Step-by-Step Idaho Research, 1880-Present
Idaho 
Step-by-step research 1911--present
- A suggested approach to genealogy research in Idaho family history records.
Research 1911--to the present Table of Contents |
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| What sets this era in Idaho genealogy apart from earlier time periods are the advent of civil registration (state birth, marriage, and death certificates) and the possibility that you have older living relatives who can provide memories and family records. In addition, U. S. census records (occurred every 10 years--1910-1940), Social Security collections, obituary and cemetery records make it possible to find a lot of genealogical information in just a few rich record types. |
See also, How to use "record hints".[edit | edit source]
Step 1. Find out everything you can from living relatives and their family records:[edit | edit source]
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues you can gather from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.
What should you ask?[edit | edit source]
In order to extend your research on your ancestors, you are looking for names, dates, and places. Everything you learn that tells you about when and where a relative lived is a clue to a new record search. Be sure to ask questions that lead to that information, including about their occupations, military service, or associations with others, such as fraternal organizations. See also:
- Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews What to Ask the Relatives
- Genealogy: 150 questions to ask family members about their lives
- Creating Oral Histories
What documents should you look for and ask to copy?[edit | edit source]
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Using the clues to lead to census record searches.[edit | edit source]
Here are three documents you might find in a home search: a graduation certificate, a report card, and an obituary clipped from a newspaper.
1. In the graduation certificate, we see that Ruth Kynaston graduated in Bancroft, Bannock, Idaho, in 1937. If we assume that she was 18 years old when she graduated, she would have been born in about 1918-9. We can search for her in the 1930 census of Idaho. Then we can follow up in 1920. Click on the blue links. You will see her with parents, John and Stella Kynaston. We can look for them 1910 and even 1900.
2. In the newspaper obituary, we learn that Lawrence Lemmon was born in 1914 in Idaho. We should look for him in 1920, 1930, and 1940. We can also try to find his family in 1910 before his birth.
3. From the report card, we know David Savage attended the 8th grade in Jefferson County, Idaho, in 1947-48. He would be 13-14 years old, so he was born in about 1934. We will look for him in Jefferson County in the 1940 census, and follow up on his family in 1930.
- Click on the links to see how these searches turned out. Notice the new information. Later, these clues will help us find them in more records.
Step 2. Find your ancestors in every possible census record, 1910-1940, online.[edit | edit source]
A census is a count and description of the population of a country, state, county, or city for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day. For each person living in a household you might find (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.
To learn more about census records, including search strategies, see United States Census Records for Beginners.
Look at the samples of census records below. You should find your family members in every possible census, using these convenient links:
United States census records[edit | edit source]
- Here is a sample of a 1910 United States census record. You can see all the different information you can glean from this record once you find your family in the census. File:1910 United States Census.jpg1910 United States Census.jpg
- You will want to find and keep notes on census records from every census during each ancestor's lifetime. For example, if your ancestor was born in 1897 and died in 1945, you will want to find them in the 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses.
- With the census records, you will then be able to estimate approximate birth dates and marriage dates. These records will lead you to new searches because you will find the names of other members of the family. You will find clues to other states and countries your family lived in before coming to Idaho.
- You can use what you learned from the census records to help you search for birth, marriage, and death records. Possibly the clues you find in the certificates will lead you back to the census records again for new names of family members.
Using the census clues to lead to a birth certificate.[edit | edit source]
1. Now that the census records have revealed the names of Ruth Kynaston's nine siblings, we can search for their birth records. If we find one of them, it will verify the maiden name of their mother, enabling us to look for her parents. In the samples below, you will see an index entry for Ruth's sister, Lola, showing that their mother was Stella Phillips. We can go back to earlier census records now to find Stella living with her own parents and then extend the pedigree.
2. Lawrence Lemmon married in 1937. Even though we cannot find his children in census records, since the 1950 and 1960 census records are not published yet, we can look for them in indexed birth records of Idaho.
3. David Savage was the child of Nephi and Marion Savage, who had four children starting in about 1926. We can search for birth records of these and other possible children.
