Using Maps in

Though their names have changed, some of these places may be noted on an old map. The location of some others may be found in sources such as lists of abandoned post offices, local histories, government records, microfilm records, or clippings from old , old city directories, or old county atlases kept in the of a town, city, or county in the region.

If you find unfamiliar place names during your search, the U. S. Geological Survey can help.

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Nation's official data base of place names. The GNIS is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and can often provide information on name changes. This data base contains 2 million entries, including the names of places that no longer exist, as well as variant names for existing places. Getting Started and Records. If not, you can pur- chase a copy from the U.S. Government This automated system also contains the Maps are one of the many sources you Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. names of every type of feature except roads may need to complete a tree. and highways. It is especially useful for Finally, online searching on terms such as genealogical research because it contains In genealogical research, maps can provide "genealogy" through any of the major World entries for communities, as well as for church- clues to where our may have lived Wide Web search engines (including es and , even those that no longer and where to look for written records about www.yahoo.com, www.excite.com, and exist. them. Beginners should master basic genea- www.infoseek.com) or online bookstores can logical research techniques before starting to direct you to Web sites and other resources To use this free service, e-mail: use topographic maps. that can help. [email protected], telephone 703-648-4544, or write to U.S. Geological Introductory books on genealogy suggest Survey, Geographic Names, 523 National timesaving ways to plan, gather, organize, How Maps Can Be Useful Center, Reston, VA 20192. You can also visit and record findings. the GNIS Web site at geonames.usgs.gov. Once you've gathered as many facts To learn basic genealogical research tech- about family history and customs as possi- Constantly changing place names are not the niques, it's best to start with the most concise, ble, turn to maps to uncover more specific only challenge; the boundaries of many politi- easy-to-read books, gazetteers, articles, pam- information or to solve historical "myster- cal jurisdictions where early Americans lived phlets, and other sources that apply directly to ies." have changed one or more times. Some the kind of research you plan to do. American lived in the same locale for Old and new maps can help you track down hundreds of years. Yet, their homes may have Books on the shelves of your local library may facts about a branch of your family. How? In been swapped back and forth a number of not include those that will best serve your pur- the , birth, death, property, and times between different political jurisdic- pose. However, many and bookstores some other kinds of records are normally kept tionsCtowns, provinces, States, or countries. have the latest edition of Books in Print. Its by the county governments. If you can name subject guide gives the titles, authors, publish- the place where an lived, new or old This can greatly complicate your work. In one ers, and prices of hundreds of books on maps of that place may also show the county case, for example, the place where a family genealogy. seat where useful data about your kin can be lived for the entire 19th century was at various obtained. times part of seven different counties. In such Many libraries also have directories that give a case, you might have to query all seven the names and addresses of local, State, Old maps can be particularly useful in this courthouses to obtain data needed about mem- regional, and national associations of genealo- regard because pinpointing the name of the bers of the family. Records or copies of gists, historians, and ethnic groups. place where an ancestor lived can be like try- records were rarely acquired by a succeeding ing to hit a moving target. Many towns, coun- county. You may also find a copy of the pamphlet ties, cities, and even countries have experi- Where to Write for Birth, Death, , enced numerous name changes over the years. Similar but even more complex problems arise when you must search for personal records in

U.S. Department of the Interior USGS Fact Sheet 099–02 U.S. Geological Survey September 2002 the archives of faraway lands. The names and help you gain access to the rich holdings of the Township Atlas of the United States: Androit boundaries of countries seem to be forever in USGS, National Archives, and the Library of Associates, McLean, Va., 1979. flux, and many public and private record cen- Congress, and to international sources of maps ters disappear or move from place to place. and other resources needed by genealogists. A Series of County Outline maps of Southeastern United States of the Period Libraries of local historical groups may be 1790C1980: Department of Geography, Finding the Right Maps your best bet to find some resources, such as University of North Carolina, 1973. old city and business directories; old city, To find useful maps, you must have strong county, and regional atlases; and files of obitu- clues as to where and when your ances- aries and other articles from microfilm copies For information about place names around tors lived. of local newspapers. the world, try any of the following:

