Genealogical Signpost - 2017 VGS Fall 10/29/2017 Conference

GENEALOGICAL SIGNPOST – WHERE Wm Troy Valos Sargeant Memorial Collection TO GO TO RESEARCH? Norfolk Public Library

WHERE TO GO FOR RESEARCH?

. Family Homes . Museums . Courthouse’s Records Department . Religious Institutions (Churches, Synagogues) . Cemeteries . Businesses . Societies (Fraternal, Historical, etc.) . Libraries & Archives (Local/State/National)

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PLACES TO VISIT: COURTHOUSES

Limited staff: Clerk staff is typically focused on the processing of current records Electronical devices like phones and smartphones may not be allowed in the courthouse Depending on the locality – only allowed access to digital copies Limited options for copying Some records stored at the state archives

LIBRARIES VS ARCHIVES Libraries: (Published materials)

Tend to call these departments as Local History and Genealogy Collection, Family History, or Special Collections.

Archives: (Primary sources) Archives can hold both published and unpublished materials, and those materials can be in any format. Tend to call these departments as Special Collections, Archives, or Record Centers.

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LIBRARIES

Type of materials offered: . Collections of books and/or other printed or nonprinted materials . Organized by Dewey or Library of Congress call numbers. . Offers access to databases with scanned books and items.

. Items typically held in Local History and Genealogy Collections are non-circulating.

PLACES TO VISIT: LOCAL HISTORY & GENEALOGY COLLECTIONS

Most collections are held at the institution's main library building. Smaller specialized special collections are typically in separate buildings on campus. Books typically cover 1600s-mid 1800s. Limited staff: Most rely on volunteers and/or part time staff Materials don’t circulate. Materials and collections are reference in the library’s catalog or specialized archival catalog.

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PRINTED RESOURCES AT LIBRARIES’ LOCAL HISTORY AND GENEALOGY COLLECTIONS . Indexes . Historic Maps . Periodicals . Surname Indexes . Books (older) . Genealogies (unpublished & . Records published) . Bibliographies . Family Histories (unpublished & published) . Local Histories (unpublished & . Biographies (unpublished & published) published) . Local Directories (telephone, city, . Special Collections (Original records) etc.) . Clippings and Ephemera Files/Local . Periodicals: Newspapers, Subject Files/ Vertical Files Magazines, and Journals . Photographs

ARCHIVES

Type of materials offered:

Archives typically contain manuscripts, letters, photographs, moving image and sound materials, artwork, books, diaries, artifacts, and the digital equivalents of all of these things.

Materials in an archives are often unique, specialized, or rare objects, meaning very few of them exist in the world, or they are the only ones of their kind.

Access: They can offer researchers almost unlimited access or no access at all to their holdings.

Source: Society of American Archivists https://www2.archivists.org/usingarchives/whatarearchives

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ARCHIVES

Most of the records found on genealogical databases like Ancestry.com or Family Search.org come from archives. Example: US Census Records held by National Archives (NARA)

Remember - Libraries can contain an archive, but archives are not libraries.

PLACES TO VISIT: ARCHIVES

Most archives are held at the institution's main building. Smaller specialized archives may be held in a separate building. Date range of materials: Depends on the institution. Hours of operation: Very limited (example: 1-5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays) Limited staff: a full time archivist with a part time staff member. Archives at Amon Carter Museum Materials don’t circulate. of American Art – Fort Worth, TX Some of the holdings may have a record in a specialized archival catalog.

