Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com, page 9
Once I found Christina in the 1881 census, I went back to the 1871 census and found her living in a household of servants with M (married) as her marital status. Joseph’s birthplace is now listed as Malta and Christina’s as Gibraltar. On this census, Christina and Joseph are living in a thirteen-member household of mostly servants. Christina does not appear on the 1861 census or 1851 census. Because Joseph’s wife, Anne, has too common a surname (Wilson) and not enough other known information to reliably find her on the census, I put that search on the back burner.
After you find a Canadian census record you’re searching for, you can view the original record, as well as save it to your tree.
If you need help with Canadian census records, the Library and Archives Canada has excellent tips for researching Canadian censuses at
The 1881 Canadian census lists Christina Brooks as a widow.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL CENSUS RECORDS
Although US, UK, and Canadian census collections are by far the largest, you can still locate other international censuses. The second largest group of European census records (behind the United Kingdom) are for Germany, but all of them are written in German. There are some Eastern European records in English and four French censuses are in French. Australia and New Zealand (collected together in “Oceania”) have about a dozen census collections.
One “international” collection that might be of interest to US researchers is “The Census Tables for the French Colony of Louisiana from 1699 Through 1732.” This is an invaluable resource for those who have French ancestors from Louisiana.
5
DELVING INTO BIRTH, MARRIAGE, AND DEATH RECORDS
Have you ever thought about documenting your own birth, your parents’ marriage, or your grandparents’ death? Records that document life events are the building blocks for genealogical research, providing evidence about key events in a person’s life. The documents within this group are known as vital records or (in countries with civil registration) civil records.
Vital records are the official records maintained by governmental agencies at a city, county, or state level. These include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, and divorce decrees. While vital records are now routine, they weren’t always. State-mandated registration of births didn’t begin for most US states until the latter part of the nineteenth century or early part of the twentieth century. Prior to that time, records (if any) were kept at the county level, with dates of record-keeping varying wildly. In Pennsylvania, for example, records of births, marriages, and burials began in 1692, while in Wyoming, very few birth and death records were kept prior to 1906, even at the county level.
Vital records can contain far more information than just a date and a place name. In the best cases, they can contain a mother’s maiden name, an address, the name and length of an illness, a religion, a place of burial, info about military service, the number of siblings, the name of a presiding minister, and age.
ANCESTRY.COM’S VITAL RECORDS
Ancestry.com currently has more than one thousand US birth, death, and marriage collections, as well as over one hundred Canadian and hundreds of European records collections. In some cases, your search will yield links that take you to an image of the actual record, while others will contain an excerpt or transcription. If copies of a record are available for purchase, you’ll see a link to an order form. When viewing an original image that’s difficult to read, don’t forget to use the Tools options (top right corner of original image).
Although Ancestry.com’s vital records collection is called the Birth, Marriage, and Death collection, it covers a variety of documents. Let’s look at some of the most important:
Birth
A birth record (image A) typically shows the name and gender of the child, place of birth, and name of parents. Occasionally a record will contain the parents’ place of birth. Earlier records may simply record a name, date, and parents’ names.
This birth record, from a collection of Pennsylvania church and town records, shows the person’s name, birth date, and parents’ names.
Death
Death records (image B) often show the name of the deceased, age at death, illness or accident causing death, length of illness, attending physician, place of death, marital status, name of parents and their birthplaces, name of spouse (if any), occupation, and name of the person providing the information.
This death record sample (from the “Tennessee Death Records, 1908–1958” collection) contains the usual information, as well as the maiden name of the deceased and the name of the undertaker.
Divorce
These records document the dissolution of a marriage. While some records merely state names and place, others can contain far more information. For example, the “Connecticut Divorce Index, 1968–1997” states race, number of marriages, level of education, number of children, decree date, birth state, and location of the superior court.
Social Security Death Index (SSDI)
An often-overlooked source of information, the SSDI contains names of deceased people from 1935 to 2014, who applied for (and were assigned) Social Security numbers. You’ll find more information about the SSDI in the Social Security Death Index sidebar.
Cemetery
These records may include tombstone inscriptions, death indexes, and perhaps birth and death dates and the names of surviving family members.
Church
Church records contain birth, baptismal, marriage, and burial records. In some instances, you also can find information about family members.
Obituaries
Obituaries are excerpted from newspaper records and vary depending on the newspaper. Most often, you can expect to find the person’s name, date of death, and name of the newspaper. Other records show publication date, age of the deceased, and a link to a non-Ancestry.com site where you can find more information. Present-day obituaries tend to include basic facts about people (names, dates, places). However, older obits (from the early twentieth century, for example) can often give you insight into the person herself. This is part of the obituary for Nancy Dimmitt from 1930:
She united with the Christian church in middle age and as long as her health permitted she never missed a Sunday School or church service, often going when she was so weak she could hardly get there and back. Or [sic] never missed a chance to do a Christian’s duty. Besides these children she leaves 22 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and a host of friends who will miss Grandma Dimmitt.
Baptism and Christening
At the least, you’ll find the name of the person being baptized, as well as the date. You’ll get a bonus if the collection has the names of the parents and godparents, and the date of birth. Non-US baptisms will probably show parish and county.
Burial and Grave Records
Although it doesn’t contain official (government) records, Ancestry.com’s Birth, Marriage, and Death category search results often include useful links to off-site databases such as Find A Grave
Find A Grave is a database of worldwide burials, currently totaling more than 160 million entries. Membership to the site is free, and all members can create a memorial, submit data, add flowers and photos, or search the database at no charge. When you click on an Ancestry.com search result for Find A Grave, the next screen will include the pertinent data, with a link to click over to the site (image C). The Find A Grave page (image D) can include images, birth and death dates, relationships, user-added flowers, and newspaper articles. It all depends on who created or added to the record.
You can also go directly to the Find A Grave Index database by clicking on Card Catalog, then typing Find A Grave in the Title box.
BillionGraves uses technology (free Android and iPhone apps) to capture images of headstones with their GPS locations. The images are then uploaded to the website. Once uploaded, you (or other users) can transcribe the records into a searchable format. Using the BillionGraves smartphone app (image E), you can take photos (which will include GPS coordinates) as well as search already uploaded data.
The arrow indicates the full record is on a third-party website and not on Ancestry.com.
Find A Grave, one of Ancestry.com’s subsidiary sites, hosts millions of online memorials that contain tombstone photos and information about the deceased.
BillionGraves links tombstones with GPS to allow you to put burial sites on a map.
Social Security Death Index (SSDI)
As noted earlier, the SSDI is a database of deceased persons who applied for and were assigned a Social Security number (SSN), received benefits, and whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration. The benefits most often paid to a person listed in the database were retirement (old age pension) or disability.
If you know a person’s date and place of birth (but not where or when they died), the SSDI is a good place to begin your search. Conversely, if you know a place and date of death (but not birth information), you can find that, too. For example, I knew the place of death of my Great-aunt Dollie West, but I didn’t know when she was born. I quickly found her listing in the SSDI, and learned that she was born on May 15, 1897, seven years after my grandmother (her sister).
When searching the SSDI, you’ll notice an option to order a copy of the original application. You can request copies of original applications online or in writing. To order online, follow the directions and link to Form SSA-711, which you’ll need to fill out in order to get your copy of original form SS-5. Fees vary depending on whether you have the person’s SSN (which you should have if you found the person in the SSDI, unless it was a recent death).
The index currently contains more than ninety-four million records. If the information is available, you can find:
last name
first name
SSN
state of issue
birth date
death date
last residence
lump sum payment
Because of privacy issues, you won’t see the SSN of anyone who died within the past ten years.
Another Social Security collection is the “U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007.” Providing more detail than the SSDI, the Application and Claims Index contains data for forty-nine million people. Additional information includes the names of the claimant’s parents.
Ancestry.com links you to a page where you can order the original Social Security Death Index.
INTERNATIONAL VITAL RECORDS
If you search Ancestry.com’s Card Catalog, you’ll see that Ancestry.com has an extensive collection of international vital records, particularly from Europe and Canada. Don’t be surprised to find records that look nothing like vital records in the United States—not only in form, but also in what’s contained in the record.
For example, a marriage record from the “Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801–1928” collection provides information on the July 1882 marriage between Joseph Brooks and Anne Wilson (image F). The record shows that Joseph was born in Quebec, was a printer, and had parents named Christina and Henry Brooks. It also shows that Anne, age nineteen, was born in Canada to Robert and Mary Wilson. The record goes on to name the witnesses (Charles and Lizzie Poynton of Toronto), the name of the minister, and the religious affiliation of the groom (Plymouth Brethren) and the bride (Episcopalian). Now that’s a record filled with clues!