Using the census clues to lead to a death certificate.[edit | edit source]
By searching the death record indexes we found these death records,
- Wallace Alva Kynaston, which again verifies that John Kynaston's wife was Stella Phillips.
- Russell Lemmon, half-brother of Lawrence Lemmon, giving the full name of his step-mother, Rose Violet Russell.
- Mary Ella Parker Lemmon, Richard's first wife, and mother of Lawrence Lemmon. Her maiden name was Mary Ella Parker, and now we can search earlier census records for her with her parents.
Using the census clues to lead to a marriage certificate.[edit | edit source]
We will want to look for marriage records for the three sets of parents: John and Stella Kynaston. Richard and Mary Lemmon, and Nephi and Marion Savage. Click on the blue link to see that this marriage record revealed that Nephi's full name was Nephi Waldo Savage and Marion's maiden name was Jaynes.
Step 3: Find online birth, marriage, and death certificates for your ancestors and their children.[edit | edit source]
States, counties, or even towns in some states recorded births, marriages, and deaths. You have probably seen these types of certificates and have your own. In addition to the child's name, birth date, and place of birth, a birth certificate may give the birthplaces of the parents, their ages, and occupations. A death certificate may give the person's birth date and place, parents' names and birthplaces, and spouse's name.
Studying what you have found:[edit | edit source]
- Review what you have found to see if there is missing information that could be found in a birth, marriage, or death certificate for your ancestors and their children.
- If you are missing the names of parents, find a person's death certificate. It may contain the names of the deceased's parents, which would extend your pedigree back one more generation.
- If you find a child listed in a census record, try to find their actual birth certificate to learn their full birth date.
- If a married couple is shown in the census records and you need the wife's maiden name, search for their marriage record or her death record. The mother's maiden name should also be given in her children's birth certificates.
Obtaining the certificates[edit | edit source]
- There are basically two ways to find these certificates, or the information from them: by finding them in an online database, and by by purchasing them through the mail .
Online databases, usually indexes, with some images[edit | edit source]
- This chart gives links to some Idaho online databases for these records:
Samples of index entries[edit | edit source]
Ordering certificates through the mail[edit | edit source]
- Click here for information on how to order birth, stillbirth, marriage, divorce, and death records. This will require an application, a fee, and proof of your identification. Provide as many details as possible on the application, but you may leave some fields blank.
Samples of records[edit | edit source]
Here are some samples of Idaho certificates. Notice the types of information available in each, particularly the identity of the parents, which adds another generation to your research.
Step 4: Using all the death date information, try to find additional details about your ancestors in Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records online.[edit | edit source]
U.S. Social Security Death Index and Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007[edit | edit source]
The U.S. Social Security program began in 1935 but most deaths recorded in the index happened after 1962. 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. Women are listed under their married name at the time of their death. You can search these records online at United States Social Security Death Index. Also at Ancestry.com, ($), index.
The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names. Unless the deceased would be at least 75 years old today, the parents' names are not published. You will not find everybody who is listed in the SSDI, as criteria for inclusion differs.
If you find your ancestor in the SSDI index, you can order a copy of their original Social Security application (SS-5). If you can prove the individual has died (by sending an obituary or copy of their cemetery headstone), the application will also give the deceased's parents' names, if listed.
Obituaries and cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- Frequently, a death is announced in the newspaper with an obituary.
- These obituaries may supply missing birth or death dates and name the parents of the deceased.
- Obituaries may also name family members, their spouses, their current residences, and whether they died before the person or are still surviving, especially in obituaries written in the last half of the 20th Century.
- Try these Idaho links:
- FHL book 970.1 N213nao Native American Obituaries Digitized with full name index.
- Idaho, Southeast Counties Obituaries, 1864-2007 Images.
- Idaho, Southern Counties Obituaries, 1943-2013 Images.
- Idaho obituaries at D'Addezio, index.
- Ancestor Hunt obituary source list, index.
- USGenWeb Obituary Project, index.
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
- Cemetery records may only give the names and dates stated on the tombstone, but as in the case of FindAGrave, sometimes pictures of the deceased and their tombstone, children's or parents' names and links to their graves, and marriage information have been added. Always verify information added by others.
