Uncovering Your Ancestry

FAMILYSEARCH RESEARCH: 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Main_Page

A great place to start your search. The interactive map lets you dive in to your location. The subsequent pages tell you what resources might be available in your specific town or region.

SOUTH CAROLINA archives available on line: https://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/

 Search by Persons, Places, Topics (e.g. "slavery" or "railroad), Dates, or Document types  .  

MYTH: Source citations are just for professionals.

a. Most genealogists are hobbyists, researching in their spare time to satisfy a personal desire to know their history. If you’re doing genealogy for fun and don’t plan to share your discoveries outside your family, is it really necessary to go through the tedium of citing sources used in your research?

b. The answer is yes, especially if you’re interested in knowing your family’s true story. Recording information about the sources of your genealogical conclusions is beneficial for several reasons:

c. It’ll keep you from scratching your head, trying to remember why your tree says Great-great-grandpa was born in 1852. 

d. It saves you time in trying to find a source again. Say, for example, you discover a different record that says your great-great-grandfather was born in 1855. You’ll need to re-check your sources for his birth to determine whether to go with 1852 or 1855.

e. It helps you evaluate the reliability of information you’ve gathered. A county history written long after the events it describes, for instance, is less likely to be accurate than a newspaper account written at the time of those events. 

f. Take a look at Family Search's "Cite Your Sources" : 

g. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Cite_Your_Sources_(Source_Footnotes)

Do a google search for "genealogy, old handwriting, alphabet cards german" or use whatever language you are searching for.

For example, the above search brought up this alphabet card:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/110549365841833765/

You need citations to prove your research is thorough and complete  and you didn't make things up. It adds credibility, allows someone to  retrace your steps, and will enable you to move your research from  format to format without losing track or where it came from.   

   Any information that was provided by a source that wasn't you, AKA  anything you had to look up or ask about, should by cited.   

  Genealogy typically uses some form Chicago style  citations, but this is your work so you use what works for you. The key  is to be consistent. To check your work you can have a friend use just a  citation to try and locate to source and information you're  referencing.   

  Take a look at Family Search's "Cite Your Sources" https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Cite_Your_Sources_(Source_Footnotes) 

"The 1900 census (column 18), the 1910 census (column 16), and 1920 census (column 14), and 1930 census (column 23) indicate the person's naturalization status. The answers are "Al" for alien, "Pa" for "first papers," and "Na" for naturalized.“

" From 1790 through most of the 20th century, naturalization was a two-step process for most adult men. After residing in the United States for two years, an alien could file a “declaration of intention” (“first papers”) to become a citizen."  

"The 1900 census (column 18), the 1910 census (column 16), and 1920 census (column 14), and 1930 census (column 23) indicate the person's naturalization status. The answers are "Al" for alien, "Pa" for "first papers," and "Na" for naturalized.“

" From 1790 through most of the 20th century, naturalization was a two-step process for most adult men. After residing in the United States for two years, an alien could file a “declaration of intention” (“first papers”) to become a citizen."