How to Begin: Start with Yourself and Work Backwards!

Fill in a Family Tree and Family Group sheets (see Blank Forms section) with the information you have, including names (and nicknames), dates and locations of births, marriages and deaths, approximate if necessary, known siblings in each generation, and religious denomination.

A word of caution: as you do your research in public documents you should expect spelling of surnames to vary and stated ages to be inconsistent, so DO NOT dismiss a record just because it doesn’t seem to match what “you know”.  Using pencil makes it easy to make changes as you find or supplement information.

Some suggestions for data gathering:

Family Information

Collect family information such as pictures, bibles, letters, newspaper clippings, obits, post cards etc. and contact relatives for information (remembering that, especially if based on memory only, this information may not always be accurate).

City Directories

Use city directories (available at most public libraries) to identify where the family lived, occupations, names of other household members, and other local families of the same surname.

Vital Statistics

Contact the Vital Statistics Office of the town/city in which your ancestors lived for birth, marriage and death records; search church records for baptisms and marriages; if you do not find your direct ancestor check for records for his/her siblings for basic info on the family.

Death Records

Follow up on death record clues e.g. funeral records, cemetery records, obituaries, Social Security death index, www.findagrave.com (free).

Census Records

Search census records on-line (U.S. and Irish): CT residents have free access to U.S. Census info at www.iconn.org (under genealogy) via local libraries and library cards (prepared by Heritage Quest, partial index).  Note all persons listed in the household and their relationship to the head of household.  1890 U.S. census data was destroyed by fire and is not available for most states.  1940 is the latest U. S. census available (1950 Census to be released in 2022).  Irish census data is available for 1901 and 1911, on-line at the National Archives of Ireland site (see CTIAHS Irish Research Resources section).

Libraries

Visit libraries specializing in family history research: your nearest Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) Family History Center; CT State Library (Hartford) www.cslib.org ; Godfrey Library (Middletown, CT) www.godfrey.org; CT Society of Genealogists (South Glastonbury, CT) www.csginc.org.; New England Historical Genealogical Society (NEHGS, Boston MA) www.americanancestors.org; check your public library for on-line availability of Ancestry.com.

Other Records

Additional records to search:  Hale Collection (ask at your local library), an index of CT cemetery headstones 1800 – 1900, prepared in 1934); Castle Garden web site (immigration records 1820 – 1892) castlegarden.org ; Ellis Island site www.ellisislandrecords.org ; local history sources (books, newspapers, photos, etc.); naturalization papers, draft and military records, passport applications, immigration records on www.Ancestry.com; LDS’s International Genealogical Index (IGI) at www.FamilySearch.org; Archive holdings of the Archdiocese of Hartford CT at www.archdioceseofhartford.org/archives

Irish Research Resources

When you are ready, search for free on-line at the National Archives of Ireland, the National Library of Ireland and Irish Family History Centers (by county) for Irish civil and church records e.g. Tithe Applotment Books (1823–1838); Griffith’s Valuation (1848–1864); Catholic Parish Records; land records (see CTIAHS Irish Research Resources section).


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