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How to do a "Binary Search": Applying Computer Science Algorithms to Genealogy Research

6 January 2024 by Sherri Mastrangelo

Let’s take the ideas and concepts from certain computer science algorithms, break them down into simpler terms to understand them better, and learn how we can apply them to our genealogy research. No tech skills or coding required! In fact, you may already utilize some of these methods without even recognizing them.

The first algorithm we’ll discuss is called a “Binary Search”.

A binary search reduces the search to half at each step, to save time. Think of it as “divide and conquer”.

If you’ve ever tried to go to a certain page number in a book, say you are looking for page 343, you may have implemented a form of binary search by opening the book in the middle. You’re at page 201, so you know you need to go higher. Instead of turning the pages one by one, you estimate another chunk of pages and now you’re at 356, so you need to go lower. This is basically the concept behind a binary search. You would continue dividing the sections into smaller and smaller results until you find the target page.

Instead of working in a linear pattern, i.e. starting at the beginning of a list and reading the values all the way through the end, a binary search would start in the middle and either ascend or descend the list depending on if the resulting value is greater or less than the target value, repeatedly dividing each new search area, until it either finds the target or determines it is not there. Of course there is more to it when it comes to the writing the formulas to make the algorithm work, and the computer algorithm may be more precise in terms of dividing each resulting search array in half while you have roughly estimated, but I think this explains the general concept we need to implement.

It’s important to note that a binary search will only work with an ordered set of data, like an alphabetized list or a set of files organized chronologically. The list can be sorted ascending or descending, as long as its ordered. If the set of data is compiled randomly this method would not work successfully.

Image above generated with in part with AI tools.

Another example I’ve heard to describe binary search would be that of a detective watching security footage tapes (as pictured above), trying to figure out when a car was stolen overnight. This example might be a bit outdated with today’s technology but the same idea applies. Let’s say there is perfect high resolution video, aimed directly at the car, that disappeared sometime between when the owner parked it at 8 pm and when they noticed it was gone at 7 am. Instead of sitting down and watching eleven hours of video footage from start to finish, which would take all day, even sped up, the detective is going to implement a form of binary search. He will fast forward the video halfway to 1:30 am. If the car is still there, fast forward half of the remaining time to 4:45 am. If the car is no longer there, go back and divide the previous time between 1:30 am and 4:45 am, and so on until the target time is discovered. This method of searching would take significantly less time than watching hours of video footage!

So how can we apply the concept of binary search to our genealogy research?

The best case scenario for applying this method to genealogy research, would be when you have to look through records that are not indexed, or not transcribed correctly (but are still in some order - alphabetically, chronologically, or otherwise) and you need to narrow down your scope quickly.

Some examples of this and additional scenarios:

  1. A large set of record images in a database online, like FamilySearch, that is not indexed (therefore not searchable by name) where you need to find the year in order to narrow down the hunt for your record. I know it can seem overwhelming when you come across these huge image-only datasets to browse - but using the binary search method will help save a lot of time! First confirm there is an order within the collection - are the surnames alphabetical? Or is the information organized by date? Look at the first few pages to give you an idea, then skip ahead to half. Depending on what you need, either skip ahead by another half or backwards by half. Note your page numbers to remember where you have searched. Just be aware often these collections have other, smaller collections within them, and there is usually a small note on the microfilm image when a new section starts.

  2. An alphabetical City Directory where you need to find a certain surname. Maybe it’s a physical book in your hands, or a digital copy you found on Internet Archive or Google Books. You wouldn’t start with “A” and flip page by page if your surname started with an “R”, you’d skip ahead, and then back, as needed. And once you got to the “R’s” you would do the same for the full surname.

  3. You don’t have a date of death for your ancestor, but you know their address and can look them up in City Directories. You know she must have died sometime between the birth of her youngest child in 1931 and the 1940 Census, where her husband is widowed. Instead of looking at all the city directories in a linear fashion, 1932, 1933, 1934, and so on, you can start with 1936 (about halfway), and you’ve likely just cut your search time in half. If she’s alive, you only have 4 more years. If she’s not alive, you work backward - cutting each new search in half.

    Of course you could “get lucky” when searching in a linear fashion, if the information you needed was in first City Directory you checked, for example. This is just an example to illustrate the search method. And remember to check the printing date on City Directories to be precise.

Can you think of another case scenario where this might come in handy?

More computer science algorithms coming soon!

Sources & Further Reading



67 Recommended Genealogy Books

22 November, 2023 by Sherri Mastrangelo

This list, submitted without additional commentary and straight from my bookshelves, is a comprehensive collection of reference material, research techniques, and general knowledge that benefits genealogists at all skill levels. Please note this post contains affiliate links that help support this site. And yes, that’s my coffee - getting pretty good at the latte art!

  1. “31 Days to Better Genealogy” by Amy Johnson Crow (2018).

  2. “500 Amazing Online Archives and Digital Collections You’ve Never Heard of: US Edition” by Thomas MacEntee (2023)

  3. “A Genealogists Guide to Discovering your African American Ancestors: How to Find and Record Your Unique Heritage” by Franklin Carter Smith and Emily Anne Croom. (2009)

  4. “A to Zax: Comprehensive Dictionary for Genealogists” Barbara Jean Evans. (1995).

  5. “Abbreviations and Acronyms: Guide for Family Historians, Second Edition” by Kip Sperry. (2003).

  6. “Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques” by George Morgan and Drew Smith (2013)

  7. “Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies” by Debbie Parker Wayne. (2019).

  8. “Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History, Second Edition” by Mark Herber (2009)

  9. “Black Genesis: A Resource Book for African-American Genealogy” by James R Rose and Alice Eicholz (2003)

  10. “Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History” by Katherine Scott Sturdevant. (2000)

  11. “Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures” by Christine Rose (2020).

  12. “DNA for Native American Genealogy” by Roberta Estes. (2021).

  13. “Elements of Genealogical Analysis” by Robert Charles Anderson (2014)

  14. “Essential Skills for the Occasional Genealogist: Beyond beginner Genealogy Skills for Busy Family Historians” by Jennifer Patterson Dondero (2023)

  15. “Evidence Explained: History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 3rd Edition Revised” by Elizabeth Shown Mills. (2017).

  16. “Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian” by Elizabeth Shown Mills. (1997).

  17. “Family Photo Detective: Learn how to find Genealogy Clues in old photos and solve Family Photo Mysteries” by Maureen A Taylor (2023)

  18. “Finding Your Ancestors’ Obituaries: The Complete Genealogy Guide to Obituaries” by Kenneth R. Marks (2023)

  19. “Finding Your Italian Roots: the Complete Guide for Americans, Second Edition” by John Philip Colletta (2009)

  20. “Forensic Genealogy” by Colleen Fitzpatrick. (2005).

  21. “Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case” by Christine Rose. (2014).

  22. “Genealogy Standards, Second Edition Revised” by Board for Certification of Genealogists. (2019).

  23. “Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy” by Drew Smith (2023)

  24. “Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States” by Christina K. Schaefer (1997).

  25. “History for Genealogists: Using Chronological Time Lines to Find and Understand Your Ancestors” by Judy Jacobson (2015).

  26. “How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records: A Genealogist’s Guide: With Specific Resources for Major Christian Denominations before 1900” by Sunny Jane Morton. (2019)

  27. “In Search of Your German Roots” by Angus Baxter (2015)

  28. “International Vital Records Handbook, 7th Edition” by Thomas Jay Kemp (2017).

  29. “Land and Property Research in the United States” by E. Wade Hone (2008)

  30. “Locating Your Roots: Discovering Your Ancestors Using Land Records” by Patricia Law Hatcher (2003).

  31. “Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses 1790 - 1920” by William Thorndale and William Dollarhide (1995)

  32. “Mastering Genealogical Documentation” by Thomas W. Jones. (2017)

  33. “Mastering Genealogical Proof” by Thomas W. Jones (2013)

  34. “Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher” by Drew Smith (2016)

  35. “Our Quaker Ancestors: Finding Them in Quaker Records, Second Edition” by Ellen Thomas Berry and David Allen Berry

  36. “Pitfalls in Genealogical Research” by Milton Rubincam (1987)

  37. “Polish Roots, Second Edition” by Rosemary A. Chorzempa (2014)

  38. “Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards” by Elizabeth Shown Mills. (2018).

  39. “Reading Early American Handwriting” by Kip Sperry. (2008).

  40. “Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources, Third Edition” by Alice Eicholz. (2004).

  41. “Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide” by Diana Elder, AG and Nicole Dyer (2018)

  42. “Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors” by William J. Roulston (2022)

  43. “Scottish Genealogy: The Basics and Beyond” by David Dobson (2021)

  44. “State Census Records” by Ann S. Lainhart (1992).

  45. “The American Census Handbook” by Thomas Jay Kemp. (2002)

  46. “The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy: Trace Your Roots, Share Your History, and Create Your Family Tree” by Kimberly Powell (2014)

  47. “The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide: How to Find, Record, & Preserve Your Ancestors Graves” by Joy Neighbors (2017)

  48. “The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy” by Blaine T. Bettinger. (2019)

  49. “The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe” by Lisa A. Alzo (2016)

  50. “The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors” by Marsha Hoffman Rising (2019)

  51. “The Genealogist’s Guide to Researching Tax Records” by Carol Cooke Darrow and Susan Winchester (2019)

  52. “The Genealogist’s Guide to Y-DNA Testing for Genetic Genealogy” by David Vance (2020)

  53. “The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 11th Edition” by Holly Hansen (2006)

  54. “The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 4th Edition” by Val D. Greenwood. (2017).

  55. ”The Royal Descendants of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States, Vol 1”; “The Royal Descendants…Vol II”, and “The Royal Descendants…Vol III” by Gary Boyd Roberts (2022)

  56. “The Sleuth Book for Genealogists. Strategies for More Successful Family History Research” by Emily Anne Croom (2009).

  57. “The Source: A Guidebook for American Genealogy, Third Edition” by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (2006)

  58. “They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins” by Loretto Dennis Szucs. (1998)

  59. “They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Arrival Record” by John P. Colletta (2002)

  60. “Tips and Quips for the Family Historian” by Elizabeth Shown Mills and Ruth Brossette Lennon (2017)

  61. “Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, Fifth Edition” by John Grenham (2019).

  62. “Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors” by the National Archives and National Records of Scotland (2020)

  63. “U.S. Military Records: Guide to Federal and States Sources, Colonial America to the Present” by James C. Neagles (1994)

  64. “Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: How to Find Your Family History on the #1 Genealogy Website”. by Nancy Hendrickson. (2018)

  65. “Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.org: How to Find Your Family History on the World’s Largest Free Genealogy Website” by Dana McCullough (2020)

  66. Who Do You Think You Are? The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History” by Megan Smolenyak (2010)

  67. “Your DNA Guide - the Book” by Diahan Southard (2020).

Some of the links above might be to used copies if a new one is unavailable. There are also a couple that are harder to find but still recommended:

Out of print / used:

Bonus Book(s):

How did you score? What books would you add to the list?

Now search by "Text-on-Maps" in the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

28 September, 2023 by Sherri Mastrangelo

I’m not sure how “new” this feature is, but I just discovered it and have been playing around with it all afternoon! This is a great new way to search historical maps.

The David Rumsey Map Collection, (davidrumsey.com) is an immensely valuable resource with over 125, 000 and counting historical maps and images digitized online for free public viewing. Someday I’ll do a post on all the amazing features of this website, but for now I’ll encourage you to visit and explore - and limit today’s post to the new “search by Text-on-Maps” tool.

This feature is utilizing a machine-learning program called mapKurator, which you can read about in detail on their blog: https://machines-reading-maps.github.io/rumsey/

Right now you can access it from the home page, front and center, or in the top right hand search box. Be sure to select “by Text on Maps” if you use the top right hand search box.

A check of one of my ancestors’ surnames, “Kavanagh”, came back with 38 map results. The results default to this view, with each name a link to the map result. You can also toggle to view by map on the top right (side note: I noticed the number of results went down when I changed the view from 38 to 32, strange).


Most of the results were not relevant to my ancestral lines, but some were! Check out this map showing the Kavanagh family house in 1803 in Maine, built for James Kavanagh. Though I’ve search maps of Maine before, and seen his house in other images, I’ve never seen this particular map.

Furthermore, you can open this or any map in the “GEOREFERENCER” and use one of my favorite features on this site, the map overlays! View your maps on other maps, including modern day or your own personal maps of ancestor’s homes, and toggle the opacity.

I’ve used another map result as an example, with the overlay toggle around 50% between the historic map and modern day:

Now with 38 results for my surname ‘Kavanagh’, it wasn’t too hard to wade through the results. But what if you get thousands of results, like I did when searching the surname of “Costa”? When searching a name that’s also a place, like Costa Rica, you definitely need someway to filter the matches.

It seems like you can’t filter the view after the search, but you can do an “advanced search” before hand to narrow down results.
You’ll find it in the top right corner, as illustrated below:

There are many different ways to filter results here, and may take a little trial and error to get what you need.

What seems to work for me is using a combination of geography filter, like “state/province”, and the keyword you want to search in the “All Text on Maps” field:

Have you seen any similar text on historical map search capabilities? Share in the comments!


As always, have fun exploring and good luck with your research!
















Reader Question: "What does 'Polish Soe' mean on this detained aliens list?"

26 August, 2023 by Sherri Mastrangelo

One of the interesting questions I received this week was from someone looking at a “Record of Detained Aliens” form from the 10th of July, 1907 found in a collection of New York passenger arrival records on Ancestry.com.

Under the “Disposition” column, several of the immigrants had a phrase that appears to be “Polish Soe” - what could that mean?

Excerpt from the “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820 - 1957”, July 10th, 1907; page 160. As found on Ancestry.com.

The cursive is a bit hard to read. First word is definitely ‘Polish”, but the second word could start with an “L” or “S”, have an “A” or “O” in the middle, and end with an “E”, “C”, or “S”.

Before I share my findings, let’s go over the meaning of this column and the form. This particular “Record of Detained Aliens” was for immigrants to the U.S. who arrived to New York on the U.S.S. Batavia and were held at the port for various reasons. They may have been waiting for a relative or spouse to pick them up, or they telegraphed someone to send them money if they arrived with not enough - so they could afford a railroad ticket or other transportation. You’ll also notice some on this record were discharged to immigrant care homes, like the United Hebrew Charities. I’m pretty sure that’s what we’re dealing with here in our example, a care home for Polish immigrants. Perhaps “Loc” for location or “Soc” for society?

I browsed all the pages of this record with the same handwriting, and found an example with an address:

Though a quick Google Maps search of “117 Broad, New York, New York” only turned up modern skyscrapers, I found a hit in Google Books, shown below:

An excerpt from “The Official Catholic Directory and Clergy List, Volume 20”, The M.H. Wiltzius Company; 1906. As found on Google Books.

In this directory we find the “St. Joseph’s Home for Polish and Lithuanian Immigrants” at 117 Broad St, run by the Felician Sisters. I’d say that’s a match, and I’d wager our phrase stands for “Polish Society”.

My next steps would involve researching the name of this aid group, as well as the Felician Sisters and the specific names mentioned, in local records and especially newspapers of the time. What else would you do?

If you have any questions during your research, feel free to reach out anytime!





Does Bing AI work any better than ChatGPT for genealogy research?

11 March, 2023 by Sherri Mastrangelo

After a short time on a waitlist, I gained access to Microsoft’s Bing AI last night, which refers to itself simply as “Bing”. This Bing AI uses a newer version of GPT-3. It has access to web results from the Bing search engine, whereas ChatGPT is limited. Bing can also get up-to-date information, whereas ChatGPT has access up to 2021.

(See my previous blog post: “Can you use ChatGPT for genealogy research”, 20 January, 2023)

Furthermore, ChatGPT only supports English while Bing can support other languages including Japanese, Spanish, French, German (to switch, sandwich hashtags like #japanase#). Bing has three optional conversational models you can choose from: “more creative”, “more balanced”, and “more precise” - though I didn’t notice much of a difference by playing around with these.

Instead of almost instantaneous text results like with ChatGPT, I felt the Bing AI to be slower as it took a minute to search results and formulate answers. I was also limited to a series of ten questions at a time, after which it forced me to push a “New Topic” button and start over.

More importantly, ChatGPT can handle follow-up questions and “remember” what you were talking about in the conversation, using previous information to inform its response. It becomes a much more conversational flow, and I prefer the ChatGPT style better as it seems more “human-like” and friendlier.

Let’s get into some examples. I started by asking some of the same questions I had posed to ChatGPT, as discussed in my previous blog post. The first question to compare: “What can you find out about the Libby family, early settlers of Maine?”

Hey wait, that’s my website!

I was surprised to see Bing used my other blog post as a reference, effectively copying part of ChatGPT’s answer to the same question - at least in the first two sentences! Bing is more straightforward with documenting the sources it used to form its response, and offers direct links to these sources. It also has text prompts after each response. With ChatGPT there is no revelation of sources, and it is not readily apparent where it learned the information.

However, I found the ChatGPT information to be more reliable and trustworthy. The way Bing presents the information seems very “matter of fact” and even though it has sources, it does not take into account the accuracy of the source or how relevant it is to your ancestor. I’m worried people may take this information as fact as some blindly take the tiny green leaf hints on a certain website as fact, without proper research.

Take into account this next example:

Those seem like a lot of “facts” to me, though none of this information is relevant to my ancestor, who was born in January to other parents, married Ann Hodges, had seven children (all different names), and died in 1864 in Gorham.

While Bing offers results from sites like FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, and Geni.com, it cannot perform database queries to pull records - though it gives that illusion. In the above example, the “ancestry.com” source cited is the same person search result for Ancestry that comes up in Bing, when you’re not signed in to Ancestry.com nor a paying user.

I much prefer the generic answers that ChatGPT offers, as it stays away from the pretense of offering facts about individuals. Perhaps if Bing worded its response differently it might help. I also noticed Bing seems more likely to change it’s response when asked the same question later.

All that said, I’m still very excited about the future of AI with regards to genealogy research. I think I’ll continue to use ChatGPT to help formulate some research strategies and research historical context, among other things. I love that Bing is connected to the web, but the quality of results is just not there yet.

I’ll leave you with a quick poem, courtesy of Bing:

What are your thoughts?

What do these codes on death certificates mean?

7 February 2023, by Sherri Mastrangelo

What do the handwritten numbers on death certificates mean, and why would we need them?

Cause of Death / ICD Code Meaning

We usually see these codes in the “cause of death” section. Sometimes there are two numbers, related to the primary and secondary causes.

These alpha-numerical codes from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), now published by the World Health Organization (WHO), are used by the government agencies when calculating mortality and morbidity statistics, and to maintain a standard of medical terminology throughout the world. The WHO also takes this information to compare mortality rates and causes of death from all countries. In the United States, these codes are maintained as the ICD-CM (CM standing for Clinical Modification) by the CDC, CMS, and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

It’s important to note that ICD was originally the International List of the Causes of Death (ILCD) for versions 1 - 5 in the US, before it was centralized by the World Health Organization and standardized as the International Classification of Diseases, or ICD.

Version Dates In Effect Links to Online Resources
1 (1900 Conference in Paris)

In the US, the "Manual of International Classification..." was published in 1902		 "Manual of International Classification of Causes of Death" on the Internet Archive

Wolfbane 1 (1900 Revision)
2 (1909 Conference in Paris)

"International Classification..." by the US Dept of Commerce and Labor, was for use in the US on January 1st 1910 to December 31, 1919.

"The Manual of the International List of the Causes of Death" seems to be an update to the International Classification, and was published in 1911 by the Us Dept of Commerce and Labor		 "International Classification of Causes of Sickness and Death" (US) on the Internet Archive

Manual of ILCD 2 on Internet Archive

Wolfbane 2 (1909 Revision)
3 (1920 Conference in Paris)

"The Manual of the International List.." was published in 1924 by the US Department of Commerce 		Manual of ILCD 3 on Internet Archive

Wolfbane 3 (1920 Revision)
4 (1929 Conference in Paris)

"The Manual of the International List..." was published in the US in 1931		 Manual of ILCD 4 on Google Books

Wolfbane 4 (1929 Revision)
5 (1938 Conference in Paris)

"Manual of the List of International Causes of Death; As adopted for use in the United States; based on the Fifth Decennial Revision by the International Commission, Paris, October 3 - 7, 1938" was published in 1940		 "Manual of the List of International Causes of Death" (US) 5 on Google Books

Wolfbane 5 (1938 Revision)
6 (1948 Conference in Geneva)

The WHO adopted the 6th revision in 1948. Note link on right for Alphabetical Index Vol. 2, was unable to find Vol. 1 online. A supplementary edition was published in 1953.		 Manual of ICD 6 (WHO version) Vol. 2

Wolfbane 6 (1948 Revision - 3 Digit Codes)

Wolfbane 6 (1948 Revision - 4 Digit Codes)
7 (1955 Conference in Paris under WHO)

"Manual of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death. Based on Recommendations of the Seventh Revision Conference, 1955, and adopted by the ninth World Health Assembly" was published in 1957.

It was in use in the US from 1958 - 1967(1)		 Manual of ICD 7 (WHO) Vol. 2

Wolfbane 7 (1955 Revision - 3 Digit Codes)

Wolfbane 7 (1955 Revision - 4 Digit Codes)
8 (1965 Conference in Geneva)

The "Manual of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death. Based on the Recommendations of the eight revision conference, and adopted by the Nineteenth World Health Assembly" was published in 1967.

It was in use in the United States from 1968 - 1978(1)		 Manual of ICD 8 (WHO Version)

Wolfbane 8 (1965 Revision) - 3 Digit Codes)

Wolfbane 8 (1965 Revision - 4 Digit Codes)
9 (1975 Conference in Geneva)

"Manual of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death; Based on the Recommendations of the Ninth Revision Conference, 1975, and adopted by the Twenty-ninth World Health Assembly" was published in 1977

The US version went into effect in 1979 for death certificates.(2)		 ICD 9 (US Version) on CDC.gov

Manual of ICD 9 (WHO Version)

Wolfbane 9 (Revision 1975 - 3 Digit Codes)

Wolfbane 9 (Revision 1975 - 5 Digit Codes)
10 (1990 Conference)

The ICD 10 was implemented in January 1999 in the US for coding death certificates (2).

This is not to be confused with the ICD-10-CM, or Clinical Modification, which is used to code data from patient records and doctors offices (not death certificates). The ICD-10-CM went into effect in the US on October 1, 2015.		 CDC.gov file (ICD 10 1999 - 2009)

CDC.gov file (ICD 10 1999-2011)

ICD 10 (WHO Version)

Wolfbane 10 (1990 Revision - 3 Digit Codes)

Wolfbane 10 (1990 Revision - 5 Digit Codes)
11 (2019 Conference)

The 11th revision was endorsed by WHO in 2019, officially in effect on January 1, 2022. It is unclear if it is widely in use in the US currently.		 ICD 11 (WHO Version)

(1) See the chart on the CDC's "ICD-9" page, linked in sources.

(2) "Beginning with deaths occurring in January 1999, the United States began using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) to classify causes of death reported on death certificates. This is the first change in twenty years; ICD-9 codes have been in effect from 1979-1998" (Center for Health Statistics, Washington State Department of Health).

Version 11 was put into effect by WHO as of January 1, 2022.

Note there are also separate lists for oncology / cancer (the ICD - 0), as well as other diseases and fields of medicine.

Which ICD Version / Revision year to use?

The ILCD or ICD was updated about once a decade after each revision conference, starting in 1900, and was based on the Bertillon Classification of Causes of Death (BCCD) written by French statistician Jacques Bertillon in 1893 and adapted by America, Canada, and Mexico in 1898.

Though some years have greater changes than others, it is still important to use the codes for the correct year. Different countries implemented the ICD updates in their country at different times, however. Different countries may also have additional updates and variations.

Knowing which ICD to use to decipher death certificate codes can be a little tricky, as the date of the conference / revision may have been a year or two before the resource list was published (per the chart above). For example, if you have a death certificate in the United States from 1966, your instinct might be to use the 8th revision, as the conference was in 1966 - but WHO didn’t publish this information until 1967.

Furthermore, especially with the later revisions, the US did not always immediately implement the update. For example, though the ICD-10 conference was in 1990, the US didn’t start using ICD-10 for death certificates until 1999.

What is “Wolfbane”?

Many genealogists utilize the free website for Wolfbane Cybernetics, as it seems to be one of the few online resources that list earlier versions of the IDC.

It is not entirely clear to me where Wolfbane has pulled this information from, especially from the older versions. As it a website based in the UK, my best guess is that they used books like “The Manual of the International List of Causes of Death, as adapted for use in England and Wales: Based on the second decennial revision by the commission, Paris, 1909” (View on the Internet Archive) published in 1912 in London by His Majesty’s Stationery Office.

The lists seem closely aligned with historical translated publications in the US, to the best of my knowledge, so I would feel comfortable to continue using Wolfbane as a source to quickly lookup a code or two, as browsing through the books on Internet Archive can be tedious.

Note there is also a very helpful, and underutilized decoder on Wolfbane for versions ICD 6, ICD 7, ICD 8, ICD 9, and ICD 10 in which you can enter the code and it offers the cause of death, but I hesitate to link it directly as it runs as an exe program. Find the “ICD Decoder” as the third item on this page of Wolfbane.

If Wolfbane is down, remember you can always reference the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive to view past instances of the website.

As for the name, I believe “wolfbane” is a synonym of wolfsbane, the poisonous purple flower also known as aconite. I’m not entirely sure who is behind Wolfbane Cybernetics, why they named the site Wolfbane, or why the site looks circa the turn of the millennium - but it is a helpful website!


Why bother to look up these numbers?
It’s not something you need to do for every death certificate, but it can be helpful in some circumstances:

  • Doctors handwriting can be hard to read!

  • We want to know more about the cause of death

  • Only a number is shown, not a cause of death

  • Use when compiling family medical history to standardize causes of death


What do other numbers on the death certificate mean?

They most likely have to do with coding the data for statistical purposes. For examples, states may be numbered 1 - 51, Canada as 55, Mexico as 57, and the rest of the world 59. Items not able to be classified were generally 9 or 99. Occupations were also classified as statistical data on some forms.

They would also number the certificates, usually in the top right corner, in the order they received them.


What do different colored death certificates mean?

I get this question a lot. While the exact answer depends on the state and time period, generally a different color was used for each different form. For example, in this FamilySearch collection of Massachusetts death certificates, “Deaths 1924 Abington to Amesbury Vol. 1” you can see they used the yellow form R-301 Standard Certificate of Death; pink form R-302 for Standard Certificate of Death (slightly different, I think there is an added signature); the blue form R-303 Medical Examiner’s Certificate of Death; green form R-307 Additional Information for Death Certificate; and so on.

Have you come across different colored forms in your research?

Can we see an example of the ICD numbers?

Of course. Below is an excerpt of a death certificate from 1914 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

In the Cause of Death section, we see slightly illegible handwriting, along with a circled code of “120”. With the death in 1914, we know we should be looking at the 2nd revision, based on the 1909 conference.

We look it up in the Manual of the International List of the Causes of Death, published in 1911 in the US (linked in the chart above). And while the handwriting on the certificate does not look like Bright’s disease to me, it does look like Chronic Nephritis.

Looking at the second page of the classification under the number 120, I notice the word “Uraemia” and feel that’s a good fit for the first part of the handwriting, making the cause of death “Uraemia - Chronic Nephritis”. Would you agree?

What are your thoughts? Do you think using Wolfbane, or the American publications, will be helpful in your research?

Sources & Further Research:


Can you use ChatGPT for genealogy research?

20 January, 2023, by Sherri Mastrangelo

ChatGPT is a dialogue and search tool launched by OpenAI this past November, 2022, that is currently free for everyone to try. It is an AI program, or Artificial Intelligence model, that they have trained to understand humans. It’s like having a conversation with a search engine like Google, but instead of a list of websites returned after your query that you then have to browse, you get an immediate response with the information you needed. You can even follow up on your original question, because this AI will remember what you were talking about. 

On social media, I’ve seen people use ChatGPT to help write essays, diagnose patients, write poetry, and answer challenging questions. With such amazing access to instant and relevant information at your fingertips, what would you want to know? 

Of course my first thought was “Can this AI help me with my genealogy research?” 

And the answer is - yes! There are definite benefits, though it can’t pull up individual records (yet). I’ll explain, and share some of the questions I asked ChatGPT, along with it’s responses.

If you have tried MyHeritiage’s apps like Deep Nostalgia that brought still photos to life, or their more recent AI Time Machine that transforms your selfie into multiple versions of yourself throughout time, then you have already played around with AI.

If you have used Google Translate to discover what your foreign language record says, you’ve used AI.

What’s more, if you have ever used Ancestry.com, you’ve likely used some of their AI features like handwriting recognition technology. Ancestry also uses machine learning algorithms to provide relevant search results and to match family trees, as well as with computer text recognition to pull and display information from records.

AI can definitely be a useful tool to help us with our research, so let’s see what this ChatGPT can do!

Question 1

ME: Can you do genealogy research?

ChatGPT: As a computer program, I am not capable of doing genealogy research myself. However, I can assist you with information and guidance on how to conduct genealogy research and where to find various types of records to aid you in your search.

I can help you learn what resources are available, both online and offline, and help you understand how to use them effectively to research your family history. This can include online genealogy databases, archives and libraries, historical societies, and government offices. I can also provide tips and advice for analyzing and organizing your findings, as well as for communicating with relatives or other researchers who may be able to provide additional information about your ancestors.

Additionally I can answer specific questions you might have about the different types of records, how to read them and interpret the information, as well as the best practices for genealogy research.

Question 2

ME: What can you find out about the Libby family, early settlers of Maine?

ChatGPT: The Libby family is an early settler of Maine and there’s a lot of historical information that can be found about them.

Genealogy: According to the genealogy records, The Libby Family was among the first settlers of Maine. They were farmers and fishermen, and some of them were also involved in shipbuilding and trade. Many Libby families were among the early settlers of various towns along the Maine Coast, such as Brunswick, Bath, Damariscotta, and Belfast.

Historical Records: According to the historical records, there were also Libby’s involved in the revolutionary war and were soldiers, there are records of their involvement in the war, and some of them received land grants for their service.

Libby Island: Libby Island, located in the Penobscot Bay, Maine, was named after the Libby family who were among the first settlers of the island. The island was settled by the Libbys in the 1700s, and the family still owns much of the island to this day. The island has a long history of farming and fishing, and also has a lighthouse that is still operational.

Libby Family papers and papers of the Libby Island Company: The Libby Family Papers and the Papers of the Libby Island Company are held at the Maine Historical Society and contain letters, diaries, photographs, ledgers, and other documents that provide a glimpse into the daily lives, business activities, and social history of the Libby family and their descendants, as well as the history of the island and the company that controlled it.

Libby House: Libby House is a historic house located in Portland, Maine, that was built by a member of the Libby family in 1856. The house is an example of the Italianate style of architecture and is now a private residence.

It’s worth noting that much of the records of this family as with many early setters, were informal and not necessarily recorded in the same way that we do now. Additionally, not all records have been digitized or made available online. But, with some persistence and creativity, you may be able to uncover valuable information about the Libby family, early settlers of Maine.

Wow! This was a lot of information - some of it new. Of course we don’t know if any of this is related to MY Libby relatives, but it’s a lot of great new research opportunities, or “clues” for me to look into!

