31 Days of “Out of the Box” Genealogy Tips – School Records

Wondering what type of school records could benefit your genealogy research?  You are in the right place!

July is completely focused on providing you with genealogy tips that are …..well,….”out of the box”.

Welcome to DAY 13 of the 31 Days of “Out of the Box” Genealogy Tips series! Need to start at the beginning of the series or catch up? Start here.

DAY 13 – Using School Records in Your Genealogy Research!

School records are not often used by genealogy researchers. Many researchers are not even aware of their existence. Just so we are clear, the school records we use in genealogy research are not a student’s private record.

We are referring records such as:

School Census Records and Attendance Lists – Check the county records at state and local archives for these.

Yearbooks – Check state and local libraries as well as digital collections. Look at examples in this large yearbook collection at Digital NC.

Student Newspapers – Check state, local and university libraries for these.

Annual Reports – Check county records at state and local archives.

Home Records – Often report cards, special projects,  and class photos were kept.  Check with your extended family for keepsakes from one’s school years.

Where to find school records?

Admittedly, finding these records can be tough as most are not digitized. In addition to the sources mentioned above check:

• The local and state genealogical societies
• The large database companies like Ancestry.com and FindMyPast. Tip: Search Ancestry’s card catalog for keywords “School Records”. 
• Local historical societies
• Local Libraries
• Digital collections of state archives

Check out previous posts in the 31 Days of Out of the Box Genealogy Tips:

• Day 1 – Volunteer!
• Day 2 – Genealogy Wikis
• Day 3 – Cemetery Research
• Day 4 – Newspaper Society Pages
• Day 5 – Vertical Files
• Day 6 – Religious Periodicals
• Day 7 – Unplug Your Genealogy
• Day 8 – Cultural Periodicals
• Day 9 – Facebook Groups
• Day 10 – DNA Education
• Day 11 – Funeral Records
• Day 12 – Occupational Records

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