Using Major Original Sources - International Institute

Reasons and Strategies for Using the Main Original Sources

Good research requires more than one piece of evidence to prove each point, simply because no one source can be relied upon 100%. There is no magic number as a lot depends upon the credibility of each source and whether the sources are truly independent. Say, your Grandad provided the information for the census giving Brighton as his birthplace, and he also wrote this in a letter to your aunt, and told his son who told you—these are really only one source aren’t they! As a good starting point I suggest that you find three independent sources that give the same information. It is also unwise to rely on only one type of source, thus three census records are not as good as oral family information, a christening record and one census. Be aware that any source may have errors, sometimes several on one sheet!

Using Civil Registration (Vital Statistics)

In our quest to find at least three pieces of evidence to prove each point, civil registration of birth, marriage and death is one of the five main original sources. What information do these registrations or certificates provide?

A birth certificate will always have the name of the child together with its date and place of birth. ‘Long form’ certificates will include the parents’ full names, including the maiden name of the mother, essential for finding their marriage.

In different countries and at different periods you may also find the father’s and mother’s occupations, informant’s signature, relationship and address, name of attending medical personnel, and details of parent’s marriage and other children.

A marriage certificate will state the date and place of the marriage, together with the full names of the bride and groom. Depending upon the time period and jurisdiction you may also find the ages, addresses and occupations of the parties, their parents’ names, addresses, occupations and whether still alive, religious denominations, whether the marriage was by banns or licence, signatures of parties and witnesses, clergyman and/or registrar’s signature and in some countries much more besides.

A death certificate will give the name of the deceased and the date and place of death. Some jurisdictions also record several of the following details: marital status, name of spouse and whether still alive, age, occupation, cause of death, names of deceased’s parents, informant’s signature, relationship and residence, where and when buried, names of surviving and deceased children, whether there was property left and its nature. Information on a death certificate is rarely given by the person in question, thus one is relying on what the informant knew, or thought he knew, or wanted others to believe!

A civil registration certificate not only provides one of the three necessary pieces of evidence for a linkage, but also gives much interesting family detail and plenty of leads for further research. For example:

The district where one civil registration event occurs may well be the one where several family events took place.
Addresses on certificates are prime leads for locating the whole family on a census.
Names of parents or children, and ages given, allow one to proceed to other civil registration events.
Occupations listed open up all kinds of doors for further research.

Is civil registration always an original source? If you are able to view the original record (or photocopy or microform of it) then it is. To date, in England and Wales this is rarely possible—the local superintendent registrars retain the originals but generally do not have the equipment to make photocopy certificates, and regulations preclude ordinary photocopies. The GRO (national office) only has transcripts so the researcher either receives a photocopy certificate of the transcript, or a transcript of the transcript. This situation may change soon if older registrations are declared historic and allowed to be microfilmed.

One should never believe or expect that all information on marriages and death certificates is primary. The only primary information on a marriage certificate is the date and place of marriage, and the names of bride and groom, (although cases of marriage under false names are known!) The only primary information on a death certificate is the name, date and place of death and the information about the informant. All the other information—ages, names of parents, place of birth, etc. can be considered secondary (or questionable and needing supportive information from other sources). The primary and secondary labels are for guidance and can surely be questioned at times regarding the type of information a source provides. For more information about civil registration/vital statistics records, refer to the appropriate course for the country of interest.

Using Censuses

In our quest to find at least three pieces of evidence to prove each point, the census is one of the five main original sources. Censuses can provide:

Age and birthplace
Relationships within the family
Others living with your family might include grandparents, single or married siblings and their children, stepchildren, etc.
Parents’ birthplaces
Whether in 1st or 2nd marriage
Where they lived
Kind of dwelling
Details of neighbours and neighbourhood
Occupations
Infirmities
Ability to read and write
Racial origin
How long they have resided in this place or country
Religion
Language spoken

Different Kinds of Censuses

TYPE	DETAILS	GENEALOGICAL USE
AGGREGATE	Numbers only	None
HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD	Details on head, maybe numbers of others e.g. males, females, slaves	Limited
MALES ONLY	Ages, and place of residence of sons not at home	Limited
NOMINAL	Details of every person	Excellent
AGRICULTURAL	Details of land, buildings, implements, animals, crops etc.	Excellent
MORTALITY	Deaths in preceding 12 months	Excellent

In the Canadian returns for the 1871 census, schedules have survived for public institutions, real estate, vehicles; industrial establishments; forestry, shipping, fisheries and mineral products; they reflect the economic conditions of individuals and the neighbourhood.

Example of a Canadian Census
1871 Albion Township, Cardwell Enumeration District, Ontario

NOMINAL

Samuel EAST, male, 28, born Upper Canada, Primitive Methodist, English origin, shoemaker, married, can read and write. Isabella EAST, female, 25, born Upper Canada, Primitive Methodist, Irish origin, married, can read and write. Andrew Wm EAST, male, 3, born Upper Canada, English origin. Samuel EAST, male, 6/12 years, born 1st October last in Upper Canada, English origin. James EAST, male, 6/12 years, born 1st October last in Upper Canada, English origin.

AGRICULTURAL

Samuel owned 500 acres (NB 640 acres is a section, for comparison), out of town, and owned 4 dwelling houses, 10 barns/ stables etc, 2 carriages or sleighs, 5 cars, waggons or sleds, 6 ploughs and cultivators, 1 horse rake, 1 thrashing machine and 1 fanning mill. The house was on Range 5, Lot 7 where he occupied 100 acres, 60 of which were improved, with ½ acre garden/orchard, 10 acres cereals yielding 50 bushels fall wheat, 200 bushels barley, and 20 acres hay yielding 25 bundles, and 15 bushels of apples. They owned 4 horses and 1 foal, 9 milk cows, 8 other horned cattle, 50 sheep, 8 swine, 10 hives of bees and had slaughtered in the past year 5 cattle, 3 sheep and 7 swine. They made 900 lbs butter, 30 lbs honey, 150lbs wool, and 30 yds of home-made cloth or flannel, as well as taking 20 cords of firewood.

Library and Archives Canada, RG31, Canadian Census, 1871, Cardwell Enumeration District, Albion Township, Division 4, pages 44-45; microfilm C-9959.

Why Look at All the Censuses?

In my experience an extremely common mistake is that a researcher says, “Oh, I have him on the census”, and leaves it at that. It is short-sighted to believe that everything is revealed on one census, or that there are no errors on a particular census. Some examples will illustrate why it is important to track as many family members on as many censuses as possible.

Ages on Censuses Vary

Example of Variety of Ages Given on Censuses

Birthplaces on Censuses Vary

Example of Variety of Birthplaces Given on Censuses

NAME	DATE	AGE	BIRTHPLACE
Henry DARTNELL of Crayford, Kent	1851	34	Hadlow, Kent
	1861	44	Hadlow, Kent
	1871	54	Allhallows, Kent
	1881	64	Peckham, Kent

NAME	DATE	BIRTHPLACE
Thomas BACON of Saxthorpe, Norfolk	1841	Norfolk
	1851	Guildford, Surrey
	1861	Ireland

Watch Family Dynamics
Children are added and older ones leave home.

Narrow Death Date Range
When one spouse is widowed between decennial censuses, this makes the job of searching for the death of the deceased partner much easier as one only has a 10-year period to cover.

Family Movements
Track these by examining not only where they were each 10 years but also the children’s birthplaces.

In the example found below, the 1871 census for Sidcup, Kent, England shows the COWLAND family’s movements from 1825 to 1871. This will help to locate them in other censuses. For example in 1861 they could be in Hornsey or East Ham; whereas in 1851 Willesden would be a good place to try.

The Cowland Family in the 1871 Census for Sidcup, Kent

NAME	Relationship	Age	[Birth year]	Birthplace
James COWLAND	Head	45	1825-6	Hornsey, Middx
Anne COWLAND	Wife	48	1822-3	Meldreth, Cambs
William COWLAND	Son	20	1850-1	Willesden, Middx
Emma COWLAND	Daughter	14	1856-7	Kingsland, Middx
Agnes COWLAND	Daughter	12	1858-9	Hornsey, Middx
Alice COWLAND	Daughter	7	1863-4	East Ham, Essex

When Were They Married?
Work backwards in censuses to find the earliest-born child. This will at least indicate when they should have been married!

Changing Occupation, or Progression Throughout a Career

Example: Christian Charles DASHWOOD
1841	Artist in Southwark
1851	Carver and Glider in Southwark
1861	Not in Southwark; Westminster census missing
1871	Clothier at Holywell Street, Westminster
1881	Caretaker/office servant at holywell Street, Westminster

Of course one should question the drastic change in occupation between 1851 and 1871. Why was this? Either we have two different people, or something happened to change this man’s occupation. In this case, my One-Name Study has established that there has only ever been one man with this unusual name. Perhaps a relative died and he inherited a business, or possibly his artistic career dried up, or his health was a problem and necessitated a change. The genealogist has to imagine possible reasons and then attempt to prove or disprove them. In this case his father died in 1856 leaving him in his will a clothier’s business in Holywell Street opposite St. Clement Danes church in The Strand.

An understanding of how the census returns for your country are arranged on the films will assist you in making economies of time and money. Experienced genealogists know that families usually stayed fairly close together for mutual support. Reading censuses of nearby parishes is usually productive in finding relatives.

Using Parish and Other Church Registers

For England and Wales the parish register may be available in one or more of these forms, and similar situations occur in other countries.

Original = The Parish Register (PR)
Transcript of Original (handwritten, typed or printed)
Bishop’s or Archdeacon’s Transcript (BTs or ATs) = annual copy to ‘head office’
Transcript of BT or AT (handwritten, typed or printed)
Index of the Original PR and/or BT or AT
Index of a Transcript of PR and/or BT or AT

When accessing parish registers through the FamilySearch Center (FSC) one has a choice of finding aids. The Parish and Vital Records List (PVRL) on fiche is a quick way of finding what christenings and marriages are available but only lists the beginning and ending dates of the registers. However, the July 1998 edition is the last that will be issued so it is outdated. To learn more about the PVRL, see the FamilySearch Research Wiki

The FamilySearch Catalog is more up-to-date and gives a much fuller description of each film, including missing dates and all other items on the films such as banns, burials, vaccinations for smallpox, arrivals and departures from parish, clerical surveys, etc. as appropriate for your country.

FamilySearch Catalog Online

So far, there is no way to assess whether items on the Internet version of the FamilySearch Catalog have been extracted, but this may be added later. However, there is another website that serves this purpose: There may be restrictions on reading registers containing material that falls within the privacy period for that jurisdiction. For example, say you wish to see christenings 1855-1880 and the christening register covers 1852-1924. There is a 100-year privacy rule so you are not allowed to view the whole book. There are at least three ways to overcome this:

1. If you are at the archives holding the material, (or can get a search done for you there), explain your request and ask to view the register with the later pages sealed with an elastic band into which area you promise not to peek!

2. Look on the FamilySearch Catalog, now being updated daily, to see if the material has been filmed by the GSU. They frequently film material up to the deadline year and not the restricted later part. These films would be available through FSCs and the holding archive would also have a copy.

3. Obtain special permission in writing from the present incumbent of the parish and present it to the archivist. Do this before your visit so that you know it will be acceptable to the duty staff when you arrive. For more information regarding church registers refer to the appropriate course the International Institute offers about the country of interest.

How to Focus Your Research Using the Parish and Vital Records Listing and the FamilySearch Catalog

Using Probate

Probate records, especially wills, are one of the most reliable of the main original sources because they relate to the inheritance of property and have to be sworn to by the testator and the executor. When giving away his belongings, a man is going to accurately identify his property and his relatives and friends.

If there are people other than his legitimate wife and children that he should provide for then he usually will do so. He will usually tell the truth about past liaisons when he knows that it will only be read after he is out of the way of retaliation!

Don’t assume that only the rich and famous left wills or needed administrations or guardianship. It is quite surprising how many of them left their affairs in a terrible mess, and how many tradesmen and ordinary labourers did leave wills or needed other kinds of probate.

It is definitely worth searching for probate for everyone on your family tree as soon as you know a rough date of death. Your ancestor’s siblings may have left more informative wills than your own ancestor did, so get them all.

