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Genealogy Resources

Periodicals

Some genealogical periodicals are national or regional in scope; others focus on one state or one county. A few are devoted to a particular ethnic or immigrant group. Others publish information on one family or one surname.

Some periodicals publish short genealogies. Many publish Bible records, abstracts of wills and deeds, and transcriptions of tombstone inscriptions and marriage records.

Genealogical periodicals are often indexed, either in each issue or annually. There are also indexes that cover many genealogical periodicals. The most comprehensive index to genealogical periodicals is the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI), which indexes material in the periodical collection of the Allen County (Indiana) Public Library. The numerous volumes of this index can be found in larger libraries

  • PERSI: Periodical Source Index. CD-ROM. Salt Lake City: Allen County Public Library and  Ancestry, 1999.Comprehensive index to genealogical and local history periodicals. A multivolume printed edition can be found in some larger libraries. PERSI consists of 16 retrospective volumes covering periodicals published during the period 1847 through 1985, and annual volumes from 1986 onward.  Sections include U.S. places arranged by state and county; Canadian places by province; other foreign places arranged by country; a research methodology section; and a family section arranged alphabetically by surname. Citations to articles include a very brief description of the contents, periodical title code, volume and issue numbers, month, and year. Not included are author, article title, or pagination. Many of the approximately 3,500 periodicals indexed are not available at LC. All, however, are housed at the Allen County Public Library, and photocopies may be obtained for a reasonable charge. Aims to provide access to every significant English-language and French-Canadian historical and genealogical periodical relating to family history research.

Other Indexes

  • Arnaud, Etienne. Repertoire de genealogies francaises imprimees; pref. de M. le duc de La Force. {Paris} : Berger-Levrault, c1978-c1982. 3 v. Volume 2 includes supplement to v. 1; v. 3 includes supplement to v. 1 and 2. An alphabetical listing by surname of genealogical studies found in books and periodical articles published in France. Articles published as recently as 1981 are indexed. It includes the families of "ordinary" persons as well as the nobility. The compiler has tried to include every instance in which a minimum three-generation study was made of a particular family, noting also the province of the family's origin. An easily understood code directs the user to periodicals or series.
     
  • Genealogical periodical annual index. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc. v. 1- 1962- Volumes 1-4 (1962-1965) edited by Ellen Stanley Rogers, are arranged by broad subject, title of article, principal surname, author, and place name. Volumes 5-8 (1966-1969), edited by George Ely Russell, are arranged by personal name (male), place (state and thereunder by county and town), subject, and author. Critical book reviews are indexed by subject. Volumes 9-12 are not yet published. Volumes 13-30 (1974-91), edited by Laird C. Towle, are arranged by personal name (surname and given name), locality, and topic. Book reviews are listed under subject, not by author or title.
     
  • Index to American genealogies [Munsell]. 5th ed., rev., improved and enlarged. With Supplement 1900 to 1908. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1966. 352; 107 pp. Title page included original imprint: Albany, J. Munsell's Sons, 1900. Initially published in 1868 by Daniel Steele Durrie, this index was published by the Munsell firm in the fourth edition in 1895 and the fifth edition in 1900. In 1908 it published a supplement for 1900-1908. Munsell is a surname index to over 15,000 family histories (mostly New England and Mid-Atlantic) buried in books and periodicals.
     
  • Jacobus, Donald L. Donald Lines Jacobus' index to genealogical periodicals. Rev ed. by Carl Boyer, 3rd. Newhall, Calif. : C. Boyer, 1988. 373 pp. A revision of the three-volume edition published by Jacobus in New Haven from 1932 to 1953. Separate listings by surname, place, and topic provide access to the chief genealogical periodicals published during the late 1800's through 1952. Some explanatory materials and a key to the indexed periodicals are on pp. 366-373.
     
  • Der Schlüssel; Gesamtinhaltsverzeichnisse mit Ortsquellennachweisen fur genealogische, heraldische und historische Zeitschriftenreihen. Hrsg. von Heinz Reise in Verbindung mit der Genealogisch-Heraldischen Gesellschaft mit dem Sitz in Göttingen. Göttingen, H. Reise, <1956-1986> v. <3-9> Z5311.S34 LH&G
    CONTENTS (Incomplete): --Bd. 3. Einsiedel, A. v. und Amburger, E. Der Deutsche Herold.--Bd. 4. Ollrog, W. Without special title.--Bd. 5. Ollrog, W. Auswertung aller in der Bundesrepublik erschienenen genealogisch-heraldischen Zeitschriften von 1945 bis 31. Dezember 1960.--Bd. 6. Jager-Sunstenau, H. Auswertung der genealogisch-heraldischen Zeitschriften in ™sterrich und der deutschsprachigen Tschechoslowakei 1871-1944.--Bd. 7. Dietrichs, H. Auswertung der in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland erschienenen genealogisch-heraldischen Zeitschriften, vom 1. Januar 1961 bis 31. Dezember 1975.--Bd. 8. Gerlach, D.H.G. Auswertung der in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und in den deutschsprachigen Randstaaten erschienenen genealogisch-heraldischen Zeitschriften vom 1. Januar 1976 bis 31. Dezember 1980.--Bd. 9. Ollrog, W. und Gerlach, D.H.G. Without special title. This bibliographical guide provides researchers with a surname, place, and subject index to titles of articles published in selected German genealogical periodicals. Some volumes also index book reviews. Citations refer to articles published from as early as 1860 to as late as 1981. It has information on more than ninety genealogical and heraldic publications for German speaking areas of Europe which would include Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
     
