How to Google Publications and Periodicals for Ancestor Research

How to Google publications and periodicals for ancestry research.

Through periodicals, researchers can begin to gain access to data contained in vital records, court records, maps, family bibles and day books, declarations of intention and naturalization certificates, local census and tax lists, church records and cemetery inscriptions, as well as the dozens of unique local items.

Types of Periodicals

Genealogical Society Publications and periodical

City, county, regional, and state genealogical societies write and publish journals, newsletters, and quarterlies that focus on the area of interest to the genealogical organization. These periodicals are published monthly, quarterly, and annually and range from a few to hundreds of pages. They tend to index, abstract, and transcribe the region’s records where they are published. The types of articles you will find include the following:

Genealogical sources and resources in specific geographic areas.
Indexes and abstracts of source materials.
Ancestor charts and group sheets of members.
Lists of upcoming seminars significant to family historians.
Acquisition lists and holding statements of area libraries and archives.
Names of officers and directors of the organizations who can be used as research contacts.
Unique and forgotten sources of information.
Important research tips for the area.
Such items as genealogies, transcripts and abstracts of local, probate, church, and cemetery records.

Historical Society Publications and periodicals

Society publications can be a significant aspect of immigrant research. Any local record may be the subject of publication by a local society. Whenever you contact a genealogical or ethnic society, inquire about their publications. Even when such publications do not identify an immigrant’s hometown, they may provide further identification about your immigrant or instruct you on additional sources specific to a locality or ethnic group.

City, county, and regional historical society publications and periodicals

City, county, and regional historical society publications and periodicals document the local geographic area, the activities of organizations and institutions, the lives of the community leaders, the impact of significant events such as war and depression, and the impact of significant trends such as migration and settlement patterns. You will also find indexes and abstracts of records found in the area.

State historical society publications and periodicals

State historical society publications and periodicals contain articles that chronicle the lives of the rich and famous, unusual scientific or religious movements or detail a Civil War regiment.

Ethnic society publications and periodicals

Ethnic society publications and periodicals provide an excellent resource of articles focused on the ethnic culture (e.g., Historical Society of Germans from Russia). They help trace and discuss ancestry and share data sources and common findings across the group.

Society Conference Syllabi

Historical societies hold annual conferences that usually publish a syllabus. These provide insights, tips, and research strategies specific to the area of interest.

Special interest publications and periodicals

Special interest publications and periodicals focus on groups that have a shared experience or shared interest among the group of patriotic, military, and heraldic society publications (for example, the B-26 Marauder Historical Society, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.) They provide data on individuals that participated in the joint or shared experience, a rich profile of records available from local to national levels, genealogies, profiles of units and groups, and insights into daily life.

Family publications and periodicals

Family publications and periodicals, also known as surname publications, focus specifically on a family and are full of family group sheets, individual histories, details of family reunions, photographs, documented genealogies, and lists of publications that contain family information. These types of publications include the following:

Help to set research in the proper historical context.
Useful information for citation analysis (for example, constructing the broadest possible data pool in which to look for ancestors.)
In-depth information about individuals, communities, and so on to which our ancestors belonged.
Items such as genealogies, transcripts and abstracts of local, probate, church, and cemetery records.
Unique and forgotten sources of information.
Important research tips for the area.
Indexes and abstracts source materials.
Help focus on the articles that will have the most significant value.

Google Other Ancestor Records

The following is an overview of the common 18 types of ancestor records that I have found constantly valuable in my historical and genealogy research and hundreds of other resources I have learned to research and use through the years. When I mastered researching these resources, I could quickly expand my research to other records to help me connect the pieces of my genealogy puzzle.

Google Ancestor Records
Cemetery Records	Census Records	Church Records
Civil Vital Records	Directory Records	Family Histories
Histories and Biographies	Land Records	Maps
Message Boards, Mailing Lists, and Wiki’s	Military Records	Naturalization Records
Newspaper Records	Photographs	Probate Records
Publications and Periodicals	Ship Passenger Lists	Writings of Ancestors

In my profile of each resource, I have included what you will find, how to use the resource, and research insights for each resource. I would encourage you to use this section as a starting point from which you can search out and find other genealogical tutorials, and guides that help to provide deeper insights. The common websites that researchers first think of are Ancestry, Archives, FamilySearch, FindMyPast and MyHeritage.

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