today.
Getting "stuck" in genealogy research is a common occurrence that we're all too familiar with. There are many reasons why people have trouble finding records for their ancestors, and our discussion revolved around two of them - (1) county and state boundary changes and (2) records that are not yet online.
We watched an informative video (link listed below) on how this has happened and why it is important to us as family historians. We also explored some websites that help determine the county changes over time, as well a book we have available on Wednesdays (from 10 to 2) in the library.
Since there are far more records than what appears on line, we had a demonstration on how to search the LDS website (familysearch.org) for microfilmed records that can be ordered and viewed at the Leesburg Library.
Lastly, we had a short presentation by Michael Ondrasik of Home Video Studio in Mount Dora. He spoke about the services he offers regarding transfering movies, slides and photos to DVD (and the options available regarding these), old photo enhancement and videotaped interviews with family members. It was very informative as to what he can do to preserve these past memories and create some new ones.
Read on to learn more about State & County Boundary Changes (Click on the link in the upper right hand corner for a printable version of this handout).
Have your ancestors disappeared?
It may not be because they moved. In the past, state and county
boundaries changed many times before becoming permanent. Your ancestor may have
lived in the same house for many years, yet lived in different states and several
counties during that time period. Initially, the counties were quite large, and
as the population grew they were divided – sometimes several times – into
smaller counties.
Why is this important to my genealogy
research?
#1 – When a new county was formed, the records from the old
counties did not move there. In
order to find vital records (land, court, marriage, birth, death, census, etc.)
you will need to search multiple county records to find what you’re looking
for.
#2 – If you can’t find your ancestors on a census but are
sure they stayed in the same place, it’s most likely due to a county boundary
change.
NOTE – It was often easier for people to go to a courthouse
in another county if it were closer. You may need to check the records in 2 or
more counties when researching.
Where can I find out about the county
boundary changes?
Some of the more popular sources for tracking boundary
changes are:
#1 – The FamilySearch History Research Wiki for more information on boundary changes.
#2 – The NewberryLibrary’s Atlas of Historical County Boundaries compiles all boundary
changes chronologically and geographically
(interactive map and PDF downloadable file).
#3 – Historical U.S.County Boundary Maps (Randy Majors Maps) utilizes the Newberry’s Atlas data
and lets you look up the boundaries of a specific place as of an exact date in
time, overlaid on a present-day Google map.
#4 – Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County and TownResources. Scroll down to locate a state (click on it). Locate the “county
resources in the right sidebar column (click on it) for boundary changes.
History and other resources are available on this site.
#5 – The Mount Dora Genealogy Group has a reference book covering
all 50 states available in the library on Wednesdays from 10 to 2 or at any of
our monthly meetings.
#6 – Why You Can’t Find Your Ancestors in that County:Boundary Changes Video by Amy Johnson Crow.
Update: One of our members, Darryl Getman, sent the link to this article regarding our topic discussion today. Click here to read the article on Using Maps in Genealogy. "This data base contains 2 million entries,including the names of places that no longer exist, as well as variant names for existing places."
Another member, Frank Ford, sent a link to Historic Map Works. Enter a town and state into the "Search" box at the top of the website to find a listing of maps for different time periods. The best part is that some of the older maps actually have family names and locations where they're lived on them.
Frank also provided 2 websites for topographic maps which are good because the often refer to geographic areas no longer on current maps. Ones that may be mentioned in old census records, wills, probate papers, etc. The 2 websites are: USGS and U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Update: One of our members, Darryl Getman, sent the link to this article regarding our topic discussion today. Click here to read the article on Using Maps in Genealogy. "This data base contains 2 million entries,including the names of places that no longer exist, as well as variant names for existing places."
Another member, Frank Ford, sent a link to Historic Map Works. Enter a town and state into the "Search" box at the top of the website to find a listing of maps for different time periods. The best part is that some of the older maps actually have family names and locations where they're lived on them.
Frank also provided 2 websites for topographic maps which are good because the often refer to geographic areas no longer on current maps. Ones that may be mentioned in old census records, wills, probate papers, etc. The 2 websites are: USGS and U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Create a timeline of changes
Creating a timeline of the county changes is one of the most
beneficial steps you can take. It won’t take long using one of the sources
listed above, and it will keep you focused and organized.
Sample timeline:
1821 – St. Johns County, St. Augustine
1824 - Orange County
1887 – Lake County
Other Changes that create problems
Changes in street names and house numbers also may create a
problem in locating your ancestors. Many cities standardized their street names
and their numbering system in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Main
thoroughfares have taken on a more popular name or have been renamed to honor
national or local heroes. The implementation of the 911 System necessitated
changing many house numbers from 3 digits to 4 or more. Streets or entire
neighborhoods have been replaced by interstates or other highway projects.
Check with a local library, genealogical society and city
directories for a guide to local street name changes.
Create a personalized map of your
ancestors’ homes and events
At Ancestral Atlas you can create a
personalized map that pinpoints the locations of your ancestors’ homes. This
site is free but requires you to register (no credit card details required) and
establish an account. You can make your map open to the public or private for
your own use.
With Ancestral Atlas
you can:
- Attach your
own family history to the map on the location where the event took place,
and share it with everyone else, or keep it private.
- Find out who
else has family events in the same area by browsing the map and
collaborate with them in a secure environment.
- Build your
own "Ancestral Atlas" and visualize your family history.
©2017 Mount Dora Genealogy Group
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