Question 3

Me: What Catholic churches existed in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1909?

ChatGPT: In 1909, Lawrence, Massachusetts had a number of Catholic churches that would have existed at that time. Here are a few examples:

1. Holy Rosary Church: This church was established in 1884, it is located on Hampshire Street, and served the Catholic community of the city.

2. Immaculate Conception Church: This church as established in 1868 and is located on Haverhill Street. It was the first Catholic church in Lawrence, and it served the city’s large Irish and French Canadian population.

3. St. Patrick Church: This church was established in 1873, it is located on Lawrence Street and it served the Irish Catholic community of the city.

4. St. Mary’s Church: This church was established in 1887, and it is located on Union Street and it served the Polish Catholic community of the city.

5. St. Anne’s Church: This church was established in 1910, after the death of your ancestor, is is located on Bradford Street, it served the French Canadian Catholic community of the city.

It’s worth noting that this list is not exhaustive as there may have been other Catholic churches in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1909 as well. It’s also possible that churches that existed in 1909 may have closed, merged or changed since that time and new churches have been created. Additionally, some churches may have been established to cater to a specific community. So to confirm the existence of a specific church in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1909 and to know more about their history, it’s recommended to consult local historical societies, church archives, and local newspapers from the time.

I’m actually very impressed by this response, and I think these kind of question / answer sets could be very helpful to our genealogy research! Not only did it save me time from browsing websites online, but it provided more information than I requested with the date it was established, where it was, and which community it served.

I also want to point out in #5 for St. Anne’s Church, ChatGPT says “this church was established in 1910, after the death of your ancestor” in response to my query about churches existing in 1909. No where in my question did I say this was for genealogy research, or that my ancestor died in 1909, I just gave it a date. The AI simply remembered we had been discussing genealogy! And it also assummed that since I was looking for records in 1909, a church established in 1910 would be worth mentioning with that caveat - which is helpful, but could also lead to mistakes in my research. Nobody died in 1909!

Obviously, be careful when using this program and find the records or primary sources for any information gained.

Question 4

Me: What ethnicity is the surname Duncan?

ChatGPT: The surname Duncan is of Scottish origin, and it is derived from the Gaelic personal name “Donnchadh”, which means “brown warrior” or “dark-haired warrior”. The name was borne by a 8th century king of Scotland and since then, it became a popular surname along Scottish families. It was adopted as a first name among the Normans after the Norman conquest of England, and it is now common in Scotland and also in England, Ireland, and in other places were people of Scottish descent have settled. The Duncans were primarily concentrated in the Lowlands of Scotland, but they also have a strong presence in the Northern and Western regions of Scotland.

This one was cool. I could see myself using that kind of question to get some basic starting points on my research, or to help if I have a brick wall or basic knowledge of an ancestor. As the Duncan family I’m currently researching lived in Nova Scotia, I’ll look more into Scottish communities in that area as well as look for waves of Scottish, English, and Irish settlers.


Question 5

Me: How do I find marriage records in New Hampshire before 1850?

ChatGPT: Finding marriage records in New Hampshire before 1850 can be challenging, as record keeping was not as standardized as it is today. Here are some suggestions for finding marriage records from that time period in New Hampshire:

1. Check the New Hampshire State Archives: The New Hampshire State Archives holds many historical records for the state, including marriage records. You can search their collection online or visit the archives in person to view original records.

2. Check county records: Many county records from before 1850 have been preserved and may be held at the county clerk office or historical society.

3. Search church records: Many churches in New Hampshire have records that date back to the 1700s or earlier. These records can include baptism, marriage, and burial records. Contact the church or the diocese to inquire about the availability of records.

4. Search online databases such as FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com, which have a large collection of historical records, including marriage records for New Hampshire.

5. Check local newspapers from the time period, as marriage announcements were often printed in them.

6. Reach out to historical or genealogical societies in New Hampshire to inquire about marriage records, they may have records not found elsewhere or have additional information.

It’s important to keep in mind that many records from this time period may be incomplete or have been lost over time. The process can be challenging.

This is a great research strategy, and a good refresher if you’re stuck. If you are faced with a brick wall ancestor it might be worth asking ChatGPT to see if it comes up with any research avenues you may have overlooked.

I asked many other questions, but the results were pretty similar.

To summarize, this particular AI model, ChatGPT, cannot research genealogy databases or pull individual records, but it can definitely help you come up with a research strategy and give you more context for your research.

Finally, how would you cite ChatGPT as your source? When I asked, ChatGPT offered this:

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I am not a published source in the traditional sense, so there is no proper way to cite me. However, if you need to reference information that I’ve provided in a research paper or other written work, you could include the information as a personal communication in your works cited page.

Here’s an example of how you could cite me:

“Information provided by OpenAI’s Assistant.” Personal communication. Date.

Personally I would also include the website link, which I’ll share below.

If you would like to try ChatGPT, sign up for a free account here: https://chat.openai.com/

Feel free to come back and share your results, I’d love to know your thoughts and experience!

Descendants of Pocahontas: Are You One of Them?

8 January 2023, by Sherri Mastrangelo

In a recent episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS, actor Edward Norton (Glass Onion, Fight Club) discovered his family lore was true: his 12th great-grandmother was in fact Pocahontas.

Inspired by this episode, I’m sharing what you need to know, along with the sources you’ll need, to discover your possible connection to the Native American icon. Though she only had one confirmed child, it’s estimated that more than 100,000 people are descended from her - are you one of them?

Born about 1596, Pocahontas, whose given name was “Matoaka”, is known today through the lens of novels, movies, and Americana folklore, as the Native American girl that saved the life of English Captain John Smith. Her father, the Chief Powhatan, spared him after she reportedly came between him and the executioners when she was just a young girl, at about 10 or 11 years old in 1607. Stories say she placed her head on his as he lay on the stones, ready for death (though some wonder if this whole event was more of a ceremony or planned event by her father to be able to welcome his friend into the tribal community).

Matoaka, also nicknamed “Amonute”, was called “Pocahontas” as a term of endearment meaning “playful one”, but also as a way to protect her true name from the English to keep her from harm.

About a year or two later stories say she saved John Smith’s life again, risking her own safety to warn him of an impending attack following failed trade negotiations.

Pocahontas married a Native American warrior named Kocoum about 1610. Some believe they had a child, a daughter Ka-Okee, though this lineage is not widely known or published.

When she was older, Pocahontas was lured by the English (Sir Samuel Argall and his wife) and taken captive, held ransom for the return of English prisoners and weapons. After her release she was renamed “Rebecca” after a Christian baptism. Around age 17 she married John Rolfe (not Captain John Smith) in Virginia, on the 5th of April 1614 (though an unofficial divorce with her first husband was implied, the English may have had him killed). With her help, Rolfe and other planters were able to successfully grow tobacco crops. They had only one child, a son named Thomas Rolfe, born in 1615. 

At the request and expense of the Virginia Company, the Rolfe family of Rebecca (Pocohontas), John, and their toddler son Thomas set sail for England in 1616, along with Sir Thomas Dale, then governor of the Virginia Colony and several Native Americans. They were paraded around England to gain public support and investors. 

They stayed for about 10 months, though she became ill, perhaps with pneumonia or smallpox (though Native American oral histories suggest a poisoning death!). As they attempted to leave London to return to Virginia, Rebecca died along the voyage in March of 1617, around 20 years old. Rebecca, or Pocahontas, is said to be buried at St. George’s Church in Gravesend, England. 

Their son Thomas was left behind in England, perhaps with a brother of John’s, and did not return to Virginia until about 1640. Thomas married Jane Poythress and they had a daughter named Jane (the last who would carry their Rolfe surname in this line until she married), who would wed Col. Robert Thomas Bolling. Jane and Robert had a son, Col. John Fairfax Bolling, who married Mary Elizabeth Kennon.

In 1887, more than 270 years after her death, a definitive biography was published by Wyndham Robertson titled “Pocahontas, alias Matoaka, and Her Descendents Through Her Marriage at Jamestown, Virginia, in April, 1614 with John Rolfe, Gentleman….With Biographical Sketches by Wyndham Robertson, and Illustrative Historical Notes by R.A. Brock”.  The full title includes a list of surnames.

Before we get into the history of the other lines, a quick note about Col. Robert Bolling, the husband of Pocahontas granddaughter, Jane Rolfe. After Jane’s death, Col. Robert Bolling married second Ann Stith. The descendants of Col. Robert Bolling and Ann Stith are known as the “White Bollings”, simply because their ancestors were white. They do not share direct DNA from Pocahontas. Former presidents George H.W. Bush and George Bush are said to be of this White Bollings line.

The descendants of Col. John Fairfax Bolling, great-grandson of Pocahontas, and his wife Mary Elizabeth Kennon, are known as the “Red Bollings”, as they are the blood descendants of Pocahontas. Note the color red may also refer to the derogatory connotation of “red man” for Indian.

Back to the above mentioned book. It wasn’t until 1985, a century later, that “Pocahontas’ Descendants. A Revision, Enlargement and Extension of the List as Set Out by Wyndham Robertson in His Book Pocahontas and Her Descendants” was published, written by Stuart E. Brown Jr. and others. A newer version, published in 1997, contains both the 1992 and 1994 corrections and additions. Stuart would also write a short biography titled Pocahontas in 1989.

There is also the supplemental volumes Third Corrections and Additions to Pocahontas’ Descendants (1997) and the small booklet Fourth (2001) and Fifth Corrections (2004) both available for purchase from Genealogical Press.

There is also a group of people known as the “Blue Bollings”, though their legitimacy as bloodline descendants of Pocahontas is rejected by the Pocahontas Foundation. They are a group of individuals that claim Maj. John Bolling (son of Col. John Bolling and Mary Kennon) and his wife Elizabeth Blair had an additional 12 children. This couple of John Bolling Jr and Elizabeth Blair had 18 confirmed children, of which seven survived to adulthood so it is highly unlikely they had another dozen. David Morenus, whom himself is a Pocahontas descendant, explains “the "blue" Bollings are so called because they appeared "out of the blue" in 1963, in the book Of Whom I Came, From Whence I Came, by Judge Zelma Wells Price” (Morenus).


Sources & Further Research

  • Brown, Stuart E; Myers, Lorraine F; Chappel, Eileen M. Pocahontas’ Descendants.  The Pocahontas Foundation, 1987.

  • Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. “The Full Story of Pocahontas is Rarely Told. Here’s What We’re Missing” Time. 12 March 2019. (https://time.com/5548379/pocahontas-real-meaning/)

  • Morenus, David. “Pocahontas Descendants” As retrieved 6 January 2023. (https://pocahontas.morenus.org)

  • NPS. “Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend” National Park Service. (https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn'/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm)

  • “Pocahontas Lives!” - https://www.pocahontaslives.com/

  • Robertson, Wyndham. ““Pocahontas, alias Matoaka, and Her Descendents Through Her Marriage at Jamestown, Virginia, in April, 1614 with John Rolfe, Gentleman….With Biographical Sketches by Wyndham Robertson, and Illustrative Historical Notes by R.A. Brock”. 1887.

  • “St. George’s Gravesend” - https://stgeorgesgravesend.org/history/pocahontas/

  • “The Pocahontas Archive” - https://history-on-trial.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/pocahontas/index.php

  • “The Pocahontas Project” - https://www.pocahontasproject.org/about


Runaway Brides: Finding Historical "Gretna Greens" in the U.S.

2 January 2023, by Sherri Mastrangelo

When looking for marriage records, you’ll assume the marriage took place in your ancestor’s place of residence, or the hometown of the bride. But what happens when you’ve exhausted your search and still can’t find any records? Where did your ancestors go to get married, and why? How do you know where to look?

The answer might have something to do with “Gretna Greens”, the term for a well-known place for out-of-town wedding destinations.

The phrase came into use after the Scottish village Gretna Green became a popular wedding sanctuary for England’s youth in the 18th century. “Located on the old coaching route between London and Edinburgh, Gretna Green was the first village reached once you entered Scotland. After Lord Hardwick's marriage act in 1754 outlawed marriage in England without paternal consent before the age of 21, young couples started to elope 'over the border' to Gretna Green, where they could be married at 16 years of age.” (- The Gretna Wedding Bureau).

Furthermore the GWB shares “many an infamous 'chase' has taken place along that old coaching route to Gretna Green, and there are many legendary tales of furious fathers in pursuit throughout the night, always reaching Gretna Green just a little too late. The residents of the small village of Gretna Green were well know for helping run-away couples and many an inn and watering station along the route could be counted on to, 'accidentally' delay any pursuers, allowing the couples to safely reach Gretna Green.” (- The Gretna Wedding Bureau)

In the 18th through 20th centuries, certain locations in the United States became known as “Gretna Greens”, if not in name then in spirit, as these popular wedding destinations usually offered less marriage restrictions to those hoping to tie the knot. Not all who traveled to these places where under age (though it was often the case). Perhaps they were looking to avoid parental consent requirements, for less of a waiting period, for lower fees for a license, or to avoid health test requirements and medical examinations. Perhaps they came from a dry town and wanted to serve alcohol at the reception. Or perhaps they just wanted a popular and romantic wedding destination.

Whatever the case may be for their travels, discovering where the popular “marriage mills” were near your ancestors’ homes might help you narrow down your search. When determining your research plan, consider the ages of your bride and groom and the marriage laws within the state, as well as nearby states. Did they need a quick marriage for any reason? Was there a birth shortly after the wedding, or at a young age? Also look if they had family in neighboring states, or reasons to travel.

Once you have some idea where to look, check the free (with registration) records at FamilySearch.org, searching the catalog by county for marriage records during your time frame.

Gretna Greens across the US may lie just over the state border, or just over the Canadian or Mexican border. They might be military posts, or towns along the rivers, or along the railroad stops. They may have been near popular honeymoon locations, like Niagara Falls.

In the below list of known marriage mill locations within the US, keep in mind each may have been popular at different times, depending on state laws. Also be aware of county borders and changes over time.

Arizona:

  • Yuma (Yuma County)

  • Salome (La Paz)


Arkansas

  • Texarkana (Miller County)

  • Marion (Crittenden County)


Connecticut

  • Groton (New London)

  • Thompson (Windham)


Delaware

  • Wilmington (Delaware County)


Georgia

  • Rome (Floyd)

  • Rossville (Walker County)


Idaho

  • Bear Lake County

  • Coeur d’Alene (Kootenai County)

  • Payette (Payette)

  • Weiser (Washington)


Illinois

  • Chicago (Cook County)


Indiana

  • Angola (Steuben County)

  • Crown Point (Lake County)

  • Evansville (Vanderburgh County)

  • Floyd County

  • Jeffersonville (Clark County)

  • Lawrenceburg (Dearborn County)

  • Valparaiso (Porter County)


Iowa

  • Keokuk (Lee County)

  • Nashua (Chickasaw County)


Kansas

  • Bellevue (Johnson County)


Kentucky

  • Ashtabula County

  • Greenup County

  • Maysville (Mason)

  • Pike County


Louisiana

  • Gretna (Jefferson Parish)


Maryland

  • Elkton (Cecil County)

  • Chestertown (Kent County)

  • Garrett County

  • Hartford County

  • Howard County

  • Rockville (Montgomery County)

  • Westminister (Carroll County)


Massachusetts

  • Lowell (Middlesex)


Michigan

  • Port Huron (St. Clair County)

  • St. Joseph (Berrien County)


Minnesota

  • Moorhead (Clay County)

  • Waukegan (Lake County)

  • Winona County


Mississippi

  • Alcorn County

  • DeSoto County

  • Tishomingo County


Missouri

  • Liberty (Clay County)


Nebraska

  • Omaha (Douglas County)


Nevada

  • Las Vegas (Clark)

  • Reno (Washoe)

  • Wendover (Elko)

  • West Wendover (Elko)

  • Winnemucca (Humboldt)


New Hampshire

  • Seabrook (Rockingham County)


New Mexico

  • Curry County

  • Raton (Colfax)


New York

  • Buffalo (Eirie County)

  • Crown Point (Essex County)

  • Kings County

  • New York City

  • Niagara Falls (Niagara County)

  • Ogdensburg (St. Lawrence)


North Carolina

  • Mount Airy (Surry)


Ohio

  • Aberdeen (Brown)

  • Bowling Green (Wood County)

  • Cincinnati (Hamilton)


Oklahoma

  • Love County

  • Bryan County


Pennsylvania

  • Media (Delaware County)

  • Pittsburgh (Allegheny)

  • Reading (Berks)

  • Washington County


Tennessee

  • Gatlinburg (Sevier County)

  • Roane County


Texas

  • Liberty County

  • Orange County

  • Fort Bend County


Utah

  • Farmington (Davis)


Virginia

  • Alexandria (Fairfax)

  • Frederiksburg

  • Manassas (Prince William)

  • Warrenton (Fauquier County)

  • Winchester (Frederick County)


Washington

  • Port Orchard (Kitsap)

  • Clark County

  • Skamania County


West Virginia

  • Point Pleasant (Mason)

  • Wellsburg (Brooke County)

  • West Alexander (Washington)

  • Wheeling (Ohio County)


Wyoming

  • Evanstan (Uinta County)


Have any more to add to the list? Please share via comments or email.