The best maps for your purpose are ones that: The reference sections of many libraries also Chambers World Gazetteer: ACZ of have these useful directories: Geographical Information: Cambridge  show in great detail an area around the University Press, 1988. place where your relative lived; Directory of Historical Societies of the United States and Canada: American Association for Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World:  show its location within a county or other State and Local History, Nashville, Tenn., Columbia University Press and J.B. jurisdiction; and 1990. This directory lists about 1,000 sources Lippincott, 1962. in a genealogy index.  name and show the borders of neighboring Gazetteers and Glossaries of Geographical areas Official Museum Directory [American Names of the Member Countries of the United Association of Museums]: National Register Nations and the Agencies in Relationship with A plat book in a town hall or county court- Publishing Company, Wilmette, Ill., 1989 the United Nations: Bibliography, 1946C1976: house or an old fire insurance map may show Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1984. an outline of your ancestor's house and its Your local librarian may also be able to sug- placement on you ancestor's property. gest someone who has access to sources such Names on the Globe: Oxford University Press, as Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, New York, 1975. Such maps should help you picture where your 1790C1920: Genealogical Publishing relatives were born, resided, attended school, Company, Baltimore, 1988. This 445-page Parish Maps of the Counties of England and worked, shopped, voted, traveled over land or book shows all U.S. county boundaries from Wales, Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical water, courted, married, raised families, and 1790 to 1920. On each of the nearly 400 maps, Studies, Logan, Utah: Everton, 1977. were laid to rest. You may need later maps of old county lines are superimposed over mod- the same area or other places to track down ern ones to highlight boundary changes in 10- Shtetl Finder: Jewish Communities in the 19th ensuing generations. year intervals. and Early 20th Centuries in the Pale of Settlement of Russia and Poland, and in Maps usually suggest some patterns of settle- Lithuania, Latvia, Galicia, and Bukovina, with ment and movement and rule out others. For Separate books or papers have been pub- Names of Residents: Heritage Books, Bowie, example, topographic and other relief maps lished about the "genealogy" of each of a MD., 1989. may show hills or mountains that impeded large number of States, counties, and migration or access to certain areas. Rivers other areas. For national place name reference help, bridged now may not have been bridged when try the following: kin lived nearby. Yet, a river can aid migratory For example, Abstracts of the Earliest Wills travel because sometimes it is easier to travel Upon Record in the County of Suffolk, Biography of Place-Name , United on water than through dense forests and under- Massachusetts: Genealogical Publishing States and Canada: American Library growth, and it is even possible that your ances- Company, Baltimore, 1984. Association, Chicago, 1982, 3d ed. tors traveled by waterway to market, to attend church or school, or to pursue a host of other in , Special Report On National Gazetteer of the United States of interests. [together with] Varieties and Synonyms of America, Concise 1990, U.S. Geological Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland: Survey Professional Paper 1200-US: U.S. Maps covering larger areas may suggest vari- Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Government Printing Office, Washington, ous kinds of trade, employment, and social, 2 v., indexed, 1901, 1909 (reprinted 1988). D.C., 1990. recreational, or other interactions among the peoples of neighboring towns, settlements, or Geographic Names and the Federal other locales. Analysis of such maps may Historical atlases can also prove useful. Government: A Bibliography: Geography and expand the scope of research beyond nearby Map Division, Library of Congress, 1990. county, State, provincial, or national bound- A Genealogical and Historical Atlas of the aries. United States of America: Everton Publishers, Webster's New Geographical Dictionary: G. Logan, Utah, 1976. &. C. Merriam, Springfield, Mass., 1988.

