United States, Histories of Towns, Counties, and States

Introduction
Histories may be written about towns, cities, counties, states, and the United States. They often include biographies of people and families in the area.

What You Are Looking For
The information you find varies from record to record. These records may include:


 * Name.
 * Dates and places of birth, marriage, and death.
 * Names of parents.
 * Names of spouse and children.
 * Date and place of marriage.
 * Biographical information.

Steps
These 6 steps may help you find information in histories.

Step 1. Determine where your ancestor lived.
Check the following to find a place where your ancestor lived:


 * Family records (histories, pedigree charts, family group sheets, and so on).
 * Family histories.
 * Censuses.
 * Biographies.
 * Obituaries.

For additional ways to find where your ancestor lived, see How to Locate Your Ancestor in the United States.

Step 2. Find and acquire histories of that area.
For titles of records for the area, search the catalogs or listings of the following:


 * The Internet.
 * Family History Centers and the Family History Library.
 * Research outlines (see Tip 1).
 * Archives and libraries.
 * Genealogical and historical societies.

Usually you should look for a town history first because you are more likely to find prominent and nonprominent individuals mentioned in town histories. State histories usually only mention prominent people of the state.

If you do not find a town history, see Tip 2.

For information on how to obtain copies of histories, see Where to Find It.

You can often have books or films sent to your public library through interlibrary loan. For more information about interlibrary loans, see Tip 3.

Step 3. Search the index for your ancestor's name.
Find your ancestor's name in the index. Most indexes are at the back of the book, but some are in front or in a separate volume.

If you cannot find your ancestor's name, check for variations of the spelling. For suggestions, see Name Variations.

If there is no index, scan through the history for a section about your ancestor's town.

Step 4. Search the history for information about your ancestor.
Using what you found in step 3, find and read the part in the history about:


 * Your ancestor.
 * The area where your ancestor lived.
 * The time when your ancestor lived in the area.

If you do not find your ancestor, see Tip 4.

Step 5. Copy the information from the history.
Make a photocopy of the pages with the information about your ancestor and the area.

Be sure to document the source of the information by writing the title, author, book or film number, and page number on the copy or photocopy the title page at the front of the book or film. Also write the name of the library or archive where you found the history.

By copying the entire page, you can study the record in depth and save it for future reference. You can analyze the handwriting and note other details you may have missed when you first looked at the record. You may find other relatives of your ancestor.

Step 6. Analyze the information you found.
To make effective use of what you learned, determine the following:


 * Where was the person born?
 * Who were his or her relatives, and where were they born?
 * Does this information match what you know about the family?

Does the history give more clues about your ancestor that could guide you to other records, such as mentioning:


 * Military service.
 * Immigration.
 * When he or she moved into or out of the area.
 * Occupation.
 * Any schools or colleges attended.
 * Relatives

Tip 1. What records are recommended in research outlines?
To see recommended histories for your ancestor's state, click on the state name below and scroll to the "History" part of the research outline: