Sometimes when life turns chaotic, it’s good to step back and get some perspective. What better way to understand how you fit in the world than genealogy?
October is National Family History Month.
Family research does more than try to guess your ethnicity or whether or not you have a famous ancestor. Family research can connect you to long-past relatives, true, but also to living cousins and other family members you never knew you had.
And of course, your EVPL libraries can help you make these connections.
Ancestry and Genealogy Resources
One way you may have heard of is the Ancestry Library Edition site. This resource delivers billions of records in census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more. During the pandemic, and currently through December 31, 2021, Ancestry Library Edition, typically available only in library buildings, is also available to users at home.
Another source you’ll want to check out, especially if you have family in the Evansville area, is the Browning Genealogy Database. The Browning Genealogy Database is the lifetime work of Charles Browning, who compiled the obituary records of Vanderburgh County and surrounding southwestern Indiana from Evansville newspapers.
Newspapers can be a fascinating way to learn more about your family as well. The Evansville Historical Newspapers database contains full-page, fully searchable digitized editions of historical Evansville newspapers from 1871-1991, and is available thanks to a generous grant from the EVPL Foundation. Due to vendor restrictions, this resource is available only to EVPL resident cardholders (PLAC not applicable) or via in-house Library computers.
We also have an abundance of resources full of Local History, including ones available in EVPL Central’s lovely Indiana Room.
Looking to preserve your family mementos? Check out EVPL’s Preservation Studio.
Books about Ancestry and Genealogy
- The Family Tree Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Uncovering Your Ancestry and Researching Genealogy by Kenyatta D. Berry
- Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: How to Find Your Family History On the #1 Genealogy Website by Nancy Hendrickson
- Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.org: How to Find Your Family History On the World’s Largest Free Genealogy Website by Dana McCullough
- Family Photo Detective: Learn How to Find Genealogy Clues in Old Photos and Solve Family Photo Mysteries by Maureen Alice Taylor
- How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records by Denise S. May-Levenick
- Journeys Home: Inspiring Stories, Plus Tips and Strategies to Find Your Family History by the National Geographic Society
- How to Write Your Personal or Family History: (If You Don’t Do It, Who Will?) by Katie Funk Wiebe
Happy researching!
