Wilson Cobb Library Blog
Welcome to the Wilson Cobb Library! Making it easier for you to search out your ancestry and genealogical history!
Genealogy Records Selection Table
We are so glad you are here! We hope that this website and the library itself will become fabulous resources for you as you search out your family ancestry. This table should help you see what types of sources produce different types of information.
Info Needed | Good Sources | Possible Sources |
Vital Records | ||
Age | Cemeteries , census, pension applications, vital records | Military records , tax records |
Birth date | Census, church records, newspapers, obituaries, vital records | Cemeteries , military records, obituaries, SSDI (if deceased) |
Birth name (“maiden” name) | Bible records, church records, newspapers, town records, vital records | Cemeteries, records of sisters and aunts, military records, obituaries, pension records, personal correspondence, probate records |
Birth place (especially if foreign) | Census, church records, military records, obituaries, probate records, vital records | Emigration and immigration records, funeral home records, newspapers |
Death | Cemeteries, census mortality schedules, church records, obituaries, probate and wills, vital records | Bible records, military records, newspapers, Social Security Death Index (SSDI) |
Divorce | Court records, divorce records, vital records | Newspapers |
Marriage | Bible records, biography, census, newspapers, church records, pension records, vital records | Cemeteries, land records, military records, naturalization and citizenship records, obituaries, probate records |
Place Information | ||
County: origins and history of boundary changes | Historical maps | Gazetteers |
Emigration/immigration info | Census, emigration and immigration records, naturalization and citizenship records, periodicals | History (colonization), newspapers, obituaries |
Ethnic origin | Bible records, census, emigration and immigration records, societies | Church records, naturalization and citizenship records, periodicals |
Places (where your ancestor resided) | Census (indexed), directories, genealogies, land records | Military records, obituaries, tax records, voter registration |
Family Information | ||
Living relatives and adoptions | Court records, directories, obituaries | Census, church records, newspapers, probate records |
Occupation | Census, death records, directories, emigration and immigration records, obituaries | Court records, land records, newspapers |
Family members (parents, offspring, relatives) | Census, church records, court records, directories, marriage records, obituaries, probate records, vital records | Bible records, biographies, emigration and immigration records, land records, newspapers |
Physical description | Biographies, military records, obituaries | Emigration and immigration records , genealogies (compiled), naturalization and citizenship records, vital records |
Religion | Biographies , church records | Bible records, cemeteries, genealogies, obituaries |
Research compiled by others | Genealogies , periodicals, societies | Biographies , histories |