52 Weeks to Better Genealogy - Week #2

Amy Coffin at the We Tree blog is challenging bloggers to become better genealogists, with a new prompt each week through her 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy:

Go to your local public library branch again. Examine the local history, archives and/or special collections section. Ask a librarian if you don’t know if your library has special collections or where they are located. Be sure to check the reference section, too, as many of the newer and more valuable books are held in that area. If you have a genealogy blog, write about what you find in your library’s local history and special collections.


Slightly late, but better than never;-)


At the Onondaga County Public Library Central Branch, the Local History/Genealogy room is amazing.  It is on the 6th floor and contains a tremendously large amount of books and microfims.  Some of the items I have used in the past or need to check out that are useful to my searching are:

	Marriages from Buffalo church records 1825-1900, volume 1 : transcribed from microfilm of English-speaking Protestant church records and compared with marriage license records in Erie County Hall
	by Zintz, June P. (June Partridge) Index of marriages from Buffalo newspapers, 1811-1884 : from a file in the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, supplemented with additional information from Erie County Hall by Zintz, June P. (June Partridge) 20 years worth of Buffalo City Directories on microfilm A catalogue of books, pamphlets, engravings, etc., relating largely to Niagara Falls by Porter, Peter A. (Peter Augustus), 1853-1925. The cradle of the queen city: a history of Buffalo to the incorporation of the city by Bingham, Robert W. (Robert Warwick), b. 1880.

Buffalo, NY Local History File being Digitized

The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is digitizing its Local history File and putting it on Flickr.  According to the website, "The Local History File is the Library’s most comprehensive resource for Buffalo research. It is an index to select Buffalo newspaper articles. References to books, vertical file materials, scrapbooks, and magazines are also included. 

The Local History File covers Buffalo and Erie County people, places, things, and history. It was started in 1936 as a WPA project and now includes about 300,000 entries on over 100,000 index cards. Most citations date from 1930-1982, but some go back as far as the 1890s and as recent as this year.

Repository: 
Grosvenor Room, Central Library, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203-1887. www.buffalolib.org"

They currently have 60 state hospital cards, which are fully searchable.  As they add files, this will be a boon to genealogists with family from Western New York who are unable to travel to the library.

Volunteerism in the Genealogical World

Up until I went back to school in August, my favorite way to volunteer in the genealogy world was through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.  I began by going to cemeteries to take photographs of tombstones (or grave sites if there wasn't a headstone) for people.  This became a "date" day, once or twice a month, for my fiancé and I, where we would drive around Onondaga county and see who could find the most tombstones, walking up and down the rows in the cemeteries (see why he's a keeper?!?).  Eventually it progressed to my doing searches at the library, mostly for city directories and obituaries, and at the courthouse, where I never had much luck unfortunately.

I also volunteer for FamilySearch Indexing, mainly for the 1892 New York census.  I did not do nearly as many names as I had hoped, but I like knowing I was part of the group that got this project finished.  Just today I received an email from the president of the Western New York genealogy society, to which I belong, asking if I would be willing to to help transcribe or proof read the 1865 New York census, which they are putting online.  I jumped at the chance to be part of this project, as state census' are a tremendously helpful, but often overlooked, resource.  I am also excited to become an active member of the society, despite living too far away to make meetings.

I have received three main things from volunteering in the genealogy world.  First, I learnt about new resources and practiced finding them.  Prior to volunteering with RAOGK, I had no idea how useful city directories were.  This has helped in my research tremendously.  Second, I have gotten a lot of practice in deciphering handwriting.  Although I am still much better at seeing a name I am looking for in a document compared to transcribing unfamiliar handwriting, I will learn this skill and I will learn it much faster than if I just practiced with my ancestors handwriting.  Third, I have discovered a possible career.  I realized how much I love genealogy, not just researching my family, but other families as well.  This has lead me to get my masters degree in library science with the goal of working in a genealogy and local history library.  Eventually, I would like to become a certified genealogist and help people with their search that way, but it will be a few years before I get to that level.

I highly recommend volunteering in whatever capacity you are able.  It helps improve your research skills, introduces you to new people and record groups and builds up good genealogy karma, which will hopefully lead to more genealogy happy dances!

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy - Week #1

Amy Coffin at the We Tree blog is challenging bloggers to become better genealogists, with a new prompt each week through her 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy:


Week 1 is: Go to your local public library branch. Make a note of the genealogy books in the collection that may help you gain research knowledge. Don’t forget to check the shelves in both the non-fiction section and the reference section. If you do not already have a library card, take the time to get one. If you have a genealogy blog, write about what you find in your library’s genealogy collection.



As my library is part of a large county library system, I went to their website and started searching for genealogy books that I have not yet read.  I have requested the following, which will be delivered over the next few weeks as they become available:


Finding your Italian Ancestors: A Beginners Guide by Suzanne Russo Adams: I have a long list of microfilms to order from the FHC for my Italian ancestors.  This book will hopefully help me see where to take the search beyond the FHC.


In Search of your German Roots: A Complete Guide to Tracing your Ancestors in the Germanic Areas of Europe by Angus Baxter: One of my goals this year is to trace my German ancestry further, this book is highly rated to help me do just that.


Tracing your Pauper Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians by Robert Burlison: This guide is for tracing your English ancestors who were affected by poverty.  As I have found some living in workhouses, this book will be very useful for finding additional records on them.


Genealogy by George G. Morgan: It's by George C. Morgan, how can I not read this?


Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing your Family History by Megan Smolenyak: See above title, just replace author name:-)


Finding Anyone, Anywhere, Anywhen by Noel Montgomery Elliot: This should be useful in my goal to find living relatives this year.


Social Networking for Genealogists by Drew Smith: I have wanted to read this since it came out and my library has just recently bought it.


Google your Family Tree: Unlocking the Hidden Power of Google by Daniel M. Lynch: I need some assistance in setting up Google alerts for my ancestors.


The Oxford Guide to Library Research by Thomas Mann: There is a chapter in here on genealogy.  It should also be helpful for my current schooling.