Digital Collections and Systems Librarian
Shaunta Alvarez
She/Her/Hers
Contact:
Belk Library Room 208
336.278.6576
Subjects: General Studies/Interdisciplinary
Getting Started with Family History
- It's easier to start from the present and work your way backward.
- Gather as much information from your family members as you are able to track down. Take note of names, relationships, locations, and dates.
- Tracing African-American History can sometimes present some unusual challenges. In addition to the impact that the institution of slavery had on naming, official records are also known for misspellings of non-Anglo names.
Archives generally don't keep general files of people by name, so genealogy is an exercise in thinking about how they related to the world around them. Some of the questions we can ask include:
- When and where was my ancestor born?
- When and where did my ancestor die? Were they buried in a cemetery?
- Was my ancestor counted in a census?
- Did my ancestor get married, and if so, where? (And did my ancestor get a divorce?)
- Did my ancestor own land, and if so, where?
- Did my ancestor serve in the military?
- Did my ancestor get in trouble with the law?
- Did my ancestor attend school?
- Did my ancestor immigrate to the United States? Were they naturalized here?
- Was my ancestor baptized?
Some Quick Links for Searching
Archives generally don't keep general files of people by name, so genealogy is an exercise in thinking about how they related to the world around them. Some of the pathways to locating materials in our databases may include:
- Can you identify someone from your family who would have been counted in the 1950 census?This link will take you directly to US Census records on Ancestry.com. Census records can help you identify other family members in the household, age, profession, place of birth, racial categorization (be careful - these categories are created and shift over time!), etc. This can help you trace familial lines in order to be able to track back through older census records. 1950 is the most recent census available to the public.
- Did your relative serve in the military?These records can help you locate records such as draft cards, enlistment papers, pension files, disciplinary action, casualties, and even some photographs. These records can help you establish birth information, next of kin, military service, sometimes death information, and much more.
- Do you know if your family immigrated to the United States?Remember that these records document people who entered the US by choice, and don't account for people who were brought here in bondage within the institution of slavery. You will need to excavate other records to trace those movements.
- Were your relatives born in the US, married in the US, or pass away in the US?This index may help you locate births, deaths, and marriages, which can establish family members and familial ties. Birth and death information is legislated differently in different states, so you may not be able to locate more recent information that remains protected by privacy legislation. Often, for folks who were born or died in the US, you can often find information in each state's Office of Vital Records.