- Frequently family members are buried in the same cemetery often in neighboring plots.
- Try these Idaho links:
NOTE: Each database covers different cemeteries, although some may overlap. Don't be discouraged if you do not locate your individual in the first database. Check each collection.
- Idaho Tombstone Transcription Project at USGenWeb
- Idaho Cemetery Records at Findagrave.com
- Idaho Cemetery Records at Interment.net
- BillionGraves Idaho Cemeteries
- Utah and Idaho cemetery records ($)
- IdahoGravestones.org, index.
Step 5: Search military records: World War I draft cards.[edit | edit source]
- There are many different types of military records, some covered in online collections, some microfilmed, and some requiring you to order them from government repositories with a fee. For more information, read the U.S. Military Records Class Handout. 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.
World War I Draft Registration[edit | edit source]
- One of the most helpful military records is the draft registration of 1917-1918. During three separate registrations, men born between 1873-1897 were required to register in the draft for World War I. Cards may give birth date, birth place, residence, occupation, employer, physical description, next of kin (usually the wife or mother), and number of dependents. Search for your male relatives born in this time period at U.S. WW I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.
World War II Draft Registration[edit | edit source]
Likewise, the World War II draft in 1942 may give birth date, birth place, residence, occupation, employer, and other family members as contacts. Search for your male relatives born in this time period at U.S. WW II Draft Registration Cards, 1942.
Step 6: If your ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.[edit | edit source]
The census records may show that your 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 are the next goal. Immigration refers to people coming into a country, such as the United States, and emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. Usually these records are passenger lists of the ships they sailed on. A typical record will show name, age, and country of origin, but in ship lists after 1906 you can find the actual town of birth, the next of kin still living in the old country and their residence, and the names of relatives in the place they are traveling to.
Census clues to Immigration records[edit | edit source]
Census records can provide important clues about nationality and immigration. This chart lists data that can be found in each of the census records. Gather the information in the census records specifically about immigration, as it will help narrow down your search.
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Immigration records[edit | edit source]
Passenger lists and border crossing lists are the most common immigration records.
There are many immigration records available. Click here to see a complete list of available immigration records online. Notice that they are listed by state, but under the letter "U" there is a long list of records that cover all of the United States. Unless family information tells you the port where family arrived, you will need to search all of the United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records for the time period when your ancestors arrived.
There are also many immigration records unique to Idaho:
- BYU Idaho Japanese Immigrants to the United States, 1887-1924
- Border Crossings:From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954. Records from: Eastport, 1924-1954; Porthill, 1923-1954. Index and images ($)
- Idaho, Eastport Arrival Manifests, 1924-1956 Index and images.
- Index to Alien Arrivals at Canadian Atlantic and Pacific Seaports, 1904-1944, ($). Images, indexed.
Naturalization (Citizenship) Records[edit | edit source]
Naturalization is the process of becoming a citizen. Records can include the immigrant's declaration of intent to become a citizen, petitions for citizenship, and final certificate of naturalization. Naturalization records after 1906 can show birth date and place, spouse's name, marriage date and place, and lists of children with their birth dates.
Idaho naturalization records could be recorded at the county court or the Federal District or Circuit Court. You must look for them in both locations. Try searching first in any county where the person lived, unless the census tells you the year they were naturalized, and you have evidence of where they lived that year. If you cannot locate them in the county records, try searching for them in the Federal courts.
Idaho Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records[edit | edit source]
- Idaho County Naturalizations 1861-1974 Images only.
- Idaho, Naturalization Records, 1868-1985 Index and images ($)
- Naturalization Records for Immigration and Family History, Idaho State Historical Society.
Step 7: Study each record for other possible searches.[edit | edit source]
You can now go through a process of working back and forth between all the different record types. Most researchers find clues in the census records that alert them to new certificates to obtain. The certificates then give them ideas of new facts to look for in the census. For example, when a marriage certificate gives you a wife's maiden name, you will then want to look for her in earlier censuses listed with her family as a child. When the census shows you her parents' names, you may then search for their death records. The death records might show their patents' names and take you back to the census to search for them. A naturalization record listing children's names might lead you back to birth certificate searches, and so on.