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Step-by-Step Alaska Research, 1850-1910



Step-by-Step Alaska Research, 1850-1910

Table of Contents
1. Contact living relatives.
2. Online census records.
3. Death records, obituary and cemetery records online.
4. Births and marriages online.
5: Look for church records online.
6. Military records online.
7. Immigration and naturalization records online.
8. Printed local histories or biographies online.
9. Wills and probate.
10. Land records online.
11. Historical or genealogical societies.
12: Use other FamilySearch tools.
13: Study the Research Wiki pages for any borough in Alaska.
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Some online records have restrictions, due to contractual agreements, allowing them to be used only at FamilySearch Centers or FamilySearch Affiliate Library. This pop-up warning has links to lists of addresses of the many affiliate libraries that are available throughout the world.

Subscription websites such as Ancestry.com, FindMyPast, and MyHeritage and many others offer complimentary service at these affiliate libraries and at most local libraries.

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Step 1: Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.

Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What are the best questions to ask?

In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :

What documents should be collected or copied?

Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.

  • Announcements of births, weddings,
    and anniversaries
  • Baby and wedding books
  • Certificates
  • Deeds, and property records
  • Family Bibles
  • Family reunion notices and records
  • Fraternal or society records
  • Insurance policies
  • Journals and diaries
  • Letters and cards
  • Licenses (business, marriage,
    fishing, driving)
  • Naturalization documents
  • Newspaper clippings and obituaries
  • Medical records
  • Military service and pension documents
  • Occupational awards
  • Passports
  • Personal histories and biographies
  • Photograph albums
  • Printed Notices and Announcements
  • Programs (graduation, award ceremonies, funerals)
  • School records
  • Scrapbooks
  • Wills and trusts


Step 2: Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.

  • A census is a count and description of the population for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day.
  • For each person living in a household (depending on the year), their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military can be listed.
  • Searching for a family in census records every ten years can identify all the children in a family.
  • Searching in earlier census records to find someone as a child can identify parents.


Example of a census record.

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Look for ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Use the clues from each census for hints where to find families in both earlier and later census records.

For more information, see Alaska Census and United States Census.

Step 3: Try to find additional details in death certificates, Social Security, obituary and cemetery records online.

When a person dies, several records will be created: death certificates, Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records.

  • Death certificates can give birth information for people born before actual birth registration began. Death certificates frequently give the birth date and place, parents' names, and birth places of parents.
  • The Social Security Death Index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits. The index entries give the person's full birth date, last known residence, and residence at the time they first enrolled.
  • The Social Security Applications and Claims Index provides information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names.
  • Cemetery records can be as simple as the information on the headstone or, in some FindAGrave records, they can report more thorough information about birth, parents, spouses, children, and siblings.

Example of a death index.
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Example of a death index entry.

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 Example of a full original death certificate.

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Example of a Social Security
Application and Claims Index Entry:

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Example of a Social Security Death Index entry:

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Example of a FindAGrave Record.

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Example of an obituary.


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Gather information from as many death related records as possible.



Death Indexes

Also, see How to Find Alaska Death Records.

Writing for Full Death Certificates

The full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).

U.S. Social Security Records

Obituaries

Cemeteries

For more information, see Alaska Obituaries and Alaska Cemeteries.

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Study any new information in these records for clues leading to more census searches.

Step 4: Search for borough birth and marriage records online.

Vital records registration of births and marriages at the state level started the 1890's but many records were never recorded until 1930. Prior to that the individual counties kept some records. The starting dates of those records vary from borough to borough, depending on when the borough was formed.

Example of an indexed borough marriage entry.

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Online Records



Records at the Borough Courthouse.

These records were originally created by borough clerks, and then copies were sent to the state. Borough clerks can be willing to help find all the birth records for one family or perform other searches that the state would not do. To contact borough clerks by e-mail or telephone, go to the Wiki article for each borough. Links to the borough Wiki articles are found at the end of this page or by clicking here: Alaska Boroughs.

For more information on birth, marriage, and death records in Alaska, see How to Find Alaska Birth Records, How to Find Alaska Marriage Records, and How to Find Alaska Death Records.

Step 5: Look for church records online.

Church records function as vital records.

  • An infant christening or baptism record documents a birth.
  • Many, if not most, people are married in a church, and then a record is created by the minister.
  • Likewise, ministers presided over funerals, then creating a burial record, which documents a death.

Church records are particularly helpful prior to the advent of civil registration.

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Search for church records that can provide additional birth, marriage, and death information.