Gathering Other Resources Atlas of American History: Charles Scribner's , New York, 1943, 294 p. For help with place-name research by Once you've used maps to identify the State, consult publications such as the most likely place names for your ances- Historical Atlas and Chronology of County following. (This is just a small sampling of tors' homes, try a local library or historical Boundaries 1788C1980: G. K. Hall, Boston, what's available.) society to find atlases, gazetteers, local Mass. 1984, 5 v. directories, and other sources that pertain A Gazetteer of Maryland and Delaware to locales of interest. Historical U. S. County Outline Map [1904] (reprint): Genealogical Publishing Co., Collection 1840C1980: Department of Baltimore, 1976. Many kinds of maps may be found at local, Geography, University of Maryland, Baltimore State, or regional libraries, museums, or histor- County, Baltimore, MD. 1984. A Gazetteer of Virginia and West Virginia ical archives. Most local librarians can also [1904] (reprint) Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1975. U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey A list of Places Included in 19th Century Copies of maps from the USGS library can be United States County Maps in the Library of Virginia Directories: Virginia State Library, ordered as photographic enlargements from Congress, 1967. Richmond, 1981. roll microfilm of out-of-print maps of the United States, its territories, and outlying Old and new large- and small-scale planimet- The Placenames of Maryland. Their Origin areas. Scales of copies are not exact. ric, topographic, and other kinds of maps are and Meaning: Maryland Historical Society, available for every part of the United States 1984. To order a photocopy of a map in the Survey's and for most other areas of the world. library, contact any Earth Science Information Center or call 1-888-ASK-USGS and describe Among the many county maps and city and Some directories of map collections: the kind of map you are seeking as completely town plans are some 700,000 large-scale as you can. Sanborn fire insurance maps. Since 1867, the Many libraries have the current edition of The firm has issued and periodically updated Map Catalog: Vantage Press, a division of You can order current USGS maps directly detailed plans of 12,000 U.S. cities and towns. Random House, New York, 1990. This hand- from the Survey or from a local map dealer. Some areas are represented by as many as book describes features and sources of a eight different editions. This collection is an worldwide range of new and old maps, atlases, The USGS publishes and updates the follow- unrivaled cartographic and historic record of and related products. It has sections on ing maps: America's urban settlement and growth over researching old maps, history maps, maps of more than a century. the United States and of foreign countries,  More than 55,000 large-scale topographic State, and provincial maps, county maps, maps (1:24,000, 1:25,000 and 1:20,000 for urban maps, city plans, boundary maps, census Puerto Rico) that together show most local Reference services through the Library of maps, railroad maps, topographic maps, and areas of the United States and its territor- Congress: many other kinds of maps. ies, with the exception of Alaska's 2,400 maps at 1:63,360. Each map names and Reference service is available to the public in World Mapping Today: Butterworths, London, shows in fairly rich detail every settled the Geographic and Map Reading Room in 1987. A large, 583-page book that describes area and other features within the map's Washington, D.C., and by telephone or corre- the mapping programs of each country in the boundaries. spondence. world and gives the names and addresses of each country's principal mapping agencies.  Topographic maps of selected counties at The collections in the Geographic and Map Section 4 on Map Evaluation provides infor- scales of 1:50,000 or 1:100,000. Reading Room are for reference use only. mation on how to interpret and use maps. Maps and atlases are not available for sale or You can purchase these and other USGS maps free distribution. Map Collections in the United States and from the USGS or a local map dealer. Canada: A Directory: Special Libraries The Geography and Map Division will Association, New York, 1984, 4th ed. For each State, the USGS publishes an Index respond to requests that cannot be answered by to Topographic and Other Map Coverage and a library or other source in your locality. In Guide to U.S. Map Resources, 2 ed,: [State] Catalog of Topographic and other many cases, the Division can tell you the pre- American Library Association, Chicago, 1990. Published Maps [all scales]. To obtain a free sent name of a place where you believed an index and catalog for one or more States, con- ancestor once lived, and sometimes it can sug- Directory of Canadian Map Collections/ tact any Earth Science Information Center or gest places where vital and other records about Repertoire des Collections de Cartes call 1-888-ASK-USGS. your ancestor may be on file. It is not possible, Canadiennes; Association of Canadian Map however, for the Division to undertake exten- Libraries, 1980, 4th ed. sive research projects or to assist students in Geography and Map Division, Library of preparing term papers, bibliographies, or other World Directory of Map Collections, compiled Congress. academic assignments. by the Section of Geography and Map Libraries, International Federation of Library This Division holds and has direct access to Associations and Institutions: K.G. Saur, almost 4 million maps, 51,000 atlases, 8,000 Geography and Map Reading Room at the Munich, 1986. reference works, and a large number of related Library of Congress: materials in other formats. This large reading room is open to the public Some map bibliographies: The Division draws on these vast resources to MondayCFriday (8:30 a.m.n5 p.m.). It is in provide cartographic and geographic informa- Room LM B01 of the Library of Congress Historical Geography of the United States: A tion to Federal and local governments, the James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Guide to Information Sources: Gale Research, scholarly community, and the public. No sin- Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, D.C. Detroit, 1982, (see especially p.3C51). gle catalog includes the Division's total hold- ings, but card and book catalogs provide In the reading room, geographic and carto- Checklist of Printed Maps of the Middle West access to its collections. graphic bibliographies, reference books, to 1900: G.K. Hall, Boston, 1981C82, 14 v. gazetteers, and current issues of cartographic The atlas collection includes representative journals are readily available for consultation. Bibliography on Cartography, Geography and volumes of all significant publishers of atlases Map Division, Library of Congress: G. K. over the past five centuries. The atlases cover Hall, Boston, 1973, 5 v First Supplement, individual continents, countries, states, coun- Acquiring photocopies of maps and 1980, 2 v. ties, cities and other geographic regions, as plates: well as the world. They range in scope from general to topical. Subject to copyrights and other restrictions, U.S. Geological Survey maps: photocopies of maps and plates from atlases Of major interest to genealogists are land own- may be ordered through the Library's In 1879, The USGS's new library began to ership records kept by Federal, State, county, Photoduplication Service. Two free brochures accumulate its holding of topographic and and local government agencies. A good source are also available: many other kinds of maps of the United States for early county maps is Land Ownership and its territories. Maps: A Checklist of Nineteenth Century

