Connecticut Research Tips and Strategies

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Beginning Research

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Connecticut

Research Tips and Strategies

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

Connecticut Research Strategies

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

Finding Connecticut Birth, Marriage or Death Records

• Finding Connecticut Births, Marriages, and Deaths using Guided Research

Finding Connecticut Records

• Connecticut Record Finder

Connecticut Statewide Databases

• Connecticut Online Genealogy Records

Connecticut Research Process

• Step-by-Step Connecticut Research, 1880-Present
• Step-by-Step Connecticut Research, 1850-1910
• Connecticut Descendancy Research
• How to Find Birth Records
• How to Find Marriage Records
• How to Find Death Records

Connecticut Research Tips

These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in Connecticut:

Birth and Death information:

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• Statewide registration: Birth and Death records in Connecticut on the state level start in 1897 and was generally complied with by 1915.
• Town Records: Town records included information about birth, marriage, and death before state registration in 1897. Town records can start as early as the 1630s or when the town was established.
• Access to records: See Connecticut Vital Records for more information about birth, marriages, and deaths in Connecticut.

Substitute Records:

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• Secondary source: Substitute records are used when primary sources do not exist for an event, such as birth, marriage, and deaths. Secondary sources list information about the event but they were not recorded at the time of the event and they are not an official record of the event.
• Accuracy: Because the information about an event in substitute records was not the official recording of the event (such as, cemetery or obituary records) inaccuracy may occur. Use other substitute records to help verify information.
• List of substitute records: See Connecticut Substitute Records for more information.

Finding Parents:

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• Death records: Early death records may contain parents of the deceased. However, state recorded deaths required birth and parent information. Information was not always provided and the accuracy of the information was limited by the grieving relatives' memory.
• Obituaries: Official obituaries can also include the names of parents and other family members. See Connecticut Newspapers and Connecticut Obituaries for more information.
• Church records: Knowing the denominiation of the church the family belonged to helps in locating information about the parents. See Connecticut Church Records for more information.

Census Records:

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• Check all census years: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census to learn more about them and their family members. See Connecticut Census Records for more information.
• Clues to other records: There are clues in censuses regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records.
• Finding families: Starting in 1850, all members of the household were listed in the census. By 1880, relationship to the head of household was added.

Further Connecticut Research

• Connecticut Family History Library Research Outline
• CTGenWeb - Connecticut GenWeb Project
• Cyndi's List - Connecticut genealogy websites
• Connecticut Genealogy Trails - collection of transcribed data for the state of Connecticut
• Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness - State of Connecticut Records Guide