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Is your genealogy research stuck? What happens to your genealogy search when you can no longer find your ancestors in the traditional genealogy records? Have you considered exploring uncommon genealogy resources?
You have exhausted the census records, the will collections, the vital records and the land records? No family Bible exists. No one is left to tell the family stories.
If you research for long, you will come to this point. We all do. 🙂
But…..
This is the point where you take your genealogy research up a notch (or two!).
Table of Contents
Explore These 6 Uncommon Genealogy Resources!
- Letters/Postcards – Ask family members about old keepsake letters. Typically, you will need to ask. People don’t really think about offering these up. Letters are often found tucked in a family Bible, a favorite book, among family photographs or in the back of the unmentionables drawer! (But I didn’t mention it.)
- Baby Books – Baby books are not just for those cute baby pictures. Take a close look at the gift list or list of congratulations. Those listed are frequently family members! Make note of any name you find and determine the relationship (if any) to the child. Bonus: This is a great place to find female ancestors and potentially married names.
Yes, I hear you saying, “But, Lisa, this all sounds so tedious and time consuming!” .
Well,…..
Sometimes, genealogy research can be tedious and time consuming, but being thorough is important to making accurate relationship determinations. No one wants to cut a branch off the family tree when that mistake could have been avoided. (Ahem.)
When traditional records have been exhausted or if they no longer exists, think outside the genealogy box. Seek out those unusual genealogy records. Consider what your ancestor may have kept and passed down to generations. Consider what unique records the community may have created and kept.
Tip – Check state and local archives digital collections for unique and unusual genealogy resources. North Carolina Digital Collections is a great example of what can be found.
Your Action Item Today
- On a blank sheet of paper, write the ancestor’s name, location and time period you are researching. Brainstorm all the different types of uncommon genealogy resources and “out of the box” records your ancestor could have potentially created. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes. Start! Do not overthink at this point. If an idea comes to mind write it down.
- Now you are ready to create your research plan.
Have you come across an interesting “out of the box” genealogy record? Share in the comments below!
Other Posts of Interests
- How To Research “Out of the Box” Genealogy – (Round 2)
- 31 Days of “Out of the Box” Genealogy Tips – Volunteer! – Check out the whole 31 Day series!
- 15 Places to Find the Genealogy Records You Need
- How To Research Your Destitute Ancestors – Yes, It’s Possible
- Getting Started With School Records for Genealogy Research
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Great suggestions, especially wedding and baby books. I inherited the wedding book of my great grand aunt and, in it, were signatures of both my great grandmother AND great great grandmother, plus those of several other collateral relatives.
Great ideas that really work. When checking for older items, remember to check ancestor’s location for antique, resale and pawn stores, libraries, history groups and photography studios (who often absorb material). Found a 150 year old family bible with a few phone calls to a small IL town–seems the local library had lots of donated bibles in storage. They checked and my friend won a family heirloom that traveled from VA to IL before the Civil War. Small town resale shops can be gold mines for information as well as items.
Mary, what an excellent idea! I had not thought about the resales shops. I’ll be checking those shops in my areas…..
That’s wonderful, Linda!
I always enjoy your articles, Lisa. Thank you! This one is another great one 🙂
You are more than welcome, Olivia! Thanks!
I am fortunate to have my parents family bibles. When I started working on “my” genealogy I looked through the bible and found a few things of interest. I also found some of the dates did not coincide with actual certified documents. But, they were close! When I reached a brick wall on an ancestor I thought I would go back to the bible and see if I could find anything….Lo & behold…….I found several letters, addresses, newspaper clippings that didn’t mean anything the first time I looked, but now, after a few years I know where these people fit in the family! I say a little prayer that I didn’t toss that info that meant nothing to me out!
Summer, that’s wonderful! I was just like you when I first started researching. I didn’t realize what I actually had. 🙂
My best “find” were not one, but two, address books from 2 different branches of my family. In both were the full names and birth dates of my grandparents siblings, sometimes death dates.
You mentioned correspondence, like letters and postcards. Most people are probably only looking at the body of the correspondence for information. But the addresses and return addresses are just as, maybe more valuable for your research. You need to be able to place your ancestor in not just a time, but a place at that time. So I have kept a lot of my parent’s Christmas cards and whatever for the addresses as much as anything.
Address books – what great resources! You also bring up a great tip about the addresses and postmarks on correspondence. Thanks for sharing!
In addition to address books, I came across a calendar type small notebook belonging to my mother in law
who did not much like talking about family ancestors. This little books called the “Sands of Time” was a calendar book where she noted relatives birthdays as well as when they were born and died. Lots of new names and useful leads.
What a great find! I hadn’t thought about it before, but a calendar type notebook acts almost like a personal journal. What an excellent source of genealogy information.
These are some of the ways I found info when I first started, long before computers.
That and writing letters to relatives and possible relitives that I had never met
I have some autograph books. One helped me pinpoint when there was a move. Also great to have signatures, especially of women.
I had not thought of using autograph books to pinpoint a move. That’s a great find!
Letters in my grandmother’s trunk from an uncle we didn’t even know about led me to 7 first cousins in Italy. We have met twice and enjoyed that Italian cuisine.
That’s fantastic and worthy of the genealogy dance! Meeting distant cousins is a dream of many researchers. (I’m strangely hungry for Italian food now. 🙂 )
When my paternal Grandmother died I found my Great Grandmother’s funeral guestbook among Grandma;s keepsakes. While not a primary source it affirmed a lot of the family surnames and connections I had previously found. It also verified which family members cared enough to come and pay their respects.
Yes, funeral guestbooks are great resources. I’ve used them as well.
I found my ancestor’s names in a book that was kept by their county, “Wolf Scalp Bounties.” As a bonus, I noticed that many of the records were signed by a deputy clerk with an unusual name that was later given to my great granduncle. I always wondered where that name came from!
Wow, now that’s an “out of the box” record! Thanks for sharing that!