Sources & More Information:

Announcing Two New Genealogy-Themed Games!

3 August 2022, by Sherri Mastrangelo

I’m so excited to launch my new shop, starting with two new printable games for you to play: “Genealogy Bingo: Ice Breaker Edition” and a “Genealogy Crossword Puzzle.” Both are available now in my new Etsy shop (etsy.com/shop/StartResearching). Favorite and follow the shop, because I’ll be adding more products soon!

Genealogy Bingo: Ice Breaker Edition

If you’re looking for a “get to know your neighbor” type game for your next genealogy society meeting, this is it! Once you download and extract the zip file, you’ll see 10 unique Bingo Cards (PDF format), a word list, and game instructions. These files are yours to print at home, as many as you need - so if you’re expecting thirty people at your next meeting, you can print thirty copies!

There are two ways to play this game, 1) as classic bingo, where you can call out the clues from the included word list until someone shouts “Bingo!”, or 2), as an ice breaker, where you find a new friend that matches each clue. Have them sign their name or initials in the matching square, and then offer to sign one of theirs. Play to get five in a row, or as many squares as you can in the given time.

Can you find someone that "has a wish list of genealogy books" or whose "birthday is in July"? Or maybe someone that "has used a microfilm reader", or whose "ancestor founded a town"? Or will you admit to a new friend that your "research is not all that organized"?

If you’re hosting the game, you may want to give out a couple small prizes to the winners, at your own discretion. Maybe some candy bars?

This game can also be played together at virtual meetings, just email a bingo sheet to each guest ahead of time and then give them time to chat.

Get Genealogy Bingo: Ice Breaker Edition at etsy.com/shop/StartResearching

Genealogy Crossword Puzzle

This game would be good to challenge yourself, or play together as a group. Maybe offer a prize (more chocolate perhaps) for the first to finish!

Once you download the zip file and extract, you’ll find a single Genealogy Crossword PDF file you can print from home, along with a separate answer key. Again, print as many copies as you want. I think it’s a good mix of easy and hard clues, like “a brother or sister”, and “when the absence of records helps form the proof argument”. What do you think?

Get the Genealogy Crossword now on etsy.com/shop/StartResearching

Or visit the shop page, and please share with your friends!

This is my first experience using Etsy, so please forward me any and all feedback about the purchase process. Crossing my fingers it works well!

Hope you all have fun! And if you play either of these games at your next genealogy meetup, send me a picture and I’ll share it on a FB post :)

-Sherri

Revealing Codes in the 1950 Census: Leave Blank Column A

Updated 15 April 2022. Originally published 4 April 2022. By Sherri Mastrangelo.

Update: When writing this blog post initially, I formed the chart through comparison of over 50 enumeration districts (the first to show for every state on the National Archives search results). This week while I was looking into the other “Leave Blank” columns on the 1950 census, I found a better primary source for this information, not in the enumeration instructions, but buried in a large zip file called The 1950 Censuses - How They Were Taken on the census.gov website, written by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1955. Updates are included below, though my original findings were pretty much in line.

In the 1950 Census, between columns 8 for Relationship and 9 for Race, is “Leave Blank A”. This column is hand-written later, after the census taker has visited homes, and refers to the individual’s relationship to the head of household. You’ll notice that column 8, immediately to the left, also describes the relationship. So are these numbers actually telling us anything new?

Well, yes and no - but before we get into the usefulness of these notes let me share my findings.

I was getting asked this questions in a few emails, and noticed it in a few Facebook genealogy groups as well: “What do the numbers in the first Leave Blank” column mean?”. Some other members in one of the Facebook groups dismissed the notes as not important and not worth looking into, while others speculated it had to do with a widow status.

I came across this section on Stevemorse.org called “Deciphering Miscellaneous Codes Appended to the 1950 Census in One Step” by Stephen P. Morse, PhD and Joel D. Weintraub, PhD: https://stevemorse.org/census/mcodes1950.htm that was compiled before the release of the census, which seemed to have the answers in the first dropdown for Column A. Yet I quickly noticed that these answers, that included “0” for head of household, “1” for wife, “2” for child, and so on, did not match what I was seeing on actual 1950 census records (they align more with the 1940 census). Update 16 April: this site has now been updated!

So I decided to come up with a quick reference chart for this column and 1950 records. I took a look at the first non-reservation enumeration district of each state of the 1950 census available at NARA (https://1950census.archives.gov/) and tallied up the occurrences of notations and their relationship to their head of household, to look for similarities. The results were the same across all states (with less than a handful of outliers) summarized in the chart below:

Notation Most Often
1 Head
2 Wife
3 Step-son
Step-daughter
Child
4 Son-in-law
Daughter-in-law
5 Grandson
Grandaughter
6 Mother
Father
Mother-in-law
Father-in-law
7 Brother; Sister
Aunt; Uncle
Brother-in-law; Sister-in-law
Niece; Nephew
Cousin
(Descendant of any of these)
8 Hired hand
Maid
Housekeeper
9 Lodger; Roomer; Boarder
(Descendant of Lodger)
Partner (unrelated person)
Foster child (unrelated by blood)
X Head of hotel or institution
0 Guest of hotel or institution
Staff or other workers of institution
V Patient
Inmate

Source list of enumeration districts reviewed to compile above chart can be found below, following this post.

For comparison, below is an excerpt from the document The 1950 Censuses - How They Were Taken mentioned above, written by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. I think it matches up pretty well to my chart above, though I did update # 3 to include all children. You’ll also notice that I have "patient” or “inmate” under “V” while the government publication shows only inmate. I decided to leave mine this way to reflect the data from the records I reviewed.

*”Possibly all children” under notation 3, because it’s unclear to me right now if 3 refers only to step-children, or to any related child of the head of household (other than a foster child that is unrelated by blood, that is found by a “9”). You’ll notice when there is a step-child there is almost always a 3 in this column, but if the relationship is listed as a son or daughter, this column is usually blank. Does anyone out there have any insight here?

(Updated here to show that 3 means all children, not just step children.)


So how is the helpful information, and does it actually tell us anything new?

  • It can help us decipher the relationship if the writing is illegible in column 8 (though from what I’ve seen so far, handwriting in 1950 was pretty decent).

  • If the relationship in column 8 is missing, it might help determine it.

An example of the latter is often seen for those transcribed from an ICR (Individual Census Report), as seen in the image below:

Image excerpt from the 1950 Census of Barnstable, Massachusetts (Enumeration District 1-2; page 31), found on 1950.census.archives.gov

In this 1950 census excerpt, we see a short list of “Persons Transcribed From ICRs [Individual Census Report] and Missed Persons Forms”. Right away we know the relationship of these people to the head of household, without any information shown in the relationship column. For example, for the last two indivudals we see that Edwin T. Chester is the head of the house, and Olive G. is his wife. You’d probably be able to figure this out eventually, but I still consider this helpful! What do you all think?

Sources for my chart: All census records reviewed were from NARA (https://1950census.archives.gov/) as mentioned above. Enumeration districts reviewed include:

Alabama, Autauga, 1-1; Alaska, First Judicial Division, 1-1; Arizona, Apache, 1-1; Arkansas, Arkansas, 1-1; California, Alameda, 1-1; Colorado, Adams, 1-1; Connecticut, Bridgeport, Fairfield, 9-1; Delaware, Kent, 1-1; District of Columbia, Washington, 1-1; Florida, Aluchua, 1-1; Georgia, Appling, 1-1; Hawaii, Hawaii, 1-1; Idaho, Ada, 1-1D; Illinois, Adams, 1-1; Indiana, Adams, 1-1; Iowa, Adair, 1-1; Kansas, Allen, 1-1; Kentucky, Adair, 1-1; Louisiana, Acadia Parish, 1-1; Maine, Androscoggin, 1-1; Maryland, Allegany, 1-1; Massachusetts, Barnstable, 1-1; Michigan, Alcona, 1-1; Minnesota, Aitkin, 1-1; Mississippi, Adams, 1-1; Missouri, Adair, 1-1; Montana, Beaverhead, 1-1; Nebraska, Adams, 1-1; Nevada, Churchill, 1-1; New Hampshire, Belknap, 1-1; New Jersey, Atlantic, 1-1; New Mexico, Bernalilo, 1-2; New York, Albany, 1-1; North Carolina, Alamance, 1-1; North Dakota, Adams, 1-1; Ohio, Adams, 1-1; Oklahoma, Adair, 1-1; Oregon, Baker, 1-1; Pennsylvania, Adams, 1-1; Rhode Island, Bristol, 1-1; South Carolina, Abbeville, 1-1; South Dakota, Aurora, 2-1; Tennessee, Anderson, 1-1; Texas, Amarillo, Potter, 255-1; Utah, Beaver, 1-1; Vermont, Addison, 1-1; Virginia, Accomack, 1-1; Washington, Adams, 1-1; West Virginia, Barbour, 1-1; Wisconsin, Adams, 1-1; Wyoming, Albany, 1-1

1950 US Census: The 10 Things You Need to Know

I wouldn’t have a decent genealogy blog if I didn’t talk about the upcoming release of the 1950 Census, which the National Archives and Records Association (NARA) will release on April 1st of this year - less than two months away. I’ve summarized the important things you need to know about this census below, including why you’ll be able to search it right away.

The above image includes an excerpt of a blank 1950 United States Census Form: P1 Census of Population and Housing (opens pdf file) from The National Archive’s website at Archive.gov. More information about the questions asked on the census and the various forms used can be found below.


  1. Will be found on a free website from the NARA

    You should be able to access these records for free, an Amazon Web Services open data set picked up by FamilySearch and others but also directly from a census dedicated website built by the NARA: ““Employees from across the agency have worked on digitizing and indexing the records and developing and testing a new, dedicated 1950 Census website,” said Project Manager Carol Lagundo, who leads the 1950 Census project at National Archives” (Victoria Macchi, National Archive News). You will also be able to download the whole data set from Amazon Web Services.



  2. An index created by Artificial Intelligence, checked by human volunteers

    According to FamilySearch.org, “Ancestry's sophisticated artificial intelligence and handwriting recognition technology will save time by creating an initial index from digital census images. While this index won’t be perfect, it will expedite the review and publication process to let you search for your family’s names in the 1950 census sooner after its release” after which “volunteers helping with the 1950 census indexing will be invited to review the automated index to ensure that every name is included and indexed correctly” (FamilySearch). This is different from past census releases where people basically created the index from scratch and took several months to complete.



  3. We CAN search it!

    We’ve been told previously that at the time of the release, the census will not be indexed and to expect limited search functions - but this may not be 100% true. Before you go through the efforts of researching each ancestor’s applicable enumeration district (utilize the Stephen Morse Unified ED finder), read on! Just recently NARA told us we will be able to search this initial data set, though it’s unclear how reliable it will be: “the new website will include a name search function powered by an Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology tool” (Victoria Macchi, National Archive News). This is very exciting!

    In another article, they explain “You will be able to search the 1950 Census website by name and location. You will also be able to search by Indian Reservation for form P8 Indian Reservation Schedules. To develop the initial name index, we are using Amazon Web Services’ artificial intelligence / optical character recognition (AI/OCR) Textract tool to extract the handwritten names from the digitized 1950 Census population schedules. Because the initial name index is built on optical character recognition (OCR) technology, it will not be 100-percent accurate” (“1950 Census Records” Archive.gov)



  4. A Community Effort

    This group effort by FamilySearch and Ancestry, along with many genealogical societies and organizations as well as individual volunteers, is called the “1950 US Census Community Project”. My company, Start Researching, has joined the project and is excited to help index these records as well! You can sign up for updates and request to volunteer here: FamilySearch.org/1950-Census



  5. What Questions will be on the Census?

    Two great resources for this are “Questions Asked on the 1950 Census” on The National Archives site, and for a more brief synopsis: “What Questions Appeared in the 1950 Census?” by Jason Wright, published 12 Dec 2021 on FamilySearch.

    View a blank form P1: Census of Population and Housing (pdf file)



  6. Enumeration Date: April 1st, 1950

    Keep in mind the enumeration date of the census was April 1, 1950. That means all the census takers were told to record information for the household as it was on that date, even if they had arrived to the house a few weeks or months later. So if a relative died in March 1950 they will likely not appear in the census, but someone who died in May should be included. Within the same logic, only an infant born in January, February, or March of 1950 or earlier (or also on April 1st) will be included.



  7. Read the Enumerator Instructions

    Full census enumerator instructions are available here on Census.gov, on the page click the link to open the pdf download. Understanding these instructions given to census takers can help you figure out how to find certain ancestors, from those in the military to those in boarding houses. For example, in 1950 students in college were to be counted at their colleges, instead of at their homes like in past censuses.

    More information available on “Instructions for Enumerators and the Public” on Archive.org.

    Also helpful is the “1950 Overview” on Census.gov details how the census was conducted in brief, with further details available as a downloadable zip file of 17 chapters. Lots of detailed information to comb through in those files.


  8. A Variety of Forms

    Most of the census data was recorded on the Form P1, Population and Housing (pictured above) with some exceptions, like Form P8, Indian Reservation Schedule. Different forms were also used in some areas like Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Panama Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as “selected areas in Michigan and Ohio” (Archive.gov), and various forms for military, crew members, and others.

    View more detailed information about each of the forms at “Census Forms in the 1950 Census Dataset” at Archives.gov

  9. Counted Later - ED 71+

    If there was no one home when the census taker came by, the census taker (also called enumerator) had a few different options. When the enumerator chose to come back later, and therefore had information out of order, they would start on sheet 71 or later. “The enumerator was to number the sheets (pages) of the census form in order beginning with “1” (one). Nearly all Enumeration Districts could be completed on fewer than 70 pages. Persons enumerated out of order were counted on sheets beginning with the number “71.” (Archive.gov)

    So if you can’t find your ancestor’s family in their expected district with their neighbors, try the later sheets of the same area.

    Read “1950 Census: Enumerated Out-of-Order: “Callbacks” and Others on Page 71 and Up” by Claire Kluskens on HistoryHub


  10. Still Missed Some People

    Despite best efforts, which included a post-enumeration survey of sample groups and “Missed Person” notices published in newspapers, “The Bureau of the Census later estimated that the census undercounted (missed) approximately 4.1 percent of the population” (Archive.gov).

    The full U.S. population that was counted, and determined, by the 1950 census was 150,697,361 people (Wikipedia), with the highest populations in New York, California, and Pennsylvania. If we think about 4.1% of that number, we’d have about 6,178,591 people missing from the 1950 census, or just over 6 million individuals not counted.