U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey (1) Geography and Map Division, the Library This guide can be ordered from the Ronald E. Grim, Reference and Bibliography of Congress Publications Sales Branch of the National Section, Geography and Map Division, Archives or from: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (2) List of Publications, Geography and Map Genealogical Publishing Company Division National Archives Trust Fund 1001 N. Calvert Street NEPS Dept. 735 Baltimore, MD 21202 Look for them in your library or order copies P.O. Box 100793 from: Atlanta, GA 30384 Riley Moffat, "Genealogy and Maps: Some (hardcover $25, plus $3 postage). Reference Sources," Western Association of Geography and Map Division Map Libraries Information Bulletin, v.12, no. Library of Congress 1, Nov. 1980, Santa Barbara Calif. Washington, DC 20540-4650 Other National publications about cartographic records: Another helpful Library of Congress publica- More Information: tion is The Geography and Map Division: A Civil War Maps, 1964 Guide to its Collections and Services. This For information on other USGS products and booklet describes some noteworthy items in List of Selected Maps of States and Territories, services, call 1-888-ASK-USGS, or visit the the Library's collection. You can order it (spec- 1971. general interest publications Web site on map- ify stock number 030-004-00015-9) from: ping, geography, and related topics at Records and Policies of the Post Office erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/pubslists/. Superintendent of Documents Department Relating to Place Names, 1975. U.S. Government Printing Office For additional information, visit the Washington, DC 20402 Cartographic Records Relating to American ask.usgs.gov Web site or the USGS home page Indians, 1974 . . . the Bureau of Indian Affairs, at www.usgs.gov. 1977. . .the Territory of Iowa 1836n1848, Cartographic and Architectural Branch, 1971. . . the Territory of Wisconsin 1836n National Archives: 1846, 1970.

The National Archives is the official repository List of Cartographic Records of the General for noncurrent, permanently valuable records Land Office, 1964. produced by the Federal Government since 1774, including almost 2 million maps. If your Pre-Federal Maps In the National Archives: library does not have a copy of the free pam- An Annotated List, 1975. phlet, Cartographic and Architectural Branch, you can order it (specify General Information Transportation in Nineteenth-Century Leaflet #26) from: America: A Survey of the Cartographic Records in the National Archives of the United Publications Sales Branch States, 1975. National Archives 8th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Preliminary Inventory of the Cartographic Washington, DC 20408 Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1958. 202-501-5235 The National Archives also offers the Guide to Followup Hints: Genealogical Research at the National Archives. This 304-page illustrated guide was Directories and pamphlets are only general revised in 1985. Chapter 20 on Cartographic guides, but they will help direct you to the Records describes holdings of the National right map collection to suit your needs. Archives that are of special value to genealo- gist: In making inquiries, give as much information as possible. Try to provide the State, county,  Census Records: census enumeration and town or township; the publisher, year, and maps, enumeration district descriptions, place of publication; and the edition of the and civil division outline maps. map or volume of maps. Specify the kind of information that you want on the map and the  General Land Office Records: township approximate area of coverage. survey plats and U.S. land district maps. The map researcher will then be able to indi-  Records: manuscript, annotated, cate if that mapCor one like itCexists in that and printed maps, plans, and charts com- particular collection. piled or collected by various military orga- nizations. Acknowledgments:  Other Cartographic Records: small-scale civil division maps, postal route maps, The U.S. Geological Survey would like to USGS topographic quadrangle maps, area thank the following for their assistance: and county soil maps, assessment maps, maps relating to captured and aban- J.B. Post, "Maps for Genealogists," Special doned property, and maps pertaining to Libraries Association G&M Bulletin, No. 143, American Indians. March 1986, New York.

U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey