Internet Genealogy: February 2009

Sunday, February 22, 2009

FamilySearch Record Search updated

Familysearch added over 6 million new indexed records and 1.4 million new images since January 5, 2009, to its Record Search pilot.

Many thanks to the thousands of online FamilySearch Indexing volunteers who helped make these wonderful records available. The new records can be searched for free at www.FamilySearch.org (Click Search Records, then Record Search pilot).

Record Search visitors might also notice the following changes to the pilot site after the latest update.
1. Region map flyover now lists the number of collections in a region
2. Rotate an image clockwise or counterclockwise in the viewer
3. New full screen view in the image viewer
4. Search form now displays the collection being searched
5. Image navigation- moved previous, next & go to buttons to the bottom of the page
6. Collection list page is now a single column
7. Image only collections are identified
8. Changes to print selected area

Connecticut Resources Online

Contributed by Grant Smith

Connecticut Birth, Marriage and Death Records
Births, marriages, civil unions and deaths since July 1, 1897 – Connecticut Dept. of Public Health
http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/

For information on vital records prior to July 1, 1897, you must contact the town where the vital event occurred. Following is the web site that provides the contact list for Connecticut Town and City clerks.
http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/hisr/PDF/CT_TownCityClerks.pdf
Some towns in Connecticut are part of a larger community. For example, the town of Willimantic is a part of the larger community of Windham, CT. The following web site provides an Excel spreadsheet that contains the names of towns and the larger community to which they belong.
http://www.ct.gov/ecd/cwp/

Connecticut State Library (history and genealogy unit)
http://www.cslib.org/handg.htm
http://www.cslib.org/vitals.htm

Connecticut City and Town websites
http://www.ct.gov/ctportal/
Click on the Government link in the left column then click on City and Town websites

Connecticut Death Indexes
http://www.deathindexes.com/connecticut
Connecticut Obituaries
http://www.obitlinkspage.com/obit/ct.htm
http://www.gendir.com/connecticut_obituaries_g.html

Connecticut Land Records
http://www.land-records.com/land-records/connecticut-land-records.htm
http://www.cslib.org/landrec.htm

Connecticut Military Records
Revolutionary War
http://www.cslib.org/revwar.htm
Civil War
http://www.chs.org/kcwmp/

Connecticut Census Records
http://www.ancestry.com
http://www.heritagequest.com
http://www.researchguides.net/census/state

Connecticut Historical Society
http://www.chs.org/library/
Connecticut Historical Society Genealogy collections
http://www.chs.org/library/geneal.htm
University of Connecticut Genealogy guides
http://www.lib.uconn.edu/research/guides/genealogy.pdf
Colonial Connecticut Records
http://www.lib.uconn.edu
Database name: Colonial Connecticut Records

Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc.
http://www.csginc.org
The Connecticut Nutmegger database
http://www.NewEnglandAncestors.org
Once you have reached this web site, you must login using your subscription to the New England Historic Genealogical Society in order to access this database. After you have logged in, select Databases. Then select the letter “T” from the Alphabetical list. Then search the list of databases for “The Connecticut Nutmegger.” Click on “The Connecticut Nutmegger” and you will be able to search for a Person or Place.

http://www.ctgenweb.org
National Archives and Records Administration
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html

Thursday, February 19, 2009

State Land States

Arkansas Land Records

Kentucky Land Office - Searchable Databases and Related Articles

Jackson Purchase, Kentucky Land Patents, Revolutionary War Warrants

Maryland State Archives Land Records

Massachusettes Registry of Deeds

Pennsylvania Original Land Records

Texas General Land Office

Virginia - Land Office Grants

Land Records at Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com - Land Records
Searchable indexes; database results and some digitized images available with fee-based subscription.

Federal Land Records – Public Land States

Federal Land Patent Search at BLM GLO

This site offers researchers a source of information on the initial transfer of land titles from the Federal government to individuals.

Footnote.com - Homestead Records - Nebraska
Land Entry Case Files of the Broken Bow Land Office, Broken Bow, NE: Homestead Final Certificates, 1890-1908.

Missouri Land Patents: 1831-1969

Ohio Company Land Grants, 1793
A list of the Ohio Company land grants of 1793, taken from The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company.

Wisconsin Land Records -- Interactive Search

Understanding Land Records

State land states - where the state made the land grants: Thirteen original states, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia.

Public land states - where the federal government made the land grants:The other 30 states.

Legal Land Descriptions in the USA

Graphical Display of the Federal Township and Range System

A detailed example of finding a tract

Metes and Bounds Surveys

Example of Indiscriminate Metes and Bounds

Rectangular Survey System From the GLO website

Geo-communicator Interactive Maps

Retracing the Trails of Your Ancestors Using Deed Records

An excellent article on land records by William Dollarhide, From the GENEALOGY BULLETIN, Issue No. 25, Jan-Feb 1995.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

U.S. Census Records Online

Here is a table of where to find U.S. Federal census records online. Note that Ancestry.com and Record Search have every name indexes, where some of the Heritage Quest indexes list the head of household only.