Local Histories May Have the Answers
Today’s genealogists are ignoring valuable sources to their research problems--local histories, geography and migration patterns of ethnic groups. Without this knowledge of places in which your families once lived, you will never be a successful genealogist.
Researchers often complain that they can find nothing about an ancestor who was born in 1750 Lincoln County, N.C. Well, no wonder. Lincoln County did not exist in 1750. It was created out of Tryon County in 1778. By studying the county divisions of North Carolina one learns that what eventually became Lincoln County was part of Anson County in 1760, which in turn was created in 1750 from Bladen County. The records the researcher needs will be in Colonial North Carolina sources and filed under Anson and Bladen counties.
Each region, each state and each county has its own history, and in order to locate records of genealogical interest you need to study a locale’s history: its political divisions, migration patterns, early settlers, religious and ethnic groups, and its economic development and industries. Since the average family (prior to the Civil War) moved about six times during their adulthood, you will learn a lot about several locales.
Local histories--histories of states, counties and localities--often contain a great amount of genealogical information; unfortunately they are seldom footnoted and vary greatly in quality. In many local histories you will find eulogies of families, often filled with errors, especially in respect to early generations of lines.
However, local histories published prior to 1885 are generally fairly accurate for the family history of the Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary periods, for they are based for the most part on statements made by members of the family who had knowledge of the persons and events of the periods. However, every family has its “Uncle Harry” and “Aunt Hester” who never told the same story twice; and if they were the source for the information in a particular book, you may find glaring discrepancies.
Most university libraries contain extensive collections of U.S., county and state histories. Public (and some private) universities and colleges are open to researchers -- after all, as a taxpayer you support the public ones. Just because you are over 25 does not mean you can’t go back to school and use the library. Many of them are open on weekends -- ideal for genealogists who work Monday through Friday.
Discover the five-volume set, “A Bibliography to United States Local Histories in the Library of Congress.” The history, reference and/or genealogy departments of larger libraries (especially university libraries) will have this outstanding reference set. Therein you will discover what books have been written about the areas in which you are interested--the author’s name, date of publication and enough description to enable you to determine if it is worth tracking down a copy of it. Unfortunately local histories in the Library of Congress do not circulate, but if you discover a reference to an 1867 Orange County, N. Y., history of the Minisink region that interests you; you’ll be armed with the exact information needed to locate the book in other libraries. Of if you are going to the Washington, D.C., area, then you’ll want to stop at the Library of Congress.
Another source of local histories (and genealogies) available for purchase is found by consulting “Genealogical & Local History Books in Print,” edited by Netti Schriener-Yantis. It is available ($37.50 postpaid) from GBIP, 6818 Lois Drive, Springfield, VA. 22150.