  • Sperry, Kip. Index to genealogical periodical literature, 1960-1977. Detroit: Gale Research Co., c1979. xxiv, 166 pp. (Gale genealogy and local history series, v. 9) Z5313.U5S64 LH&G. Sperry indexes periodical articles published between January 1960 and December 1977. The subject index to periodical articles includes research techniques and procedures, genealogical and historical sources and collections, and international genealogical topics. Published local records (cities and counties) are indexed under the name of a state, province, or county. There is an author/title index also. Lists of personal names, pedigrees, compiled genealogies, and family histories are not included. It is not a name index.
     
  • Swem, Earl G., comp. Virginia historical index. Gloucester, MA: P. Smith, 1965. 2 v. in 4. Reprint of the edition published in Roanoke, Va., by Stone Printing and Manufacturing Company, 1934 to 1936. Indexes personal names, place names, and subjects in the Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Hening's Statutes at Large, Lower Norfolk County Virginia Antiquary, 1895-1906; Tyler's Quarterly, 1919-1929, Virginia Historical Register and Literary Advertiser, 1848-1853, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1893-1930, and the William and Mary Quarterly, 1892-1930. An explanation of the abbreviations used in the entries is in v. 1, p. xx.
     
  • Trapp, Glenda K. Kentucky genealogical index : an every name index to Kentucky ancestors, Kentucky genealogist, Kentucky pioneer genealogy & records, The East Kentuckian, all issues through 1980 / by Glenda K. Trapp, Michael L. Cook. Evansville, Ind : Cook Publications, c1985- v. <1 > Useful for any researcher interested in Kentucky genealogy, because it provides every-name access to four important Kentucky genealogical periodicals.

Some of the primary genealogical periodicals include:

  • The American Genealogist (TAG), 128 Massasoit Drive, Warwick,
    RI 02888. Founded in 1922, TAG a key genealogical journal. The geographic focus is usually New England or the East with short articles about families families all over the world.
     
  • APG Quarterly, Association of Professional Genealogists, P.O. Box 11601 Salt Lake City, UT 84147.
     
  • Cyndi's List - Magazines, Journals, Columns & Newsletters,
     
  • Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter, Richard Eastman, author of "Your Roots" publishes a a great weekly newsletter online (free) that's helpful and worthwhile.     
     
  • Genealogical Helper, P.O. Box 368, Logan, UT 84321. Every genealogist would find this useful, each issue is 200+ pages.
     
  • The Genealogist. Semiannual of the American Society of Genealogists, formerly published by the Association for the Promotion of Scholarship in Genealogy. It publishes high-quality genealogical articles including single-family studies, compiled genealogies, and articles that solve specific problems. It provides a forum for scholarly articles which, for reasons such as length, do not fit in other publications.
     
  • Mayflower Quarterly, Miss Mildred Ramos, Secretary General, 3800,
    Montrose Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222. For  researchers with Mayflower
    roots, the Mayflower Society is a must.
     
  • National Genealogical Society Quarterly, & Newsletter /Bi-monthly, 4527 Seventeenth Street North, Arlington, VA 2207-2363. Each issue of the NGS Quarterly has a well written how to do it article, always items of  interest.
     
  • The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Quarterly publication of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The Register 1847-1994.  Published quarterly since 1847, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register is the flagship journal of American genealogy and the oldest journal in the field. The Register has featured articles on a wide variety of topics since its inception, including vital records, church records, tax records, land and probate records, cemetery transcriptions, obituaries, and historical essays. Authoritative compiled genealogies have been the centerpiece of the Register for more than 150 years. Thousands of New England families have been treated in the pages of the journal and many more are referenced in incidental ways throughout. These articles may range from short pieces correcting errors in print or solving unusual problems to larger treatments that reveal family origins or present multiple generations of a family.
     
  • New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 122 East 58th Street, New York, NY 10022. This is a distinguished journal.
     
  • Prologue - Quarterly Journal of NARA.  Prologue magazine brings readers stories based on the rich holdings and programs of NARA, the regional archives, and the presidential libraries from across the nation. Published quarterly by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Prologue has been in publication over 35 years.