A “Missed Person” coupon from the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Evening Edition, 29 May 1950, one of the many efforts to count all people in the 1950 census.

Bonus - How to Prepare?

If you haven’t done so yet, now is a great time to look through your ancestors and make a list of those alive in 1950 (specifically April 1st, 1950). Determine the following:

  • Your ancestor’s full name, along with maiden name, alternate spellings, and nicknames

  • Names of spouse and children

  • Ages of all (to help confirm you have the right family)

  • Birth places of all above (again, to help you confirm you have the right family)

  • Known addresses. Look at other records if you need help determining, starting with where they were in the 1940 Census, then other records like draft cards and city directories.

  • Enumeration districts of those addresses (may not be needed, but helpful to have)

Have this reference list with you so you’re ready to search come April 1st.

Best of luck!

Article by: Sherri Mastrangelo, published 6 February, 2022.







Genealogy in the Metaverse?

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the future of the internet and how it will impact our daily lives. Some see this future as a shared 3D virtual reality world. Mark Zuckerburg, CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook), is pushing this concept he calls the “metaverse”, as his own company is one of several racing to develop the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (EX) technology behind it. We’ve already seen some of the same artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning that will build the metaverse reach through to genealogy with MyHeritage’s “Deep Nostaliga” application that brought photos of our ancestors to life.

While we can agree that change is coming, it’s hard to imagine what doesn’t exist yet. We know that not every vision for the future will come true - but it’s fun to think about! And since one of my passions is genealogy, I’d like to explore how this evolving concept of a metaverse, or virtual reality world, might possibly impact the field of genealogy in the next decade or two.

As I’ve come to understand it, and please correct me as needed, the metaverse aims to be a single virtual world, that is alway on and perpetually exists, and can be accessed through multiple forms of technology and devices. You interact with this 3D world, and everyone else in it, through your own unique and customizable avatar. You can create, buy, or sell virtual goods through various businesses, as well as play games, or meet and be social with others. Someday you might hold a job in this virtual space, or your children might attend class. 

In his Founder’s Letter this past October, Zuckerberg idealizes that “in the metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine - get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create - as well as completely new experiences that don’t really fit how we think about computers or phones today…In this future,  you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parent’s living room to catch up. This will open up more opportunity no matter where you live…” 

So what opportunities would a virtual world like this create in the field of genealogy? While the field itself seems to be living in the past when it comes to tech in certain areas (I still search Roots Web mailing list archives, and use the Wayback Machine to browse now defunct websites for example) we’ve all come to embrace home DNA testing, photo enhancing technology, and easier access to digitized records. 

Here’s what I imagine, or hope for, in the virtual genealogy landscape of the future: 

  1. Improved record access by being able to virtually visit record record repositories, like those at libraries and universities. Not having to worry about travel times, parking tickets, or time limits. Research at far away places, in the middle of the night if the mood strikes. How great would it be to put on a VR headset and instantly be transported to the FamilySearch Center in Utah? See what’s available on the shelves and find resources you didn’t know to search for previously online. Get instant help from virtual assistants. 



  2. Immediate access to all of your research, while conducting research virtually. We do this already on our computers - usually switching between many, many tabs running on our browsers - but I imagine a much more fluid experience where you can instantly connect with the data you need, represented by multiple forms of media (images, texts, records, timelines, maps, notes, etc) to compare with new data you find in the metaverse.  



  3. A multi-media Family Tree with integrated and overlapping data all stored in one place and easily accessed. Continuing off my last point, I feel current technology limits our ability to best visualize our Family Tree. Sure we can upload images to our ancestor’s profile page right now, and we can link to various records - but we usually have our research notes stored on our desktop, and a map of our ancestor’s houses stored in Google Maps, and a list of sources we found elsewhere, and so on. Imagine a virtual home for all of these resources, that you can pull up and view all at once, in an aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate format. 



  4. Viewing the world in 3D will help our research, and create new research methods. Much like Google Maps and Google Street View improved our research capabilities, viewing accurate 3D virtual representations of the physical world will help us in new ways. Walk into a graveyard and see your ancestor’s tombstone is surrounded by a family of a different name - perhaps they are related? 



  5. Immersive 3D experiences of the past will help contextualize our ancestors’ daily lives, as well as historical events. Like at the living historical village of Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts, in the metaverse you could experience what life was like as a pilgrim. Some of these kinds of “virtual field trips” exist today in video format, but will feel more personal in the metaverse experienced through your avatar. Other experiences don’t fully exist yet, but I can imagine different ways we could relive the past to better understand it. Some experiences will likely have more accuracy than others, but should be fun for history aficionados. 



  6. An improved method of browsing non-indexed records. Anyone else find it much easier to flip through a book of records than scroll through images on a computer screen? This one could be wishful thinking, but I’m hoping in the metaverse that browsing records is more like flipping physical pages of a book and the process becomes easier and less time consuming. Even if we were given the same dataset of images, it should be faster when controlling page turn and zoom with simple hand motions, right?



  7. Easier collaboration with other researchers. Imagine finding a record of your great-grandmother, let’s say a census record, and being able to leave a virtual note for other researchers that come across the same record. You’re able to connect with the descendant of your great-grandmother’s neighbor, and they have a photo of your great-grandmother with their ancestor on her front porch you’ve never seen before! If we could leave research notes, or links to our own research, somehow attached to a record (but in no way changing it) we could work together so much better. 



  8. Immediate digital copies of records created and saved with both source and record information.  You no longer have to download an image, save it in a specific file folder with full title, and write down the entire source in your notes while also remembering where you saved the image file. In the metaverse I hope there will be a way to store an image or record, along with it’s metadata, notes about the image, and a link to the original source. It’s hard to conceptualize before the tech exists, but I know we need better organization methods to record sources together with records! 



  9. Artificial intelligence photo recognition and algorithms to identify ancestors. There are some programs that already utilize some form of this, like Google Photos will identify and attempt to name / group people that look similar in your photo collection. Now if I have all of my photos of our ancestors in a virtual space, and you also upload all of your ancestors photos (some of which are unnamed), would the AI be able to tell you that an unnamed photo in your collection is likely to be so-and-so that matches a named photo in my collection? Perhaps it would also unite all of us that have the same ancestors in our photo collection (assuming no privacy restrictions). Discovering new photos of our ancestors (if the photos exist in the first place) should become easier as technology develops. 



  10. Education from anywhere, at any time. Take workshops and classes from a wide variety of experts. Yes, you can do this now with Zoom and other video meeting applications, but the idea with the metaverse is feeling present in a 3D world more than you would on a flat screen. 



  11. Social meetings with other genealogists. Similar to the previous idea, getting together with your genealogy society or lineage membership group in a virtual space will feel more personal than online meetings. You’ll also be able to connect with other genealogists, like those in your favorite Facebook group, in a virtual meeting area. Hopefully the metaverse will facilitate more connections between all of those with an interest in genealogy, allowing us to learn from each other (and perhaps find more relatives!). 

All this being said, I’d expect there to still be constraints over access to records, with companies maintaining ownership of database sets and charging for virtual access. You would also still likely rely on their search algorithms and other aspects of record searching. This virtual world would not be a free one. 

We would also be dependent on each library, museum, or university to create their own virtual space, which will take a lot of time and effort. There is also a huge amount of records not yet digitized, some of which will never become digital and must be researched in the physical world. 

And finally, we will have to reexamine how we view “authentic” sources, as authenticity may be harder to determine in a virtual reality world, though not much different from today’s internet. 

Whether or not you think the concept of the metaverse will happen and we will all be hanging out in a shared virtual world together in the near future, it’s still important to think about how the coming technology changes will impact genealogy - a field often overlooked by those creating this tech - and what we want to happen. 


Sources: 

Zuckerberg, Mark. “Founder’s Letter, 2021” Meta. 28 October 2021. (https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/founders-letter/)











2021 Gift Guide: Over 50 Ideas for Genealogy Enthusiasts

In the first annual gift guide, I’m sharing over 50 ideas to gift the genealogy enthusiast in your life - or perhaps, to put on your own wish list this holiday season. There’s a great mix of things to help you research better, productivity tools and technology, and new family heirlooms, all at a variety of price points.

Note all Amazon links within the gift guides are affiliate links.

While I usually spend my genealogy budget on database subscriptions like Ancestry.com, I love discovering a magazine in the mail to enjoy with a cup of coffee. Some options:

1. Family Tree Magazine

2. Who Do You Think You Are

3. Irish Roots Magazine

4. BBC History Magazine

5. Storyworth subscriptions. I’m using two of these subscriptions right now with two of my relatives, and find the once-a-week email prompt really encourages them to keep going with the project. The questions are easy to edit and re-order, and I’m looking forward to seeing the final product - a book, which can be easily passed down to future generations.

6. I want to carry this awesome tote bag, “It’s a Beautiful Day for Genealogy” everywhere!

7. We should all have this “Warning: May Start Talking About Genealogy” sticker on our laptops, notebooks, and water bottles.

8. This Cassette to MP3 recorder is perfect for converting that stack of home-recorded cassette tapes that hold old family interviews!

9. Whether you pick 23andme or ancestryDNA, a DNA home testing kit is an entertaining gift for a relative, and can also help you in your research. Don’t forget to ask them to share the results with you.

10. I love this Lighted Reading Magnifier for zooming in on hard to read physical documents.

11. This Document Holder makes transcribing a breeze.

12. This Time Capsule would make an awesome family project to create together, and I love that it comes in different size options.

13. These photo safe pencils from Stabilo are good for writing on the back of modern, glossy photographs.

14. Everyone needs archival quality storage boxes for holding records, photos, and keepsakes. I like this Pioneer Photo Album Storage Box and this Lineco Museum Storage Box.

15. This Brother Compact Mobile Photo Scanner goes with me on all research trips, and anytime I visit a relative, and I highly recommend it!

On the left, the Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo, Film, Negative & Document Scanner. On the right, the Kodak Slide N’ Scan. Both great options for converting negatives to digital files, and the Epson is great for documents and photos as well.

16. Some documents are too big or too fragile to fit in the mobile scanner, so a flatbed scanner is an essential home office tool for every genealogist. I like this Epson V600 model.

17. Gift this Kodak Slide N’ Scan to a relative, and hopefully they’ll share all their newly converted negatives with you.

18. Get them a favorite photo repaired, or enlarged, and nicely framed. This etsy shop thePaperFramer has some nice options.

19. We could all use a photo consultation with an expert, like Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective.

Two great options for personalized family treasures to gift: on the left, a Family Tree Serving Bowl from Uncommon Goods and created by Sheree Burlington . On the right, a Handwriting Plate from etsy shop phpottery. Both awesome products linked below.

20. This hand-painted Personalized Family Tree Serving Bowl would make a wonderful family heirloom to pass down to future generations.

21. Capture a loved family recipe with this Handwriting Plate.

22. Convert those VHS home movies to digital files, so you can edit and share with family members and also preserve for future generations. I’ve used this ClearClick Video to Digital Converter with success.

23. Shutterfly gift cards to make family photo books.

I love these minimalistic and nicely designed novelty genealogy tees from Etsy shop StagandPeachCo. Individual shirts linked below.

24. Novelty t-shirt option one: “Eventually All Genealogists Come to Their Census”

25. Novelty t-shirt option two: “Eat Sleep Genealogy Repeat”

26. Gift the genealogy lover a research trip to anywhere they want to go - maybe the FamilySearch Library headquarters in Salt Lake City for example.

27. You know I had to include a copy of my Genealogy Planner and Workbook, makes a great gift!

28. Ask them for a list of books on their wish list - some of us have very specific requests related to things we want to learn about, or locations, or family lines.

29. Books by Elizabeth Shown Mills, like Evidence Explained: History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace or Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards

30. Mastering Genealogical Proof and Mastering Genealogical Documentation, both by Thomas W. Jones, should be on every genealogist’s bookshelf.

31. If they don’t have it yet, they need Genealogy Standards by the Board for Certification of Genealogists is essential reading.

On the left, a custom Census Mug from etsy shop GenealogyGifts. On the right, a book from the National Archives Store.



32. Gifts from the National Archives Store supports the museum and their education programs, like the book Genealogy Tool Kit: Get Started on Your Family History at the National Archives by John P. Deeban.

33. This custom census mug is great for those late night research sessions.

34. A new external hard drive, at least 1tb or 2tb in size, is helpful for storing all your files and photos and staying organized.

35. If you’re like me, you’ve hit the limit on your free cloud storage services that came with your gmail or other accounts. Having all of your files in backed-up in the cloud allows you to access your files from anywhere, and offers a layer of protection if something happened to your computer files. And genealogists have a lot of photos and files! I recommend Dropbox or Google Drive Storage

36. Backup File Protection is similar to cloud storage, but with automatic backup of your computer files instead of additional storage. Never accidently delete a file, forget to upload anything, or worry about a broken device. Backblaze Personal Backup or Carbonite

37. Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher by Drew Smith

38. Lineage Membership Application Fees or Dues. Read more about lineage memberships. Has your genealogist always thought about applying to a group like The Daughters of The American Revolution (DAR) or The Mayflower Society? Or if they’re already a member, pay the upcoming dues or even splurge for a lifetime membership.

39, Tickets to any genealogy conference, like RootsTech

40. Educational genealogical courses, like a session from the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) or Boston University’s Genealogical Principles or Certificate program.

41. For the ultimate gift - a heritage trip to their ancestral homeland!

42. The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Bettinger, would pair great with a DNA testing kit.

43. The NGS (National Genealogical Society) includes NGS Magazine, and the scholarly journal NGS Quarterly (NGSQ), and NGS Monthly, all with searchable access online of back issues. There’s also free access online to skill courses and discounts to education programs, discounts to books and the annual NGS conference, and more member benefits. Purchase a gift membership.

44. An American Ancestors membership is essential for anyone researching in early New England. Includes the American Ancestors Magazine and the journal. Review membership options.

45. Support local historical societies by gifting a membership, that often includes access to an affiliated history museum. For example, joining the San Mateo County Historical Association includes admission to the San Mateo County History Museum as one of the many perks.

46. Local Genealogical Society Memberships. These local societies can be at the county or state level. I belong to both the San Mateo County Genealogical Society and the California Genealogical Society, for example. These groups provide workshops and presentations, research help at the local level, and access to certain repositories and libraries. Offer to pay membership dues for your favorite family history fan.

Database Subscriptions. Everything that helps a genealogist complete their research would make an amazing and very useful gift. If you’re like me you rotate memberships to save money, and would love subscription gifts to any of the following:

47. Newspapers.com

48. Fold3.com

49. Ancestry.com

50. Findmypast.com

51. Myheritage.com

Hope you found some inspiration in this list to gift the genealogists in your life, or to add to your own wish list. Happy Holidays!


















Can You Solve These "Country Codes"?

This is a bit different of a post today - one in which I am asking for your help to solve. I have posed this question to several different genealogists, asked around in Facebook groups, and have done diligent research and have yet to come up with an answer, so I’m posing this to all of you.

We’ve talked a lot about U.S. passenger arrival lists lately. I’ve shown in my last blog post how the Immigration Act of 1924 codes show up as handwritten notations near the visa columns relating to the type of immigrant, such as “3 - 2” for a government official, or “4 - B” for a returning immigrant that was legally admitted before. I’ve also reviewed additional abbreviations and marks in an earlier post.

However, in my research and review of all of this, I’ve noticed additional notations in many passenger lists for those arriving to the U.S. in the early 20th century, that seem to be related to the locations. I’m calling these handwritten notations “country codes” for now, but keep in mind they could be related to visas, immigration quotas, taxes, passenger counts, race of people, or something else entirely.

My question is - what does these numbers mean, and is there reference material for them we can cross-reference? And of course, in understanding the meaning, do they offer any more information for general genealogy research?

