Rhode Island Research Tips and Strategies

Rhode Island Wiki Topics

Beginning Research

Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder

Record Types

Adoption Bible Records Biography Cemeteries Census Church Records Colonial Records Correctional Institutions Court Records Crime and Punishment Directories Emigration & Immigration Genealogies Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Online Collections Periodicals Probate Records Taxation Town Records Vital Records Voter Records

Rhode Island Background

Biography Further Reading Gazetteers History Maps Migration Periodicals

Cultural Groups

African Americans Indigenous Peoples Cultural Groups Swedish American

Local Research Resources

Archives & Libraries Societies Find a FamilySearch center

United States

Rhode Island

Research Tips and Strategies

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

Rhode Island Research Strategies

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

• Rhode Island Online Genealogy Records
• How to find Rhode Island Birth Records
• How to find Rhode Island Marriage Records
• How to find Rhode Island Death Records

Rhode Island Research Tips

These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in Rhode Island.

• Birth information: State wide registration of births in Rhode Island began in 1853. Earlier birth records dating back to 1636 were kept by the towns. 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: State wide registration of deaths in Rhode Island began in 1853. Earlier death records dating back to 1636 were kept by the towns. They often will list the parents of the deceased and their birth information. Search Rhode Island 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.

[STATE] 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 [[[STATE] Record Finder]].

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

Further [STATE] Research

• Remember, for a more complete Record Finder, covering additional research needs, see [[[STATE] Record Finder]].
• For online record collections, go to [[[STATE] Online Genealogy Records|[STATE] Online Genealogy Records.]]
• For more research on [STATE], including research at the county level, visit the [[[STATE], United States Genealogy|[STATE]]] page on the Research Wiki.
• Search all of the Rhode Island record collections at FamilySearch.
  

Ralph J. Crandall. ed. Genealogical Research in New England. Baltimore,Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984. FHL 974 D27gr

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.