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MAJOR COLLECTIONS IN OUR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Personal/Family Papers

Walter Heron Taylor Papers Alice Granbery Walter Genealogy Collection

William C Whittle Jr Papers Celestyne Diggs Porter Collection

Virginia C. G. Ferguson Genealogy Collection Harry B. Taylor, Jr. Family Papers Henry Clay Hofheimer II Collection Dr. Bernard H. Walker Diaries (1858-1914) Willcox Family Papers Allmand Family Papers

Elizabeth Baum Wingo Papers

List of Injured Confederate sailors from CSS Alabama at a French Hospital

From William C Whittle, Jr Papers

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MAJOR COLLECTIONS IN OUR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Company/Corporate Records:

. Guaranty Title and Trust Records

. J. H. Miles Oyster and Shellfish Company Records

. Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance Records (1925-1990s)

. Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority Collection

. Cox Funeral Home Records

. J.R. Williams Funeral Home Records

Guaranty Title and Trust Company Records

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MAJOR COLLECTIONS IN OUR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Organizational Records: .Woman’s Club of Norfolk Records . Rotary Club of Norfolk . Norfolk City Guard Records . 1907 Jamestown Exposition .Colonial Avenue Methodist Church Governing Board Records Records . Norfolk Light Artillery Blues Records .Norfolk Botanical Gardens Records .Ghent Neighborhood League Records . Seaboard Agricultural Society Records (1855-1859) .Tidewater Children's Foundation Records (1960s-1990s) . Norfolk Cosmopolitan Club Records .Norfolk NATO/Azalea Festival Collection . Norview Lions Club Records .United Confederate Veterans Records . Talbot Park Garden Club Records (Pickett-Buchanan Chapter)

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MAJOR COLLECTIONS IN OUR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Scrapbooks:

. Bernard Reis’ 1910-1920s Vaudeville and Theatrical Actors’ Signature Scrapbook . Meadowbrook Forest Garden Club Scrapbooks . Mayor Roy B. Martin Scrapbooks . Norfolk USO Scrapbook . Norfolk Theater Center Scrapbooks . Thomas B. Rowland Scrapbooks . Boy Scout Troop 5, Tidewater Council Scrapbooks . Ruehe Music Studio Scrapbooks

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LIBRARIANS AND ARCHIVISTS = YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND

WORLD OF DIGITAL RESOURCES AT YOUR FINGER TIPS  Meta-Aggregator of Library Catalogs

 Digital Libraries

 Meta-Aggregators of Digital Collections

 Digital Collections

 Archival Catalog of Finding Aids

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WWW.WORLDCAT.ORG

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DIGITAL LIBRARIES

Contain digitized copies of an archives or library’s printed materials (books, journals, pamphlets, handouts, etc.)

 Internet Archive  Google Books  HathiTrust  World Digital Library (WDL)

WWW.ARCHIVE.ORG

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WWW.HATHITRUST.ORG

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META-AGGREGATORS OF DIGITAL COLLECTIONS Meta-aggregators pulls into a single website the metadata of multiple libraries and archives’ catalogs and digital collections.

DPLA Europeana

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WWW.DP.LA

DIGITAL COLLECTIONS Contain digitized copies of an archives or library’s collection of photographs, meeting minutes, reports, letters, audiovisual recordings, etc.

It typically represents a faction of the actual holdings of an institution's holdings

 New York Public Library’s Digital Collections  Library of Congress  National Archives (NARA)  Virginia Memory (Library of Virginia)  Family Search.org (LDS)  Ancestry.com

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ARCHIVAL CATALOG OF FINDING AIDS A finding aid (sometimes called inventory, collection listing, register, or calendar) is a text document providing a description of the contents of a collection, just like a table of contents outlines the contents of a book. (Source: Society of American Archivist website)

Virginia Heritage (VIVA) National Archives’ ARC (The Archival Research Catalog) ArchivesGrid

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WWW.VAHERITAGE.ORG

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HTTPS://BETA.WORLDCAT.ORG/ARCHIVEGRID/

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STRATEGIES FOR FINDING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

. Trace back the sources listed in footnotes and endnotes . Check the indexes of books . Create a list of terms used for your topic then search by those terms Example: Civil War, War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression, etc.

. Look at an event or person from different points of view. . Look at subject headings listed in record

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THANK YOU

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