An excerpt from “New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1925 - 1957.” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G54Q-NCW?fbclid=IwAR3qnmlWVQBCBhPQe7lh8PZQQK6SaktioLG07VlhwO0Gx_0UgFqZ9UyRg1A&i=222&cc=1923888). Highlights my own. Passengers sailing from Liverpool, England, in 1928.

Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve noticed about these codes:

  • The numbers in the “Place of Birth” column are often four digits in XX - XX format, but they can also appear as fractions

  • The numbers in the “Last Permanent Residence” column are often two digits, XX

  • In the “Place of Birth” column, the country could have more than one number. Note in the image above England has both an “03” and “04”.

  • In the “Last Permanent Residence” column on the right, these seem more static and more likely country codes unique to each location.

  • There are some similarities between different passenger lists using the same codes (such as England being “04 - 15” in the first and second example), but more differences than similarities. Japan and the U.S. are usually “99” but other countries, such as Chili and Panama in the image below, have also been “99”. Canada is usually 80.

  • When there is a column for “Race or People” there are also two digit numbers in that column, but only two digits in “Place of Birth” as opposed to the other pattern of XX - XX. Perhaps this means the first part of the four digit number in the “Place of Birth” in the other passenger lists has to do with race?

Another example of similar markings in this 1931 passenger arrival list. “New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925 - 1957”. database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G5CK-K23?fbclid=IwAR38puxolsWRKGXo0533OG9yTrIO7iITpJjpCrgNkrVYGmBEz__4nGcfZjg&i=10&wc=MFKM-1TL%3A1029954601&cc=1923888).

In this second example above, Chile is marked as both 99 and a 4/12, while Cuba is 83. We also see a “04 - 15” for England, which we’ve seen before in the first example.

A third example from 1931, also arriving to New York, showing the U.S. as “99”. “New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925 - 1957” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G5CF-91VY?fbclid=IwAR1DaQeDwqvhBkR7RiRYGEctQH5R1v0hGPqEZzbn6IFjjk4OfpfeRiTnj3w&i=50&wc=MFKM-529%3A1029955901&cc=1923888)

You may have noticed all three examples above have been from New York, so the following three examples are from Boston.

This passenger list from 1931 arriving in Boston adds another column for Race or People, with a “17” for Irish”. There’s also a “13” marked for Ireland, and “99” for U.S.A. “Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1891 - 1943”. database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YW3-VT6?i=38&wc=M6B4-6TG%3A219635101&cc=1923995)

An early passenger list from passengers arriving in Boston in 1927. Like the example before it, there is a “17” for Irish and “13” for Ireland. Also Australia is “78”, Canada is “80” like others examples, India is “45” and Germany is “12”. From “Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1891 - 1943”, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYW3-PQM?i=17&wc=M6B4-Z29%3A219600901&cc=1923995)

A 1931 manifest of passengers sailing from Nova Scotia to Boston. Note two digit numbers in the Race column, an “80” marked for Canada, and “99” for U.S.A.“Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1891 - 1943”, database, FamilySearch. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYW3-VRJ?i=47&wc=M6B4-6TG%3A219635101&cc=1923995)

It’s very possible these notations may not be of significance or hold any genealogical value at all - but how will we determine that if we don’t know what they mean?

So what do you all think? Help me solve this - or perhaps, if the answer is already known to some, please fill me in! I’d love to see more examples as well.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page or contact me.


Immigration Act of 1924 Codes on U.S. Passenger Arrival Lists

Today’s post is a follow-up to a recent blog post, “Passenger Lists: The Meaning Behind the Notations, Abbreviations, and Marks” as I wanted to add a bit more information, specifically about notations you may see on U.S. passenger arrival lists related to the Immigration Act of 1924.

Massachusetts, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963. Ancestry.com. Series Number: T843; NARA Roll Number; 340. Note the highlighted area with notations, that refer to the Immigration Act. Can you decipher these codes using my table further below?

The Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act or National Origins Quota Act, “limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia.” (United States Department of the State). It capped the number of annual immigrants allowed at 165,000.

This act also required everyone to present a visa prior to entry. Those that were subject to quota restrictions would have a Quota Immigrant Visa (QIV), while those not would have a Non-Quota Immigrant Visa (NQIV). The Act “exempted from the new quota highly skilled immigrants, domestic servants, specialized workers such as actors and wives or unmarried minor children of U.S. citizens” (Pew) making these examples of non-quota immigrants. Those immigrants whom had been legally allowed entry into the U.S. previously would need a Re-entry Permit (RP), while U.S. citizens would require a Passport Visa (PV).

Starting in July 1, 1924, when this act went into effect, you may see notations on passenger arrival lists made by the immigration inspector at the port of arrival. These numbers and letter combinations referred to different sections and parts of the text of the Immigration Act of 1924, which I summarized in the table below.

Section Part Excerpt from the Immigration Act of 1924
3 Definition of an Immigrant
3 1 “A government official, his family, attendants, servants, and employees"
3 2 “An alien visiting the United States temporarily as a tourist or temporarily for business or pleasure”
3 3 “An alien in continuous transit throughout the United States”
3 4 “An Alien lawfully admitted to the United States who later goes in transit from one part of the United States to another through foreign contiguous territory”
3 5 “A bona fide alien seaman serving as such on a vessel arriving at a port of the United States and seeking to enter temporarily the United States solely in the pursuit of his calling as a seaman”
3 6 “An alien entitled to enter the United States solely to carry on trade under and in pursuance of the provisions of a present existing treaty of commerce and navigation”
4 Non-Quota Immigrants
4 a “An immigrant who is the unmarried child under 18 years of age, or the wife, of a citizen of the United States who resides therein at the time of the filing of a petition under section 9…”
4 b “An immigrant previously lawfully admitted to the United States, who is returning from a temporary visit abroad”
4 c “An immigrant who was born in the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the Republic of Mexico, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Canal Zone, or an independent country of Central or South America, and his wife, and his unmarried children under 18 years of age, if accompanying or following to join him”
4 d “An immigrant who continuously for at least two years immediately preceding the time of his application for admission to the United States has been, and who seeks to enter the United States solely for the purpose of, carrying on the vocation of minister of any religious denomination, or professor of a college, academy, seminary, or university; and his wife, and his unmarried children under 18 years of age, if accompanying or following to join him”
4 e “An immigrant who is a bona fide student at least 15 years of age and who seeks to enter the United States solely for the purpose of study at an accredited school, college, academy, seminary, or university, particularly designated by him and approved by the Secretary of Labor, which shall have agreed to report to the Secretary of Labor the termination of attendance of each immigrant student, and if any such institution of learning fails to make such reports promptly the approval shall be withdrawn”
5 Quota Immigrants
5 “When used in this Act the term “quota immigrant” means any immigrant who is not a non-quota immigrant…”
6 Preferences within Quotas
6 1 “To a quota immigrant who is the unmarried child under 21 years of age, the father, the mother, the husband, or the wife, of a citizen of the United States who is 21 years of age or over…”
6 2 “To a quota immigrant who is skilled in agriculture, and his wife, and his dependent children under the age of 16 years, if accompanying or following to join him…”

Above excerpts from The Immigration Act of 1924, also named “An Act of May 26, 1924, Public Law 68-139, 43 STAT 153, to Limit Immigration of Aliens into the United States for Other Purposes” found in The National Archives Catalog. Additional non-relevant sections of the act were not included, but should be referenced as needed.

Looking back at the first image (close-up below), with the passengers sailing from St. John’s Newfoundland and arriving in Boston, Massachusetts in 1925, we see a list of notations in the immigration section:

immigration act notes 2.png

By referencing the Immigration Act of 1924, through my table higher above, we can decode these notes as follows:

  • The “3 - 2” would be a tourist or a temporary visitor, for either business or pleasure. We see the remark “pleasure” next to the first reference.

  • The “4 - B” would be an immigrant, legally admitted to the U.S. before, that is returning from a trip abroad.

  • The “4 - C” would mean an immigrant born in Canada, Newfoundland, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, etc. (in this case likely Newfoundland as that’s where they are sailing from) or the immigrant’s wife or minor children

This Immigration Act was in effect in various forms until the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, or Hart-Cellar Act, replaced the quota system (Pew), with some restrictions on Asian immigrants repealed earlier, though we still use a system of visas.

Read more about Visa Files at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Note this immigration visa number written on passenger lists is not the Visa File number you need to request from USCIS.

Sources:

Pew Research Center. “Chapter 1: The Nation’s Immigration Laws, 1920 to Today”. 28 Sept 2015. (https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2015/09/28/chapter-1-the-nations-immigration-laws-1920-to-today/) Accessed 8 October 2021.

The Immigration Act of 1924. ”An Act of May 26, 1924, Public Law 68-139, 43 STAT 153, to Limit Immigration of Aliens into the United States for Other Purposes”. National Archives and Records Administration. (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5752154) Accessed 7 October 2021.

United States Department of State: Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute. “The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act)” (https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act) Accessed 7 October 2021.


Blue Books and Society Register Lists

Blue Book covers

High society flourished in the late 19th century, during a period often called “the Gilded Age” in America, as the economy boomed and some quickly gained a vast amount of wealth. It was also a time of great wealth disparity and inequality, with many struggling workers and an influx of poor immigrants. Those that had money celebrated it with ostentatious displays, throwing extravagant dinner parties and lavish balls to carefully selected guests deemed worthy by the host.

In 1870’s New York, Mrs. Caroline Astor’s list of party guests for her annual ball became known as “the four hundred”, a curated group of elite society members (theorized to be the number of which could fit in her ballroom on Fifth Avenue). Mrs. Astor was the social queen bee of the knickerbockers, or those with old money that came from inherited wealth and well-known ancestry (likely descendants of original Dutch and English New York settlers), as opposed to the less favored nouveau riche, or those with newly made money and unknown backgrounds - like the Vanderbilts. There was contention and rivalry between the two groups, dueling over who threw the most extravagant parties, and who was included in the festivities and who was shunned.

In any big city, a list of people was essential for both the social climbers and the people hoping to stay at the top. The very existence of the nouveau riche formed the idea that seemingly anyone could make the right business decisions, investments, and connections to become wealthy and respected leaders of society. Everyone had to know who they should be inviting to their parties, visiting with, doing business with, and having over for dinner. Who was a suitable bachelor or bachelorette for their child? Who was recently engaged or married, or moved away? Who did others recognize as the cream of the crop?

Families and wives kept their own personal society lists, but certain publications soon became the respected authority. Inspired by Mrs. Astor’s 400, Louis Keller, “a prominent socialite, compiled the “visiting lists” of elite families into one volume. These lists enumerated those who called on prominent ladies during visiting hours” (Sargent, NY Times). He called it a Social Register, and this 1887 version would be the first of many in New York and major cities in the U.S. Copies of the early Social Register sold for “$1.75. For $3.25 more, a subscriber got a monthly update of addresses, engagements, marriages, deaths, and elections” (Winship, Los Angeles Times).

Excerpt from The Summer Social Register, 1918 from The Internet Archive. Public Domain.

Excerpt from The Summer Social Register, 1918 from The Internet Archive. Public Domain.

It wasn’t just socialites who purchased it - retailers wanted the names and addresses of potential clients. Certain hotels would only allow guests if they were in the book, other businesses wanted copies available for their guests to read. And while The Social Register did not have any advertisements, other publications were full of them, especially those whose title included “shopping guide”.

Other editors had similar ideas, collecting thousands of names of their local elite society members and compiling it into a book. In Cincinnati, Miss Clara Ann Rich Devereux created Mrs. Devereux’s Blue Book in 1894. The Cleveland Social Directory: Ladies Visiting Lists and Shopping Guide predated Keller’s publication with it’s first edition in 1880. Before that, in 1877 was the first issue of The Boston Blue Book. Even earlier was Clark’s Boston Blue Book published first 1876 by Edward E. Clark, more than ten years before the Social Register.

It’s hard to say who was first as earlier examples of published lists of the rich and powerful can be found, including The Wealth and Biography of the Wealthy Citizens of the City of New York: Being an Alphabetical Arrangement of the Names of the Capitalists Whose Wealth is Estimated at One Hundred Thousand Dollars and Upwards, With the Sums Appended to Each Name, and Genealogical and Geographical Notices of the Principal Persons, published in 1846 (tenth edition). by Moses Yale Beach. What a mouthful of a name! But these lists were factual reports of earnings and, in the above example, all those who made at least 100k were included, unlike The Social Register and Clark’s Boston Blue Book and such whose editors chose people based on social ranks and other factors. Not to mention social directories existed in various forms in Europe, like the Who’s Who books, or Burke Peerage books.

I’ve collected links to as many of these various Blue Books and Social Directories as I could find available online for free, thanks to various resources like the HathiTrust Digital Library, the Internet Archive, FamilySearch, Google Books, and more. This resource will continue to be updated as I come across more. Some of these collections, like those on the Internet Archive and Google Books, allow you to search the inside of each publication - a helpful tool when looking for ancestors.




Links to Blue Books & Social Register Lists

California - Illinois - Maryland - Massachusetts - Missouri - New York - Ohio - Pennsylvania

All Other States (including Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington State, Washington D.C., Wisconsin)

National or Multiple States (including the Summer Social Register and others)

These links can also be found via the “Records” tab in the left navigation menu.

As I’m completely fascinated by these social directories, let’s keep discussing them! There’s a lot to unpack here and it’s not a topic I’ve seen discussed in genealogy groups very often. I’ve formatted the rest of the blog post into question / answer for your quick reference.




What exactly is a Blue Book, Social Register, Social Directory, or Visiting List?

I use the terms “Blue Book” and “Social Directory” interchangeably to refer to any published collection of a few thousand elite society members for a specified area, usually published annually. The individuals were chosen at the editor’s discretion. Some have the descriptor “private address directory” or “ladies visiting list and shopping guide” in the title. They were at the height of popularity in the late 19th century and early 20th century, with the majority published in the 1870’s through the 1920’s.

Excerpts from Our Society Blue Book, Season of 1895-6, from the Internet Archive

Excerpts from Our Society Blue Book, Season of 1895-6, from the Internet Archive


What kind of information was available in these publications?

The type of information varied by publisher and edition, but usually included an alphabetical name and address list, sometimes organized instead by street. It did not show every member of the family, nor did it always list the wife’s name. Phone numbers were included mostly post 1890. The majority list reception days when it is respectable to pay a visit.

A key for the abbreviations to appear after an individual’s name, as shown in The Social Register, Boston, 1922 published November, 1921 by The Social Register Association (as found online by HathiTrust Digital Library, url: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066401647&view=1up&seq=9&skin=2021). Note many alma matters like Princeton, Harvard, and Yale as well as some club memberships.

A key for the abbreviations to appear after an individual’s name, as shown in The Social Register, Boston, 1922 published November, 1921 by The Social Register Association (as found online by HathiTrust Digital Library, url: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066401647&view=1up&seq=9&skin=2021). Note many alma matters like Princeton, Harvard, and Yale as well as some club memberships.

Check the first few pages of the book for an abbreviation key for alma matters and clubs. Some books have separate club directory pages. Most blue books and registers carry a dilatory domiciles section in the beginning to show if an individual has moved or to share other changes.

Other information may include births, deaths, marriages, travels (if an individual is “abroad”) and addresses of country homes. Note the fashionable habit at the time of telling others a person was traveling to avoid falling out of social graces, due to the lack of an invitation to a ball for example, might mean an individual was not in fact traveling abroad.

A selection of the marriage notices included in The Brooklyn Blue Book and Long Island Social Register, 1903, published 1902 by the Brooklyn Life Publishing Co. (found online on HathiTrust Digital Library). Look at all that amazing genealogical information!

A selection of the marriage notices included in The Brooklyn Blue Book and Long Island Social Register, 1903, published 1902 by the Brooklyn Life Publishing Co. (found online on HathiTrust Digital Library). Look at all that amazing genealogical information!

