State-Based Ancestry: Episode 103

In this December podcast, we explore state-based genealogy research and the available tools and techniques for discovering our U.S. ancestors.



Ep. 103: December 2016





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In this episode:







News from the Blogosphere with Diane Haddad



Diane gets us up to speed on the latest news from the blogosphere. Read her blog post here: Are You Missing the Best Genealogy Websites for Finding U.S. Ancestors?







101 Best Websites



Topic: Cool geography websites for US research, with Dave Fryxell



* Atlas of Historical County Boundaries* Atlas of the Historical Geography of the U.S.* Bureau of Land Management: General Land Office Records* US Geological Survey







Family Tree University Crash Course



Tips for US research from recent webinars, with Vanessa Wieland.



Know Your State History: Fun fact: A lot of us tend to think that American settlements start in the East, with Jamestown and the 13 Colonies, but before that, in 1598, the Spanish were lead into New Mexico. While there might not be a lot of genealogy-based documentation for that particular event, it does impact the heritage of people in the Southwest. It’s always good to learn the history of each state to get a sense of what events could have an impact, especially when those events might generate records and attract immigration.



Study the State’s Geography: Think about the geographical layout of your state and why that would attract people. 



* Big cities tend to
bring a large population, but if your ancestors were farmers or coal miners, or
worked on the railroad, that would impact which states – and where in that
state – they would have settled. * Think about how
geography affects – or encourages travel and migration – River routes,
railroads, etc. – opportunities arising out of that * Think about how your
ancestor’s ethnicity might affect where they chose to settle.  * Check the records of
surrounding/nearby states as well



Learn About the Records: Because each state has its own unique history and and laws, there are going to be unique challenges and collections of records generated. 



* When you’re tracing your ancestors in a specific state, it pays to do some research beforehand into the collections available – learn the start dates for specific types of records* Did they conduct a state census?