Virginia Lang - HERLIFE Magazine
Virginia Lang - HERLIFE Magazine Virginia Lang - HERLIFE Magazine
mother’s perspectiveTracing YourFamily TreeBy Candi SmithIt was interesting to look througha book of genealogy createdby one of my cousins. One factuncovered is that Marla Maples Trumpis my fifth cousin—she must have gottenthe skinny, blonde gene. Another tidbit isthat my family descends from ProtestantFrench Huguenots who fled France dueto religious persecution during the reignof King Louis XIV. And then there’s thefrontier woman named Missouri Ann—her name just makes me smile!Tracing your family tree can be anexciting, enlightening experience andthanks to dozens of websites, it’s noweasier than ever. One comprehensive siteto get started is provided by the Federalgovernment’s recordkeeping system—theNational Archives (NARA) (archives.gov).They suggest a few ways to get startedin your research to find out interestingthings about yourself and your family:Start with the information you knowabout yourself, your parents and yourgrandparents to begin your search. Familymembers can also provide informationabout military service, marriages, deathcertificates and other documents that willhelp. And don’t forget the details that canbe found in diaries, scrapbooks, wedding24 HERLIFEmagazine.comalbums, family Bibles and letters. Whilethese may not be considered “official”documents, they all contain pieces ofvaluable data.At a minimum, gather as manynames, dates of birth and death, placesof birth (including state, city and county),dates of marriage(s) and divorce(s),and dates/places of military service aspossible.Continue your search undernon-Federal resources such as localcourthouses where you can find wills,court records and deeds. They canhelp fill in the details that are of a lesspersonal nature.Move on to the database of informationhoused at NARA. In starting yoursearch of Federal documents, try to viewyour family tree from the perspective ofhow a person would have interacted withthe Federal government. Did they servein the military? Did they emigrate fromanother country and undergo naturalization?Begin with census records to buildthe basis of your family tree. The censushas been taken every 10 years since1790. Unfortunately, prior to 1840, onlyinformation on the head of householdwas provided (usually the man of thehouse). Beginning in 1850, all individualsof a household are now included.There are two repositories formilitary service records—the National ArchivesBuilding in Washington, D.C. (forRevolutionary War through 1912) andthe National Military Personnel RecordsCenter (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri, forWorld War I through the present date.Information you’ll be able to find at theseplaces include your ancestor’s branchTracing your family tree can bean exciting, enlightening experienceand thanks to dozens of websites,it’s now easier than ever.of service, dates and places of conflictsserved, whether active or volunteer,whether officer or enlisted, and whethera pension application was made.One very important aspect ofresearch involves immigration data.Most of our families came to the U.S.from another country, and many of thoseimmigrations occurred within the past100 years.Immigration records, also knownas ‘ship passenger arrival records,’ mayprovide you with interesting personalinformation about your ancestors. Inaddition to their ship and date of entry,you may learn of other details, such as
their nationality, place of birth, age, height, eye and hair color,profession, place of last residence, names and addresses ofrelatives in the U.S., and amount of money they were carryingwith them. NARA has immigration records for arrivals to theUnited States from foreign ports between approximately 1820and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival. Indexesare available for most of the ports, with the exception of NewYork between 1847-1896.Likewise, when it came time for an immigrant to becomea U.S. citizen, they underwent a process known as naturalization.These records provide a person’s birth date/location,occupation, year of immigration, and marital status andspouse information. Naturalization records are held at NARAfor Federal courts. Prior to 1906, any municipal, county, state,or Federal court could grant U.S. citizenship, so contact therelevant state archives for further research of these documents.Unbelievably, there are over 10 million individual land transactionshoused in the custody of NARA! Those of most interest togenealogists are the land entry case files which document thetransfer of public lands from the U.S. Government to privateownership. These case files cover land entries in all 30 publicland states. For land records in the remaining 20 states thatwere never part of the original public domain, check the statearchives for that particular state.Using the powerful tool that NARA provides you with theirwebsite, you should be able to find many unusual and interestingfacts about your family. If any of you have a Missouri Annon one of your branches, look me up because we’re probablycousins! TIMHERLIFEmagazine.com 25
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their nationality, place of birth, age, height, eye and hair color,profession, place of last residence, names and addresses ofrelatives in the U.S., and amount of money they were carryingwith them. NARA has immigration records for arrivals to theUnited States from foreign ports between approximately 1820and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival. Indexesare available for most of the ports, with the exception of NewYork between 1847-1896.Likewise, when it came time for an immigrant to becomea U.S. citizen, they underwent a process known as naturalization.These records provide a person’s birth date/location,occupation, year of immigration, and marital status andspouse information. Naturalization records are held at NARAfor Federal courts. Prior to 1906, any municipal, county, state,or Federal court could grant U.S. citizenship, so contact therelevant state archives for further research of these documents.Unbelievably, there are over 10 million individual land transactionshoused in the custody of NARA! Those of most interest togenealogists are the land entry case files which document thetransfer of public lands from the U.S. Government to privateownership. These case files cover land entries in all 30 publicland states. For land records in the remaining 20 states thatwere never part of the original public domain, check the statearchives for that particular state.Using the powerful tool that NARA provides you with theirwebsite, you should be able to find many unusual and interestingfacts about your family. If any of you have a Missouri Annon one of your branches, look me up because we’re probablycousins! TIM<strong>HERLIFE</strong>magazine.com 25
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