There may be lists of hotels and their residents, and newspapers and their personnel. I’ve also seen editions with the names of yachts and representative drawings of each boat. There are theatre diagrams in some to help the affluent purchase and locate their boxes and seats. Some have extensive advertising, others, like The Social Register have none. In the ones with advertisements there may also be a shopping guide.


Why were some called “Blue Books”?

Many of the covers were blue, but not always. The Social Register was black and orange (like the colors of Princeton University). The Chicago Blue Book, 1895 reads “The title, “BLUE BOOK,” is simply a name given the work on account of its blue cover. It does not refer to blue blood, as many people suppose. Webster’s definition of Blue Book is as follows: “BLUE BOOK - A parliamentary publication, so called from its blue paper cover, such being commonly used; also, a book containing a list of fashionable addresses.”...It is simply a compilation of thirty thousand names of the most prominent householders of Chicago, and suburbs within a radius of thirty miles, published in the most convenient form for reference by our lady patrons” (The Chicago Blue Book, 1895).

When is a “Blue Book” not a “Blue Book”?

It may have the phrase “Blue Book” in the title, but it’s not always a list of society’s upper class. Take for example the Kelley Blue Book, used to valuate cars and first published in 1926. The term “Blue Book” can refer to any such collection of information or almanac. In your research you will likely come across government blue books, published by the city or state, sharing the names of employees as well as offering local history. I have tried to exclude these from my collection of links, but if you know your ancestor was a government employee they may be helpful to you.

Also of note it seems in New Orleans, the several blue books were actually a directory of prostitutes masquerading as a social directory.


Where there Blue Books for every city?

As you will notice from my collection of links, the most publications still available now are from big cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco - but you should be aware these collections often included a wide area. The San Francisco Blue Book of 1922 included San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Jose, and even as far south as Los Angeles and San Diego.

No blue books, social registers, or other forms of society lists could be found for free online from the following states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming), with the exception of some of these places within multiple state directories. They may exist, and please let me know if you come across any!

Why were their multiple publications in the same city and year?

In larger cities, there may be multiple “blue books” or society lists for the same years, with different publishers or editors, and they may or may not contain the same people.

Above, a comparison of three society lists from 1921 - 1922 highlighting the inclusion of Mr. Faxon D. Atherton (yellow highlight box from me). On the left, The San Francisco Social Register 1922, in the middle is The San Francisco Blue Book of 1922, and on the right is the New Society Blue Book of 1921 and 1922. Faxon D. Atherton was considered the father and namesake of the town of Atherton, California - though since he died in 1877, this is his son Faxon Dean Atherton, Jr.

How often (and when) where these books published?

The majority were published annually, (with an additional summer version of The Social Register) but be sure to look closely at the date. They were published earlier than the title date. The Social Register San Francisco, 1922 was actually issued November, 1921 with updates (in the form of a supplementary “Dilatory Domiciles” showing change of addresses and other news) sent to subscribers in December, January, and March.


How do I know if my ancestor was in any of these books?

It’s hard to say! Note that some editions published hundreds if not thousands of individuals more than others, so chances may be higher the longer and less exclusive the list. For example, Clark’s Boston Blue Book for 1901 declares it has the names of over nineteen thousand householders and is almost 720 pages long, while the more restrictive The Social Register, Boston of 1901 is only 148 pages and by my estimates has under five thousand.


What does it mean if my ancestor was listed one year but not the next?

Unlike a city directory that listed all citizens, these social directories did not guarantee inclusion at any time. Appearing one year and not the next did not necessarily mean the ancestor moved away, married, or died - but it’s a possibility. Also possible was a change in financial standing or some kind of social misstep, or perhaps the editor had a change of heart.

Be sure to check the “dilatory domiciles” usually listed in the front section of the directories that showed changes of address and other updates. The Social Register also published “The Locater” which summarized the names of all those in all locations of the Register and the city and family name under which it appears, but I have yet to find any online copies.


How were people chosen for inclusion?

These lists of prominent society members were created at the editor’s whim and discretion. At The Social Register, board-reviewed applications were necessary aside from a select few that were automatically included, like the President of the United States.


Who was excluded from these social directories?

While committing social faux pas could lead to your exclusion in these publications, if you weren’t white, Anglo-Saxon, and protestant (WASP) you likely didn’t stand a chance. The Social Register was the most restrictive on race and ethnicity. Black, Catholic, and Jewish populations were often excluded, especially from earlier editions. In the first Social Register in 1887, of the 5,000 elite New Yorkers,  “Newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who had recently bought the New York World from railroader Jay Gould, was the only Jew listed” (Winship, Los Angeles Times). The latter, Jay Gould, did not make the cut.

However, these people may be listed in other versions specific to their race or ethnicity. A few examples:


Where can I find copies of The Social Register and other Blue Books?

In addition to all the online links I’ve shared, there are some available for purchase from rare book websites or sellers like eBay. You may be able to find physical copies in your local library or historical archives. Repositories like the NEHGS library and FamilySearch library are sure to have copies, I suggest searching the catalogs or reaching out if you are looking for something specific. I’ve also come across some at used bookstores.



Sources

Sargent, Allison Ijams. “The Social Register: Just a Circle of Friends”. The New York Times. 21 December, 1997. (https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/21/style/the-social-register-just-a-circle-of-friends.html)


Winship, Frederick M. “Social Register Marks 100 Years of Listing Everybody Who’s Anybody”. Los Angeles Times. 11 Feb 1988. (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-11-vw-42230-story.html)

Win a Copy of My Just Published "Genealogy Planner and Workbook"!

UPDATE SEPT 2021: This giveaway has ended, congratulations to our winner!

I’m so excited to announce my first publication, Genealogy Planner and Workbook: Record Your Research Notes Efficiently, is now available for purchase on Amazon! And to celebrate, I’m doing another giveaway!

About the Genealogy Planner and Workbook:

I wanted to make something practical, based on how I record and organize my own research. It is a five part book filled with unique, fill-in worksheets for you to personalize.

The book begins with a section for your own personal information. Record information about your subscriptions including your member ID, when they renew, how much they cost, and your usernames and passwords. Keep track of your lineage, historical, and genealogical society memberships. Create a list of notable websites. In Part Two, Networking, you can store contact information, and easily reference each contact in the correspondence log.

Part Three, The Research, is where it starts getting really good! There are three pedigree charts, of four generations each. You can choose to continue one line through all 12 generations across the three charts, or utilize each chart for a separate line. Give each person a number, and link them to a Family Group Sheet (FGS) for easy cross-referencing (pictured below).

Hello, Gorgeous!.png

There are a total of 30 Family Group Sheet sets, that’s one set for each of the 24 couples on the pedigree chart, plus 6 more for second or third marriages that resulted in children or that you want to research more.

Each Family Group Sheet set has room for you to enter:

  • Birth, marriage, and death information for both parents

  • Their parent’s names

  • Up to 15 children (continues on to second page)

  • Timeline / known residences list

  • Research notes

  • Source list (up to 18 entries)

Hello, Gorgeous! (3).png

Part 4 is the planning section, (some of which is shown above). There are 12 undated calendar pages with up to six weeks on each page. Dates were left off so you can start using the calendar section immediately and start it from the current month. There’s several pages of task checklist sheets and some other tools like a page to manage ongoing maintenance and another page to set some goals, but my absolute favorite part are the trip planner worksheets - these are so useful! Easily prepare for a research trip by writing out specific items and records you hope to find, and keep notes of your success. Refer to this page if you plan a return visit, so you’re not repeating your efforts in vain.

To close out this workbook and planner is Part 5, several pages for your research notes. In addition to all of this, there are several more worksheets throughout the workbook, like “Brick Wall Questions” and “Surname List”, that are very helpful when researching new databases and resources.

I’ve found having all my research notes easily portable like this is perfect for research trips and traveling. You can quickly refer to your notes, add more information, and record sources as you work. As a bonus its great to refer to when you’re in an area with limited or no WIFI as well.

Please continue to provide feedback to me as you use the book, I can’t wait to hear from all of you!

Thank you so much for all your support!

About the Giveaway:

I am giving away one copy of my Genealogy Planner and Workbook to one lucky winner! To enter the giveaway, visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/startresearching, and comment on the post about the book / giveaway!

Be sure to like our Facebook page as well to stay informed about our blog updates and future giveaways.

Full rules below.

Giveaway Rules & Disclaimers:

  • Giveaway ends Tuesday, August 31, 2021 at 11:59 pm PT.

  • Open to all residents of the United States; 18 or older (or age of majority in their state of residence, whichever is greater) with a mailing address able to receive packages. Winner may be required to verify age upon request.

  • Winner will be picked randomly from all entries received. Only one winner will be chosen. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received.

  • Winner will be notified privately via Facebook messenger (not announced on our sites publicly), and must respond with a proper mailing address within 2 days or prize will be forfeited and given to runner up. Your address will not be used for any means other than sending you the prize.

  • No cash prize alternative.

  • This contest is in no way affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon.com, Facebook.com, or Squarespace.com.

  • We are not responsible for any items lost, stolen, or damaged in the shipping process.



Indigenous Residential Schools in Canada and America: A Troubled History (with Research Links)

This post discusses events which may be triggering or distressing. In Canada, there is a 24hr National Residential School Crisis Line available at 1-866-925-4419.

This past May, researchers discovered the bodies of hundreds of indigenous students at the sites of former residential boarding schools across Canada. To-date more than 1,000 of these unmarked graves have been located, with the help of ground-penetrating radar, and researchers expect to find more.

While the trauma experienced by indigenous people at these schools was already known, (Canada had already faced it’s largest class action settlement in history with the Indian Residential School Agreement in 2007), the vast number of student deaths was widely unknown. Temporary memorials with children’s shoes have been held across the country, as well as some churches reportedly burned.

In America, where there were twice as many of these schools, there has not been as much of a public out-cry. However, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American to be in this position, has said there will be a federal investigation (read the press release from June 22, 2021).

Caption reads “Henry Standing Bear [Top], Wounded Yellow Robe [Left] Chancy Yellow Robe [Right]: Sioux boys as they entered the school in 1883 [on the left side], Three years later [on the right]”. As found on the Internet Archive, in the book “Souvenir of the Carlisle Indian School” by J.N. Choate, 1902.

Caption reads “Henry Standing Bear [Top], Wounded Yellow Robe [Left] Chancy Yellow Robe [Right]: Sioux boys as they entered the school in 1883 [on the left side], Three years later [on the right]”. As found on the Internet Archive, in the book “Souvenir of the Carlisle Indian School” by J.N. Choate, 1902.

In this post, I’ll be talking about how these Indian boarding schools came to be and what happened to the children at these schools. I’ve also included some links to help those who wish to research these students and the schools they attended, and I encourage you to share more links in the comments to help your fellow researchers.

Explaining the history of the residential schools:

In 1869 and 1870, mission schools and day schools took hold in reservations, with Native American children forced to attend school near their homes. While they were made to speak English, it was soon determined that these children needed to be further separated from their families to become fully “civilized”.  Next, they made boarding schools, still somewhat close to the reservations, and allowed families to visit and children to go home in summer months, but this too was not viewed successful by the then U.S. government.

Lt. Richard Henry Pratt, who had overseen the education of released Indian prisoners and hostages, opened the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879 in a vacant military barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This school, along with Pratt’s philosophy “kill the Indian, save the man”, became the blueprint for future residential boarding schools in the U.S. and Canada.

Note in early America these people were called “Indian”, and in Canada, “Aboriginal”, though today they are “Native American” or “Canadian Indian”, or also “Indigenous”.

On the left, “Chicirahua Apaches as they arrived at Carlisle from Fort Marion, Florida. Nov 4, 1886.” On the right, “Chiricahua Apaches four months after arriving at Carlisle.” From a book “United States Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, PA.” found on the Internet Archive. No known copyright restrictions.

On the left, “Chicirahua Apaches as they arrived at Carlisle from Fort Marion, Florida. Nov 4, 1886.” On the right, “Chiricahua Apaches four months after arriving at Carlisle.” From a book “United States Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, PA.” found on the Internet Archive. No known copyright restrictions.

At these residential boarding schools, children as young as five (though remains have been found of younger children and infants) were taken from their families and wiped of their culture. At arrival they were given haircuts – a traumatic experience for a culture that valued long hair - and uniforms. They were told not to speak their own language, say their prayers, or sing their songs. They were given new anglicized names and had to convert to Christianity, as well as speak English (sometimes French in Canada). Most were not allowed contact with their families.    

On the surface this was a forced assimilation of Native American children through education, when in reality it was eradicating a people. Many fell victim to the violence and abuse (physical, psychological, and sexual) that was rampant.  These children suffered and died from a multitude of ills, including hard manual labor, unsanitary living conditions, contagious diseases (especially tuberculosis, measles, and pneumonia), lack of medical care, starvation, and neglect.

Government Indian School, Swinomish Reservation. Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions.

Government Indian School, Swinomish Reservation. Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions.

They were made to follow a military like schedule. Their labor, from gardening to splitting wood, kept the schools running. With “outing programs” children were sent to work for local white families as a form of cheap labor for the community, often with females as maids or cooks and males as farm hands.

Many Native American families resisted sending their children to these schools but were not given a choice. In the U.S, attendance was made mandatory by a federal law passed in 1891, by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which “withheld food and other goods from those who refused to send their children to the schools, and even sent officers to forcibly take children from the reservation” (Blakemore).  There are also many reports of children running away from the boarding schools and facing harsh punishments when caught and returned.

“United States Indian School, Carlisle, PA…six boys doing laundry.” Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions.

“United States Indian School, Carlisle, PA…six boys doing laundry.” Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions.

Those that did survive these systems were left without the knowledge of how to raise a family, lacking a true education, and grasping only fragments of their indigenous culture, all of which would ripple like a shockwave through future generations.

Church involvement

In America, they would be run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or church-run and subsidized by the BIA. In Canada, the money came from the Department of Indian Affairs, and the schools were largely run by Christian churches. “The Roman Catholic Church in particular was responsible for operating up to 70% of residential schools [in Canada], according to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society” (Honderich).  In ongoing efforts, “in 2017, Mr. Trudeau asked Pope Francis to apologise for the church’s role in running Canada’s residential schools – but the church has so far declined. The United, Anglican and Presbyterian churches issued formal apologies in the 1980s and 1990s.” (Honderich).

Read: “How has the Catholic Church addressed residential school abuses and what is expected now?” by Nicole Bogart for CTVNews Canada, published 9 June, 2021.

With the recent news of the discovery of many bodies at these residential schools in came the burning and vandalizing of multiple churches in Canada, some located on indigenous land.


How many of these schools existed?

According to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, there were at least 367 American Indian boarding schools in the United States. For a full list, organized by state: https://boardingschoolhealing.org/list/

They encourage those with any information about additional schools to send them leads.

“Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, PA”. A publication from 1895 depicts the school’s method of assimilating a Native American into the dominant society. Internet Archive. No known copyright restrictions.

“Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, PA”. A publication from 1895 depicts the school’s method of assimilating a Native American into the dominant society. Internet Archive. No known copyright restrictions.

In Canada, there were at least 150 Indian residential schools, most listed in an Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), a class action implemented in 2007 that included a monetary compensation payout for former students, among other things.

You can view an interactive google map of these residential schools in Canada, created by Historic Canada.

What happened to these schools?

It took a long time for the laws to change. The New York Times reports “by the 1920s, one group estimates, nearly 83% of Native American school-age children were attending such schools” (Callimachi). Then in 1928, The Meriam Report raised awareness of the poor living conditions, and a few reforms took place. However, it wasn’t until the 1970’s that real changes were brought about. Towards the end of the decade, “in 1975, Congress passed the Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which granted tribes the ability to assume responsibility for programs that had been administered by the federal government. It was the death knell for most residential schools” (Blakemore). And then in 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act finally allowed parents the legal right to deny their children’s attendance at off-reservation schools. As boarding schools closed in America, many Native American children were transitioned into the public school system or on-reservation schools.

