How to Use Histories and Biographies to Trace Ancestors

Use histories and biographies for ancestry and genealogy research.

What are township, city, and state histories and biographies?

Local, county and state histories detail the events and the people who played a part. These histories detail the early settlements, who held offices, who founded various towns, including when different churches were started and other valuable information. It is common to find histories written between 1870 and 1920 with biographical sketches of the individuals and families. Most of these histories were written in the west and those bordering the Great Lakes or Midwest states. These histories give insight and are helpful to the researcher since this is the region where most immigrants settled.

Information Found in Histories and Biographies

What information will you find in township, city, and state histories and biographies?

The following are the type of histories you can expect to find:

  • Local History. The overwhelming majority of local histories address how a particular region and its citizens handled and reacted to every primary state and national happening. In these compilations, you can find how a community handled everything from wars, waves of immigrants, and depressions to changing political scenery, taxation, trade, and commerce. These events affect what people do, where they live, what organizations they belong to, how they earn income, and how they dispose of it. Knowing what neighborhoods developed during a particular period, realizing when specific organizations came into and went out of business, being aware of various laws and codes, as well as local.
  • Biography. A biographical sketch can include almost any aspect of a person’s life but generally contains information about the individual’s family, education, and occupation. Biographical sketches can provide an individual’s date of birth, parent’s names, wife’s and children’s names and often their birth dates. Usually, there is some information about where they were born. Even if we are not fortunate enough to find a biographical sketch of the subject of our interest, there are other things to consider. Even if an individual wasn’t prominent enough to get a mention, there might be other clues to his personality in these books. Also, you may want to consider whether the subject of a biographical sketch was related to the family somehow. Frequently, groups emigrated from the “old country” together, and by learning more about one member of a pioneer group, we can also find valuable clues to others.
  • Institutional Histories. Look for histories of the institutions that may have relevance to the individual or family: churches, orphanages, charitable institutions, schools, hospitals and dispensaries, cultural institutions, cemeteries, or businesses.

Research Insights for Histories and Biographies

What are some research insights for township, city, and state histories and biographies?

Start by determining when your individual or family lived. As you look for the local, county, and state histories, look for books or volumes that focus solely on biographical sketches of many from the locality. Most sketches are written about men and generally include family, education, and occupation. These sketches will also tell the subject’s date of birth, parent’s names, wife’s and children’s names. You might get lucky and find comments about where they were born.

Where will you find township, city, and state histories and biographies?

Genealogy and historical societies are usually great sources for finding histories, which are invaluable as you discover and research individuals and families. Also, search libraries and archives.

Other Records to Help in Ancestry Research

Where can I learn more about how to trace ancestry?

The following are important articles for learning about ancestry and historical research.

Where can I learn more about records to trace ancestry?

The following is an overview of 15 types of vital, government and historical records I have found constantly valuable in my individual, family, and narrative research. These records provide vital and biographical information on individuals and families. When I mastered researching these resources, I could quickly expand my research to other records to help me connect the pieces for writing narratives and other historical research.

For each record type, I have included what you will find, how to use the resource, and research insights for each record type. I would encourage you to use this article as a starting point from which you can search out and find other record tutorials guides and help to provide deeper insights.