Lutheran

Presbyterian

For help with church records kept in Alaska, see Alaska Church Records.
To search records by denomination, if you know your ancestors religion, go to Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Step 6: Search military records: World War I and II draft cards online.

There are many different types of military records: draft records, enlistment records, service records, pension records, etc. Information in military records can vary from a simple lists of name, age, and residence, to more detailed records including name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, number of dependents, pensions received, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and other information.

Example of a World War I draft card.
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Example of a World War II draft card.
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Search the World War I and World War II Draft Collections for male relatives.



For more information and additional collections, see Alaska Military Records.

Step 7: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.

The census records may show that an ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records would be the next step.


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Look for immigrant ancestors in shipping lists and citizenship sources.



Alaska Immigration Records

Cultural Groups

Passport Records Online

Alaska Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

For more information, see Alaska Emigration and Immigration and Alaska Naturalization and Citizenship.

Step 8: Search for printed local histories or biography collections online.

Local histories

  • Published histories of towns, counties, and states usually contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
  • Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed borough histories:
    • Hathi Trust Digital Library. Don't use the keywords Alaska; that will bring up too many hits. Just use the name of the borough and "borough": for example, "Hyde Borough"
    • Google Books. Use keywords "Alaska" and the borough name. Hits will list online readable books, lists of libraries that carry the book, and purchasing opportunities.
    • Family History Books
    • Internet Archive.Use keywords "Alaska" and the borough name.
    • Genealogy Book Links, Alaska. Browse list; borough histories are interspersed.
    • Ancestry.com, ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Alaska and the name of the borough.
  • Local histories are extensively collected by the FamilySearch Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies. If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch center, you can find out about local histories the library has by checking the FamilySearch Catalog. In the "place" field, type the name of your borough and select it from the drop down list, then click "Search". A list of subheadings for the borough will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, and History - Indexes.
  • Also, in Step 11, you will be contacting a borough history society. Societies often have a good selection of printed histories about the area. Some may be search history for you for a fee.

Biography Collections

  • Arctic and Northern Biographies at ExploreNorth
  • Sourdough Stampede Association (Seattle, Washington). The Alaska-Yukon Gold Book : A Roster of the Progressive Men and Women Who were the Argonauts of the Klondike Gold Stampede.... Seattle, Washington: Sourdough Stampede Association, Inc., 1930. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

For more information, see Alaska Biography.

Step 9: Search for wills and probate packets.

  • Borough probate records include probate proceedings, petitions, affidavits, orders for sales, reports of sales, administrators' and executors' bonds, guardianship papers, wills, and letters of administration.
  • In a will book, usually just a transcription of the will is recorded. But all of these other records are kept in a probate packet.
  • Administrations are probate proceedings that handled an estate if no known will existed.


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Search these indexes and images for probate records.



Probate Information in Borough Wiki Articles

Each Alaska borough Research Wiki page lists additional probate sources, including where to write for records: Alaska Boroughs

For more information, see Alaska Probate Records and United States Probate Records.

Step 10: Search land records online.

These records will give the

  • names of the buyer (grantee) and seller (grantor),
  • previous or new residence of the parties to the deed
  • the date they obtained the land,
  • the description of exact location of the land, sometimes mentioning neighbors.

They can contain clues to

  • family members who shared ownership of the land,
  • sold or gave land to a child, or
  • officially witnessed the sale.
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Search for any ancestor's land records.


Gold Rush

Step 11: Contact a local historical or genealogical society.

  • Borough or local historical or genealogical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
  • Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
  • Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the borough.
  • Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area. Posts there from relatives might lead to additional family information.
  • Find the society on the internet, where they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, one of their members can be hired to search the collections.
  • For more information, see Alaska Societies.

The online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by borough: Click on the list to select a borough, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings.

Step 12: Use other FamilySearch tools.

Historical Images

Records collected and digitized by FamilySearch can all be found through their Historical Images feature.

Alaska Online Genealogy Records

Search any other online records listed in Alaska Online Genealogy Records. The steps given here are intended to list record sources which can most efficiently identify descendants. Many other online records which might or might not mention descendants are listed in the Alaska Online Genealogy Records page, including immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, and probate records, and others. These can be records that cover a smaller group within the population, such as men who served in the military, etc.


Step 13: Study the Research Wiki pages for any borough in Alaska.

This article focused more on Alaska state or state-wide records. There is a separate Wiki article for each borough in Alaska. These articles give information, office addresses, and links to borough records.

Anchorage / Mat-Su Region

Gulf Coast Region

Interior Region

Northern Region

Southwest Region

Southeast Region

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