Changes seemed to take place earlier up north. With the revised Indian Act of 1951 students began integrating into provincial school systems. A series of government reports in the late 1960s condemned the remaining residential schools, including the Hawthorn Report, titled “A Survey of the Contemporary Indians of Canada”. In 1972, in response to the Canadian government’s 1969 White Paper, the National Indian Brotherhood released Indian Control of Indian Education, a policy which Canada’s Department of Indian Affairs accepted. This Brotherhood is now called the Assembly of First Nations.


Do any of these schools still exist?

In Canada, the answer is no - “the last federally-funded residential school, Marieval Indian Residential School located on the Cowessess 73 reserve in Marieval, Saskatchewan, was closed in 1997” (Wikipedia).

In America, “the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education [BIE] still directly operates four off-reservation boarding schools in Oklahoma, California, Oregon, and South Dakota. According to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS), a Native-run nonprofit, 15 boarding schools and 73 total schools with federal funding remain open as of 2021” (Blakemore). Of these schools still in operation in the U.S., “attendance is no longer mandatory, and Native children are not forced to be Christian in non-Christian boarding schools” (Smith).

Today in the U.S., “the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) currently supports 183 schools on 64 reservations in 23 states, with 48,000 students in total. Of these 183 schools, 59 are operated directly by the BIE and 124 are operated by local tribal school boards” (The Red Road).

“Carlisle Indian School, Carlisle, PA, class in English or Penmanship”. Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions.

“Carlisle Indian School, Carlisle, PA, class in English or Penmanship”. Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions.

What kind of records can be found today?

The above links are just a sampling of what you may find. You may also be able to locate records held by the schools themselves, as some of these schools continue to operate under different models and may have their own historical repositories. Additional records may be held by Indigenous tribes, and also various church affiliations that ran the schools. Another suggestion would be historic newspapers.

Tip: If you come across websites that no longer exist, see if they can be accessed through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.


What about records of the students that died?

Sadly, “thousands of children died in residential schools and their bodies rarely returned home. Many were buried in neglected graves…there are no available records to mark their identities” (Honderich).

Still, researchers are working hard to put together facts and identify the deceased. A few years ago, “in 2019 the [Canadian] government committed C$33.8m ($28m; £19.8m) over three years to develop and maintain a school student death register and set up an online registry of residential school cemeteries” (Honderich). The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada is developing this, which you can now search by name or school:

National Student Memorial Register: https://nctr.ca/memorial/



Sources:

Blakemore, Erin. “A century of trauma at U.S. boarding schools for Native American children”. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/a-century-of-trauma-at-boarding-schools-for-native-american-children-in-the-united-states Accessed 22 July 2021.

Callimachi, Rukmini. “Lost Lives, Lost Culture: The Forgotten History of Indigenous Boarding Schools” New York Times. 19 July 2021. Updated 20 July 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/us/us-canada-indigenous-boarding-residential-schools.html Accessed 23 July 2021.

Honderich, Holly. “Why Canada is mourning the deaths of hundreds of children” BBC News. 15 July 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57325653 Accessed 22 July 2021.

Smith, Andrea. “Indigenous Peoples and Boarding Schools: A comparative study” The UN. 26 January 2009. https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/IPS_Boarding_Schools.pdf Accessed 23 July 2021.

The Red Road contributors. “Education of the First People”. The Red Road. https://theredroad.org/issues/native-american-education/ Accessed 23 July 2021.

Wikipedia contributors. “Canadian Indian Residential School System”: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system Accessed 23 July 2021.



Passenger Lists: The Meaning Behind the Notations, Abbreviations, and Marks

When you look at a list of passengers arriving at a port in the U.S., you’ll see the names of those traveling on the ship, as well as their ages, the port and country they departed from, and perhaps their place of birth. It might show how much money they arrived with in their pockets. They may have given a name and address of their connection in the country (which weren’t always factual), if they are able to read and write in English, their race, if they are married or single, their occupation, and their intended destination. That’s a lot of valuable information for a genealogist.

However, if you’re not taking a look at the notations, abbreviations, and marks on the page you might be missing even more. Perhaps the person listed on the manifest never even made it on board the ship!

In this post we’ll go over some of the more prolific abbreviations and markings, including:

  • Ditto or Quotation Marks

  • USB (U.S. Born) or USC (U.S. Citizen)

  • S.I. (Special Inquiry) and “X” and Several Reasons for Being Held (Husb., Bro, LPC, Under 16, Tel, Tel $, Med, DCD, LCD, No Boat)

  • Line Through Names

  • Not on the Ship (DNS or Did Not Sail; NOB or Not On Board; NS or Not Shipped)

  • Naturalization Numbers

  • DEP

While there were some discrepancies between ports and variations between years, you should be able to determine the meaning behind the markings in this post. You should also check out “A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations” by Marian Smith, available on JewishGen.org, for a more in-depth, qualified analysis of these and other notations and markings. Marian L. Smith, though recently retired, was the senior historian at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), previously Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), having joined the later in 1988 as their first historian (SHFG.org).

Ditto or Quotation Marks

Let’s start with an easy one that you’ve likely come across before in your work - things that mean “ditto” or “same as above”. This could be a quotation mark (or typed as _”_ or double quotation marks, ), the word “ditto”, or ditto abbreviated as “do”, or another letter or symbol (like the letter “V”). In the image below, what do you see?

In this early passenger list, you’ll see quotation marks meaning “ditto” or same as listed above, in the Name column, the Sex, Country to which they severally belong, and Country of which they intend to become inhabitants. Note while there is empty space in the Occupation column, there is no mark - so only the first passenger, Patrick, is a confirmed Blacksmith... Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S. Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists. 1833, Oct, All Arrivals. [Database-on-line] Provo, UT. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.

In this early passenger list, you’ll see quotation marks meaning “ditto” or same as listed above, in the Name column, the Sex, Country to which they severally belong, and Country of which they intend to become inhabitants. Note while there is empty space in the Occupation column, there is no mark - so only the first passenger, Patrick, is a confirmed Blacksmith... Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S. Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists. 1833, Oct, All Arrivals. [Database-on-line] Provo, UT. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.

In many pages, you’ll note multiple forms of this. You may see quotation marks used in one column, and “ditto” or “do” in another for example.

In the left column it says “U.S. born” and underneath the abbreviation “do” for “ditto” is written three times. Would you have noticed all of the Di Lorenzo children where born in the U.S. looking at this? There are also quotation marks meaning same as above / child in the far right column... Ancestry.com, New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Year: 1905; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 1, Page Number: 41.[Database-on-line] Provo, UT. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

In the left column it says “U.S. born” and underneath the abbreviation “do” for “ditto” is written three times. Would you have noticed all of the Di Lorenzo children where born in the U.S. looking at this? There are also quotation marks meaning same as above / child in the far right column... Ancestry.com, New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Year: 1905; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 1, Page Number: 41.[Database-on-line] Provo, UT. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

U.S.B. or U.S.C

In addition to “U.S. Born” (shown in image above) you may see “U.S.B.”. Also “U.S.C” for United States Citizen (See Smith’s section on “Annotations Regarding Nationality and Citizenship”).


Special Inquiry or “X”

A Special Inquiry meant cause for further examination, usually in the form of more interviews by officials or doctors. May show as the initials “S.I.” or “B.S.I.” for Board of Special Inquiry. May be a stamp of “Admitted” or “Deported” on or above the initials. Appears in the left column before the name.

Note on the left hand side, the initials “S.I.” with the word “admitted” stamped on them. FamilySearch.org, New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909; 1925-1957. Vol 8222-8224 Jan 5, 1925. Image 25.

Note on the left hand side, the initials “S.I.” with the word “admitted” stamped on them. FamilySearch.org, New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909; 1925-1957. Vol 8222-8224 Jan 5, 1925. Image 25.

While Special Inquiry means they were sent for a hearing or trial, an “X” in the far left column usually means they were just detained for a brief while (See further below: Husb, Bro, Tel, Tel $, or No Boat). Instead of an “X” you may see a “D” for “Detained” but depending on the port, those detained might also be subjected to a hearing.

Several reasons an alien would be held for Special Inquiry or Detained:

  • Women (or children) waiting for someone to meet them. You may see “Husb” or “Bro” indicating their husband or brother was on their way to pick them up, as women were generally not allowed to travel alone. These passengers were likely detained for a short time.

  • “LPC” or Likely Public Charge, or those likely to become a burden to tax payers. Many reasons for LPC like being a single woman, not having enough money, or having a medical condition. Could be grounds for deportation.

  • Similarly “Under 16” was indicative of minor children not traveling to reunite with a parent.

  • “Tel” or “Tel $” meaning Telegram, meaning they didn’t have sufficient funds to travel to their intended destination, and they sent a telegram requesting money from a relative or someone else.

  • “MED” or medical reasons. These people may have been sent to hospitals or local medical buildings (some ports like Ellis Island had their own) or in some cases deported. You may also see D.C.D or L.C.D. for Loathsome or Dangerous Contagious Disease.

  • “No boat”, meaning a smaller boat wasn’t available to take them to shore or the dock just yet, and they had to wait.

  • “STOW”, a stowaway, usually deported.

This list above is not complete. For example, an immigrant may have been rejected for being a criminal or anarchist. Explore more reasons on Smith’s “Causes (Grounds) for Exclusion Noted on BSI Lists, ca. 1903-1924”.

In New York passenger lists, you may see a separate form (“Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry”) that may explain the charge for special inquiry, note the meals served (which can give you an idea how long they stayed if it doesn’t say elsewhere), and the resolution of the inquiry. These forms began in 1903 (Smith).

On a separate page, the reason Mr. Kenneb was held for Special Inquiry looks like “LPC” or Likely Public Charge. Though the ship arrived on January 6th, he had his initial hearing on the 7th, had a rehearing on the 9th, and was admitted on the 10th. If you visit the link for this image you’ll see he was fed three meals four times each. FamilySearch.org, New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909; 1925-1957. Vol 8222-8224. Jan 5, 1925. Image 37.

In the above image, under the heading “Actions of the Boards of Special Inquiry”, you may have noted referrals to page numbers, followed by the initials of the recording secretary. These court records, or transcripts of the inquiry by this secretary, “for the vast majority of immigrants who had BSI hearings were destroyed long ago” (Smith). Read more about this on the “Records of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry” page on JewishGen.org, where the aforementioned writings of Marian L. Smith are shared.

She also notes that, in addition to New York, records exist for Philadelphia’s detained immigrants from 1882 to 1909, with “some, dating from 1893 to 1909, are on microfilm as National Archives publication M1500. The majority remain in hard copy at the Regional Archives in Philadelphia” (Smith).

Line Through the Name

I noticed this example in a passenger list for my great-grandfather, shown below. I was not expecting to see his son (Vincenzo Costa) on the list as one of the crossed out names. This means they intended to sail together and purchased a ticket for him, but for whatever unknown reason did not.

In the above image, there are three names crossed out. To the left it reads “Not on boat”. Ancestry.com, New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Year: 1905; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 11; Page Number: 25. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

In the above image, there are three names crossed out. To the left it reads “Not on boat”. Ancestry.com, New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Year: 1905; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 11; Page Number: 25. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Note that a crossed out name could also mean they did in fact sail but were recorded on another passenger list or section, like a lower class part of the ship (often called 2nd class or steerage). Usually there’s some clarification on the same line or page as to the reason there was a line through the name. In the image above, to the left of the name we see “Not on boat”, without an explanation as to why.

Not on the Ship

In the case the person listed on the passenger list was never actually on board, like above, you may see the abbreviations D.N.S. for Did Not Sail; N.O.B. for Not on Board; or N.S. for Not Shipped. Other examples are Not on Boat or Failed to Join. Historian Marian Smith notes “perhaps they missed the ship, or changed their travel plans, or became ill and health officials prevented them from boarding the ship" (Smith). Passenger lists were created by the steamship companies before the boats even left, and had to be corrected later to make sure these companies were charged the correct amount of tax.

Check additional passenger records in case the individual made other travel plans.

Similar to “Not on Board”, this list has a line through a name with the stamp “Failed to Join”. Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Year: 1936; Arrival: London and Plymouth, England; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 1; Page Number: 21. Ship: American Banker.

Similar to “Not on Board”, this list has a line through a name with the stamp “Failed to Join”. Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957. Year: 1936; Arrival: London and Plymouth, England; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 1; Page Number: 21. Ship: American Banker.

Naturalization Numbers

Some notations could even be done many years later when an alien applied for a passport or citizenship. While a record of immigration wasn’t required for naturalization until 1906, notations were not generally made until 1926 to cut down on fraud (Smith). Annotating these passenger lists helped prevent other people from using the same name and information when applying to be a citizen.

These naturalization numbers may be written by the passenger’s name, but are more likely to the right under nationality. There may be a date, either referring to the date the information was verified, or the date of naturalization. You may also see “NAT” or a similar abbreviation before the number.

The number itself may refer to the number on the passenger’s naturalization certificate. Other numbers written adjacent may refer to the location of the court where the person was naturalized. These numbers can sometimes be used to help track down your ancestor’s naturalization papers (see Marian Smith’s explanation and District Key Number Tables).

Sidenote: Personally I have not come across these type of annotations very much, if at all, aside from the examples in Smith’s article. If you come across naturalization numbers in your research please send me a link to the list!

Did your ancestor apply for citizenship in 1943 or later, and you’re wondering why you don’t see naturalization numbers on their passenger list? It’s probably because “the passenger lists were microfilmed in 1942/43, so records of immigrants who arrived earlier but did not begin the naturalization process until after 1942 could not be annotated” (Smith).

These naturalization numbers should not be confused with Permit or Verification of Landing markings, which may also appear in the name column, and usually have a “P” or ‘V / L” before the set of numbers. Read more about these notations for immigrants wishing to travel in the page on JewishGen titled “Markings in the Manifest’s Name Column” by Marian Smith.


DEP (Deportable / Deported)

In between the Family Name and Given Name, we see the initials "“DEP”. Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963. Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: T843; NARA Roll Number: 291. [Database-on-line]. Provo, UT. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.

In between the Family Name and Given Name, we see the initials "“DEP”. Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963. Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: T843; NARA Roll Number: 291. [Database-on-line]. Provo, UT. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.

The abbreviation “DEP” likely stands for Deportable / Deported. These markings are done on individuals only in the U.S. for a short time.

Other Annotations

Are there other abbreviations or annotations still undeciphered on your passenger list? Look at the name of the immigration official listed at the end or on a following page and see if the initials match.

Also, as mentioned before, be sure to check Marian L. Smith’s guide (linked below).

I’d love to see more examples as you come across them. Use the Contact form in the left navigation to send me a note with the link, and any questions.

Sources and Additional References:

Alzo, Lisa. “Beyond The Arrival Date: Extracting More from Immigrant Passenger Lists.” Archives.com. 20 December 2011, archives.com/experts/alzo-lisa/immigrant-passenger-lists.html. Accessed 21 May 2021.

Powell, Kimberley. “U.S. Passenger List Annotations and Markings”. Thoughtco.com. 30 July 2018. thoughtco.com/us-passenger-list-annotations-and-markings-1422263. Accessed 21 May 2021.

Smith, Marian. “A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations”. JewishGen.org jewishgen.org/infofiles/manifests. Accessed 20 May 2021.

Society for History in the Federal Government. “2019 Roger Trask Award Winner Marian L. Smith”. SHFG.org. shfg.org/page-18338. Accessed 20 May 2021.

Further Research

Library and Archives Canada. “Terminology and Abbreviations”. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/Pages/terminology-abbreviations.aspx