Idaho Research Tips and Strategies

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Research Tips and Strategies

Purpose of Research Tips and Strategies Wiki Page
The Idaho Research Tips and Strategies page consists of links to specific research strategies for Idaho. It also contains general tips and other resources for finding your ancestors in this locality.

Idaho Research Strategies

Below are links to different research strategy pages to help you locate your ancestors in Idaho

Idaho Research Tips

These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in Idaho.

Birth information: Idaho statewide registration of births began in 1911 with general compliance by the 1920s. A helpful substitute record to find birth information is a death record. However, date and place of birth on a death record is considered secondary information, as it was not recorded at the time of the birth event. The birth information should be corroborated with other substitute records to improve accuracy.
Finding Parents: In 1911 the state of Idaho began requiring statewide registration of deaths. Previous to this time the counties were required to keep records from 1907 to 1911. They often will list the parents of the deceased and their birth information. Search Idaho death records
Look in all censuses: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census. There are clues regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records. Sometimes parents can be found living with their children later in life. Search U.S. Censuses.

Idaho Record Finder

This brief Record Finder is designed to help you determine the best record to search for the type of information you are looking for. It is most helpful for post-1850 research. For a more complete Record Finder, covering additional research needs, see Idaho Record Finder.

1. What you are looking for:	2. Try these records first:	3. Other useful records
Birth information	Birth records Death records Obituaries Church records	Cemeteries Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) Bible records Military records
Marriage information	Marriage records Obituaries Bible records	Church records Probate records Military records
Death information	Death Records Cemeteries Obituaries	Probate Records Church Records Bible Records
Parents	Birth records Death records Obituaries Census Church records	Biography Genealogy
Maiden name	Marriage Records Obituaries Probate records	Church Records Military Records
Immigration date	Emigration and Immigration Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) Census	Obituaries Biography History
Naturalization	Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) Census Court Records	Voting Records Biography Periodicals
Physical description	Military Records Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) (after 1906)	Biography History

Further Idaho Research

Remember, for a more complete Record Finder, covering additional research needs, see Idaho Record Finder.
For online record collections, go to Idaho Online Genealogy Records.
For more research on Idaho, including research at the county level, visit the Idaho page on the Research Wiki.
Search all of the Idaho record collections at FamilySearch.