The marriage record for Joseph Brooks and Anne Wilson gives a lot of detail about the couple’s marriage in Ontario.
England and Wales
As excellent as Canadian collections like the one we just mentioned are, among the best known of the international vital records is the FreeBMD (birth, marriage, death) collection, which covers England and Wales. FreeBMD
The collections for England and Wales Civil Registration records on Ancestry.com are separate: one each for births, marriages, and deaths, with dates ranging from 1837 to 2007. Birth records include surname, name of the child, the registrar’s district, and volume and page number where the original record was recorded. In the marriages collection, you’ll find names, date, district, county, and volume and page number. Likewise, the death index includes names, district, and volume and page numbers of the original recording. In all, you’ll find transcriptions of alphabetical ledgers, each compiled quarterly after all records are received by the GRO.
Do a sample search along with me for a birth of John Hendrickson, born about 1838. In Ancestry.com’s Card Catalog, choose the “England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915” collection, then use the search form to enter John’s name and approximate birth date. The results include two John Hendricksons, one born in 1838 and the other born in 1841 (image G).
My search for John Hendrickson in the “England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915” collection returned two results.
When you click to view the record, you’ll see that the first John was born in the third quarter (July-August-September) in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland; his birth was recorded in volume 25, page 326. The second John was born in the fourth quarter (October-November-December) 1841, Poplar, London, with the birth recorded in volume 2, page 310 (image H).
Once you click on either of the listings, you’ll also notice the Page Tools (left column) has three options: order a birth certificate, search for John in the UK census collection, and search for John in the London Times. Click the second option, pick the appropriate census year, then do a census search. If you pick the third option, the London Times link will display a list of possible matches in the publication’s database. It’s possible there will be no links for “good matches” if there isn’t enough information to effectively do the search. (Note that, if you want a copy of the birth certificate, you’ll need to pay a fee. The order form is prefilled from the information in your ancestor’s FreeBMD listing.)
When using any of the FreeBMD collections, don’t forget to click over to view the image, just to ensure that the transcription displayed in the search results is correct.
Ancestry.com’s collection of English and Welsh civil records provide citation information that you can use to order copies of the original records. John Hendrickson’s entry from 1841 is third from the top.
STUDY OLD HANDWRITING
For tips on deciphering these records, consult Ancestry.com’s “Tips for Reading Old Handwriting.” To find the guide, go to
Other International Records
While many people reading this book will have UK ancestry, don’t miss checking the Card Catalog for other international birth, marriage, and death collections if your family lived or immigrated to other parts of the world. A sampling of what you can find includes:
“New Zealand, Notices of Deceased Estates, 1880–1950”
“Sweden, Church Records, 1500–1941” (in Swedish)
Paris marriage banns (in French)
Italian civil registrations (in Italian)
Norwegian burial records (in Norwegian)
“Lübeck, Germany, Marriage Banns, 1811–1871 (in German)”
“Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, Mexico, Selected Parish Records, 1751–1880
FINDING VITAL RECORDS
As with all other records on Ancestry.com, you can do a global search of the Birth, Marriage, and Death category, or you can search within individual collections that comprise the category. The broad category is searchable via the dropdown Search menu located at the top of each page. You can narrow the collection search by choosing a category, which will take you to a new search form.
You also can search individual collections, which you can find in the Card Catalog (see chapter 3 for more information on using the Card Catalog). For example, if you want to narrow your search to Indiana births, type Indiana in the Title box of the Card Catalog, then filter (if desired) by Collection, Location, Date, or Languages. Once you filter by state you can further filter by county. Remember, though, that the more you filter, the less likely you’ll find results. If your search returns no results, remove some of the filters.
Sample Search
Although Hendrickson is my surname, it’s the side of the family I’ve had the most problem researching—particularly when it comes to finding more about the women and any details about their lives. A case in point is Ella Snow, wife of James Hendrickson. Using the Birth, Marriage, and Death category, I entered Ella and James’ names and their approximate date of marriage. Search results included a cemetery listing from Find A Grave, as well as probable matches in the “Missouri Marriage Records, 1805–2002” collection.