The best value for your money, genealogically speaking, are spinsters’ wills. Unmarried people are not supposed to have descendants to whom to leave their estate, thus they often specify siblings, nephews and nieces and so forth.

Some people leave the whole lot to one person or charity, whereas others like to remember every nephew and niece with a separate memento and so a large family tree can be built from their wills.

Once probated (or proved) wills are in the public domain and photocopies are generally inexpensive. Most wills are probated within a couple of years of death, and the standard search is three years. However if a will or administration is not found within that time period and if there was a large estate, or possible contention amongst the family over its disposal, search further. The longest date between death and probate for the Dashwood family is 76 years, and I have heard of another estate taking 122 years! It is also common to find that probate is left until both marriage partners die.

Use our Probate Abstract form to assist you with extracting information from probate files.

Using Land Records

Land records are one of the most reliable of the main original sources because they relate to the legal disposition of land, its sale, mortgaging, leasing, inheritance and accompanying rights. There are many different kinds of land records in different countries, from manorial courts baron and leet in England, sasines in Scotland to homestead and bounty lands records in North America.

Each of these can give significant amounts of genealogical information as well as provide much family history material for building up the story of how our ancestors lived. In most countries they are amongst the earliest written records and thus have a particularly important role in extending pedigrees beyond the start of parish registers.

Some of the specific information that can be gleaned from land records includes:

Names and relationships of parents, children, siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins
Heirship on death of current land owner or lessee
Names of neighbours and association with other families
Social status within the locality
Occupations
Movements between towns, counties and states/provinces
Approximate immigration date
Immigrant country of origin

It is wise to consult a good reference book for your area of interest in order to be able to interpret these materials and any indexes to them. In North America, at least, it is essential to have the legal description of the property in order to locate its records. For further information regarding land records refer to the appropriate course The International Institute offers about the country of interest.

Where to Find the Sources

Generally speaking libraries contain derivative sources such as family history books, transcripts and indexes. Original sources, such as civil registration, parish registers, probate and censuses, will first be found in the government departments or churches which created them. Later, when they have been declared historic, they are passed to the appropriate archives (national, provincial, state, county or town). However some places called ‘libraries’ contain both original and derivative sources, often where the former are microform copies.

Most notable amongst these is the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City and its 4,000 branches (the FamilySearch Centers). Likewise most archives also contain a certain amount of books and indexes which are derivative sources. For addresses of government departments, archives and libraries kindly consult genealogical texts specific to your area of research, or your public library. For your closest FamilySearch Center (FSC) look in your phone book under Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or on the FamilySearch website

In this section reference is frequently made to films obtainable through the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers.

Finding Family Sources

The most productive method is to make an appointment to visit your relative, alerting them to get out the documents and photographs from the attic or basement beforehand. Make arrangements for audio taping of your complete conversation, for photocopying documents, photographing people and archaeological items, and for making copy negatives and prints of treasured photographs. Sometimes relatives are only too pleased to find someone who actually wants ‘all that old junk’ and you will go home heavily laden and joyful.

If a visit cannot be arranged, perhaps because of distance, then can you arrange for a proxy who lives closer? Arm them with a list of questions, tape recorder, plenty of blank tapes and anything else you would take yourself. Failing this, a telephone conversation followed by letters can be extremely effective. Do offer to pay for any expenses such as photocopying, postage and photography.

Each relative should be tackled individually, and this can take some time to arrange but will be well worth the effort. Many people do have material and information that they do not realize is useful to the family historian. It is up to you to ask the right questions.

Use your best diplomatic manner when approaching elderly or distant family members. Not everyone will warmly greet your personal questions. It may take time to establish trust and reassure them that information about living family will not be published and that you will treat sensitive issues discreetly.

Finding Civil Registration (Vital Statistics)

Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths are created by an agency of government; national, or provincial/state/county or city/town depending on the country in question. These modern records may have publicly-available indexes, but in some jurisdictions do not.

The indexes to civil registration are a priority for microfilming by FamilySearch and therefore can be found at the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers. Larger FSCs are more likely to have the films. Certificates or Registrations of Birth, Marriage and Death are available from the appropriate government department for a fee ranging from $5-$50. They may be photocopies of the original records or transcripts of them. After a certain number of years these records are released, for example by Act of Parliament, to the appropriate archives as ‘historic’ material. A new, publicly-available index is usually then made by the archives, often with assistance from the local FHS. These indexes tend to be more comprehensive, as they are able to include amendments and late entries, and they are made with researchers’ needs in mind.

They are available at the holding archives (and perhaps contiguous ones also). Check with your local public archives or genealogical societies to find out where the documents you require are housed. Most often, they will also be microfilmed for use at the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers worldwide. In all cases the certificates or registrations will contain more information than an index, and are the original source.

The original historic registrations will be available to view, transcribe and photocopy at the appropriate archives. Since they are now in the public domain they can also be microfilmed and eventually will be available at the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers. Check with your local center for availability.

Film #	Item #	Name of Individual	Title, parents/spouse etc	Event Type	Date	Place	Parish and volume #	Reg or page #
0101161		John BRENNAN	Ireland Civil Registration Birth Thomas BRENNAN /Mary	B	24 Jan 1868	Cork, Cork, Ireland		581
0103269		Mary Elizabeth G. DASHWOOD	Civil Registration Index to Births	B	1865	Scotland		alpha
0330171		Mary Elizabeth G. DASHWOOD	Civil Registration Scotland Birth	B	1865	Fyvie, Aberdeens District	197	89
2051145		Alice Rebecca JONES	Vital Stats BC, Canada	D	2 Jun 1978	Quesnel, British Columbia		1978-09-009749

Finding Census

Most censuses available to the genealogist are from the 19th century, although there are earlier ones for certain countries e.g. Norway 1664, Iceland 1703 and later ones e.g. England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Canada 1911, USA 1940 (in April 2012). For later ones still held under Rights of Privacy Legislation there is occasionally limited access.

The original censuses are held by the government that created them until they are released to the archives to become available to us. Deterioration through heavy usage by genealogists is prevented by microfilming or microfiching by the archives themselves, or by FamilySearch, and these formats will be the ones you will use. Unless you are able to visit each area archives you will find it easiest to view the microfilm at the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers. Street indexes are often available for larger towns and cities both at archives and the FamilySearch Library.

Nominal indexes, some by surname and first name, others merely and less-usefully by surname, for many censuses have been made usually by volunteers from Family History or Genealogy Societies (FHS). These can be searched or bought through the local FHS that made them, and some are at your own FHS. The Society of Genealogists in London has most census indexes produced by local FHSs in Britain.

Important countrywide indexes available through FSCs include the AIS (1790-1870), Soundex (1880-1920) and 1880 online for the USA, and the 1881 index for Canada and Great Britain (except Ireland) online.

There is a large and growing commercial availability of census indexes and digitized original pages which is provided free at many FSCs.

Ancestry.com

findmypast

Many census records are have now been digitized and can be found on government websites. See:

Library and Archives Canada - Censuses

The National Archives of Ireland - Census of Ireland 1901/1911

Finding Parish and Other Church Registers

Church registers are kept by the church whilst still useful for the living. After this they may be passed to the diocese or other regional church authority. Eventually most will be housed in appropriate conditions for preservation at a designated archives where they may be viewed.

In some cases microforming is carried out as soon as the archives can afford it, or FamilySearch will offer their services free and present the archives with a complimentary set of films of their holdings in return for having copies for use at the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers. The genealogist may find that they need to consult the incumbent, a church or other archives, or the FSC to gain access to the parish registers.

Various transcripts have been made over the ages, from annual copies to head office (e.g. English Bishops’ Transcripts and judiciary transcripts in Quebec) to modern computerized, professionally triple-checked and indexed efforts. These may be located in various libraries and archives, and microfilms will be available through archives and the FamilySearch Library.

All kinds of indexes have been made to save the researcher time and effort, some are great, some are horrendously inaccurate. The student is cautioned that indexes are merely finding aids. Recourse has to be made to the original, first recording for final authority and preferably a photocopy.

Indexes are available for individual parishes, county-wide christenings, marriages, and burials, as well as for wider areas for example there are 7 million entries in Boyd’s Marriage Index for England 1500-1837. The researcher should read books and journals to find what is available for the location of interest. Generally speaking, local indexes will be found most readily at the relevant archives and Family History or Genealogy Society (FHS), but many are also available elsewhere, in particular on microfilm at at the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers.

