Searching For Your Ancestors

by Gilbert Harry Doane, James B. Bell

hardbound with dust cover

Genres: History, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

The edition I read was copyright 1937 and printed 1973. It is no longer a "how-to" book but rather a piece of history, chronicling what genealogy work was like pre-internet.

And what was my biggest take-away? Well, that the internet is a beautiful thing. Nowadays it just takes a few clicks to start an account with a genealogy site and start receiving photos of census reports, baptism records, military records, etc. Combine that with interviewing your living relatives and you're pretty much set.

The chapter "Odds and Ends to Help Your Search" was great -- would have been nice if the whole book gave tips like that, maybe even helping you understand how to navigate specific country's records (explaining the Swedish patronymic system, for example). This book would have been 4 stars if this was 1937 but in 2012, it's dropped to a 1 star, sorry.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reliable and well-written guidebook.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although severely outdated given its original publication date, this book still holds up in terms of strategies that a genealogist should employ to conduct proper and comprehensive research on their ancestors. There are certainly some tactics no longer required, such as reaching out personally to the lead librarian at the National Archives, given our modern day online access to so many record collections now. But overall, the author is an excellent teacher in the skills needed for family history.

[Megan]

September 10, 2000