Search strategies

A genealogist asked me: “I am searching for my Junot family in Louisiana. With over 700 million records – what is the best way to effectively search GenealogyBank for my ancestors?”

Example One
One approach is to search for the surname and the state where the family is from.
My friend began her search by typing: Junot in the surname search box and adding: Louisiana to the “Keyword” search term box.

This approach worked for her – but remember that by putting “Louisiana” in as a search term – the computer will require that both the words “Juont” and “Louisiana” appeared in the text of the original newspaper article.

This approach gave her 490 search results.

Example Two A slightly different approach would be to put: Junot and Louisiana in the “Keyword” search terms box and leave all other fields blank.
This is an effective search – but again it requires that the whole word “Louisiana” also appeared in the article.

Example Three

This is the approach that usually generates the most success.

Begin your search by clicking on the Historical Newspapers section
Then limit your search to only Louisiana newspapers
Then type: Junot in the surname search box. This approach generated 925 hits.

Example Four

Search the “Modern Obituaries” the same way
1. Click on the “Modern Obituaries” section
2. Type in: Junot in the surname search box

3. Then limit your search to only Louisiana newspapers by selecting that stateThere are multiple ways to find your ancestors.

Largest Genealogy in the World to be Presented to Library of Congress

The 80 volume family history of Confucius – spanning 83 generations – will be presented to the Library of Congress in special ceremonies in September.

The event will be a ceremony marking a special donation to the Library of Congress of the Confucian genealogy. Ling-He Kung, a 76th-generation descendant of the revered Chinese philosopher, will donate an 80-volume set that documents Confucius’s family tree. Published by the Beijing-based Culture and Literature Publishing House, the volumes record 83 generations (more than 2 million people) descended from Confucius. It is believed to be the biggest family tree in the world.

Born in 551 B.C. in Qufu in eastern China’s Shandong Province, Confucius was a great teacher and thinker whose theories were the orthodox ideology in China for more than 2,000 years.

This genealogical event will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 in the Asian Reading Room, located in room 150 of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, DC.

Get the front page of the day you were born or any day in history!

Looking to decorate your den?

Use GenealogyBank to identify, save and print the front page or any article from newspapers published in the past 300+ years.

Choose the front page of the day your Dad was born or any historic day from the past.

It is easy with GenealogyBank to save, print and frame that day’s events.

Make history come alive
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Edwardsville Spectator Illinois Newspaper Archives (1819-1826)

Edwardsville Spectator Illinois Newspaper Archives (1819-1826) - live on GenealogyBank.

A good source for early Illinois obituaries! GenealogyBank is your best source for early American genealogical research – search thousands of early U.S. newspapers.

TIP: With so few records surviving from the 18th and 19th Century – these historical newspapers are often your only source for finding out where your ancestors were born or where they died.
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Breaking News: 200 million census, death records go online

The Family History Library announced today that another 200 million genealogical records have been put online. This pushes their website to over 700 million records online. FamilySearch.org is now the largest international genealogy collection online.

The Family History Library is “focusing on digitizing and publishing online federal and state censuses and state birth, marriage and death records.”

Today’s release included:
TN Death Records 1914-1955
OH Tax Records 1800-1850
IL Death Records 1916-1947
and more collections from around the world.

Click Here to see the complete list of resources

The latest deluge of records includes 53 new or updated collections from the United States and over 100 million new records from Europe, Scandinavia and Mexico. The United States collections include the 1910 U.S. Census and states’ birth, marriage and death records. There are 10 million new records from New Jersey and Michigan, 4 million from Tennessee, an amazing 41 million from Massachusetts, and many more from other states.

TIP: FamilySearch is your best source for free census and vital records. Original digital records – all free.

“Some time ago, FamilySearch committed to creating access to the world’s genealogical records online in a big way. Today’s updates are part of an ongoing effort to make good on those commitments,” said Paul Nauta, FamilySearch public affairs manager. “We have only just begun,” Nauta concluded. In the U.S., FamilySearch is currently focusing on digitizing and publishing online federal and state censuses and state birth, marriage and death records. When complete, the initiative will provide a definitive collection of U.S. genealogical resources for family history researchers.

In addition to the new U.S. collections, over 100 million records were added to FamilySearch’s international collections online — making it most likely the largest international genealogy collection online. The new international databases come from birth, marriage and death records and from municipal records. Go to FamilySearch.org, then click Search Records and then Record Search pilot to see a full list of the free collections. The records will also soon be available at beta.familysearch.org.
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Finding Your “Roots” at Alex Haley Museum Opening

Alex Haley home dedicated as a genealogy library and museum.

When 17-year-old violinist Joseph Matthews performed at the dedication of the Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center, he had no idea he would discover his family roots. Joseph, a high school senior from Memphis, Tennessee, was among hundreds who participated in two days of festivities at the Interpretive Center located behind Mr. Haley’s boyhood home in Henning, Tennessee. The center was dedicated on Friday, 13 August, 2010.

Mr. Haley, who passed away in 1992, received a Pulitzer Prize for his 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The book tells of his ancestors being sold into slavery in West Africa and their migration from North Carolina to Tennessee. The following year a TV series of Roots, described as “eight straight days of the Super Bowl,” aired and remains the highest rated TV miniseries in television history. Among the significant impact of Roots was a surge in interest throughout the world in family history research.

TIP: Search the Largest Collection of African American newspapers is in GenealogyBank.

Inside the museum Joseph and his family visited a FamilySearch center sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through the free online program FamilySearch.org, Joseph explored his ancestral lines. “Basically we were able to type in my grandmother’s mother’s and father’s name, and from there we searched their records and we were able to find information about their parents as well as their siblings, birthdates, wedding dates, things of that nature,” said Matthews. “We made a couple of steps to where we can make some pretty good discoveries in the future as to our family lineage. We’re going to find out a lot more about our family and where we came from.”

According to Art Johnson, FamilySearch area manager, the placement of the FamilySearch center within the Alex Haley Museum is a perfect fit, “I think it’s a great opportunity to simply share the message of family history and genealogy to individuals that come in and commemorate the accomplishments and successes of Mr. Haley’s life. It’s an opportunity to simply bring people in and help them understand their heritage the way that Mr. Haley did.”
William Haley, Alex’s son, said that resources available through
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are very valuable in searching African-American ancestry. “I always send them to the LDS Church. I say, ‘Well find an LDS Church with a history portion and go in there and they will help you find out who you are and it doesn’t matter what country or anything, they will help you.’ Folks are very surprised at that, but it’s true.”

This is one of several related projects supported by the Church. In 2001, FamilySearch released the Freedman’s Bank records on CD, a unique searchable database documenting several generations of African-Americans immediately following the Civil War. In 2006, FamilySearch participated in the
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society’s (AAHGS) national conference in Salt Lake City. An African-American family history conference is held in Salt Lake City each year.

The Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center and FamilySearch center are located in Henning, Tennessee, about 45 miles northeast of Memphis.

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Chicago Times (Chicago, IL) Newspaper Archives (1854-1888)

GenealogyBank adds more newspapers every day!

Search them now

Chicago Times (Chicago, Illinois) Newspaper Archives (1854-1888) To be precise: we have 87 issues digitized – that’s 410 pages …. from the years: 1854, 1855, 1856, 1859, 1864, 1879, 1884, 1885, and 1888. We’ll keep working on the rest and as we can we’ll fill in the gaps and put up the rest.