Finding Probate

First a caveat: many wills have been written but never probated; unless you find them in family sources nobody will ever know they exist. In North America many non-probated wills are tied to land ownership, when a will is used to convey a property to heirs or beneficiaries. Once a will has been probated then it is a public document. This means that it is available to view and that photocopies may be made inexpensively. Most wills are probated within three years of death, but it is quite common for probate to take place after the death of the last surviving spouse. If you don’t find it within three years after the deaths—keep looking.

The actual wills are returned to the executors. The responsible court will retain “true” document copies and/or create a Registered or Register Copy which was professionally copied, in England, verbatim with all the spelling mistakes and nuances of expression in the original. Although the latter is a transcript it is usually counted as a reliable copy because of the thoroughness of the transcription process. The Grants of Probate and of Letters of Administration for intestates, (and in cases where the named executors did not act) are usually with the same authorities.

As with other sources, wills and all the other accompanying documents in a probated estate file, are usually passed to a national, provincial or state archives (or institutions that house historic records) after a certain period of time, or when the court itself can no longer store them. By determining their location you can have photocopies made.

All probate materials are considered a priority for FamilySearch filming and huge collections are available at the FamilySearch Library. Some microfilm and microfiche may be available at various local FamilySearch centers. You may also use the inexpensive Request for Photocopies method outlined in this course, as records will be in either date or alphabetical order and hence easy to find.

Indexes to wills, admons, and other probate materials will be with the administering authority and can be consulted through them. Most are also microfilmed for use at the FamilySearch Library or some FamilySearch centers.

Finding Land Records

Generally, land records can be found with the authority which created them, and in most cases this was a department of a governmental jurisdiction. Older ones pass on to the appropriate archives as they are deemed historic. Some smaller jurisdictions, such as English manorial court records, can even be privately owned and can be much harder to trace as after several hundred years the records could end up outside their place of provenance. Some British and European land records have a very scattered distribution, although there are bodies, such as the Historic Manuscripts Commission (now part of the National Archives) in Britain, who keep a master list of known extant materials.

That said, I’ll now console you with the fact that since land records are another of the FamilySearch’s priorities for filming you will probably find most of what you need through your local FSC. Anything is easy to find on the FamilySearch Catalog as items are catalogued by the place they refer to, and you don’t have to first determine which archive or even private attic it currently resides in.

Finding Other Sources

There is a wide range of other original and derivative sources which will not be discussed here. Smart family historians learn to ask themselves, “What did my ancestor do that would have caused a record to be made?”

Some examples include:

Payment, or non-payment, of taxes
Apprenticeship
Being licensed for a certain trade or profession
Misdemeanours
Falling on hard times
Accidents
Attending a school or university
Buying or leasing building
Investing money
Other records involved with marriage (licence, settlement)
Holding a parish position
Being a witness at court
Immigration and passenger lists
Naturalization

The list only ends when your imagination is exhausted!

It is wise to use broad indexes such as FamilySearch Catalog, and the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) and to remember that a certain amount of luck during general library browsing always helps.

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online courses Methodology - Part 1: Getting Started, Methodology - Part 2: Organizing and Skillbuilding], Methodology - Part 3: More Strategies], Methodology - Part 4: Effective Searching and Recording, Methodology - Part 5: How To Prove It, and Methodology - Part 6: Professional Preparation and Practice offered by The International Institute of Genealogical Studies. To learn more about these courses or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at wiki@genealogicalstudies.com

We welcome updates and additions to this Wiki page.



The original content for this article was contributed by The International Institute of Genealogical Studies in June 2012. It is an excerpt from their course Methodology - Part 1: Getting Started, Methodology - Part 2: Organizing and Skillbuilding], Methodology - Part 3: More Strategies], Methodology - Part 4: Effective Searching and Recording, Methodology - Part 5: How To Prove It, and Methodology - Part 6: Professional Preparation and Practice by Louise St Denis, Brenda Dougall Merriman and Dr. Penelope Christensen. The Institute offers over 200 comprehensive genealogy courses for a fee ($).