The Family Tree Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Trace Your Genealogy Across North America [Paperback]

Family Tree Magazine (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2003

Combining genealogy basics, online directory and travel guide, Family Tree Guidebook uses the conversational tone and information & Internet-packed approach that has vaulted Family Tree magazine to No. 1 in its field. The book divides the United States into seven regions, with an eighth section covering Canada. Each region is covered with an introduction to its history, including a timeline, and the basic how-to's of finding and using its records. A state-by-state resource directory will help cover Internet mailing lists, organisations, archive and libraries, web sites, Family History Centres, genealogy societies, special records resources, periodicals, and vital records. There is a brief introduction, covering the basics of getting started in family history, and a resource listing covering nationwide Internet and archive resources that apply to all regions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Betterway Books; 1 edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155870647X
• ISBN-13: 978-1558706477
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,665,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, not so good execution . . ., May 28, 2003

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Family Tree Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Trace Your Genealogy Across North America (Paperback)

I have to be suspicious of a book subtitled "Everything You Need to Know to Trace Your Genealogy Across North America," because that's patently untrue. The Introduction by Emily Anne Croom, "Getting Started Tracing Your Ancestors," is well-written and touches all the methodological bases - documenting your sources, "clustering," continuing education, etc. - but it's simply not possible to compress a useful discussion of genealogical techniques into seven pages. David A. Fryxell (with whom I'm not familiar) contributes another brief chapter on "Finding Your Family Tree Across the U.S. and Canada," which covers much of the same material and adds advice on planning a research trip, whether to a rural courthouse or to Salt Lake City. The great bulk of this volume, though, is a state-by-state outline of where to find the public and academic libraries, state archives, state and local societies, Family History Centers, and other information sources, with a more detailed discussion of resources in selected major cities in each state. Major genealogical periodicals and web sites for each state are included, as are a detailed list of available federal censuses (state censuses, important for filling in the gaps, when they exist, are only summarized, as "1846 to 1925" Iowa), a list of city directories available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake (though most local libraries have these, too), and other assorted information. The too-brief city chapters are more like "civilian" travel guides, highlighting sightseeing attractions, downtown hotels and ethnic restaurants. (Do vacationing genealogists hot on the trail of a missing probate file actually stay at the Adolphus in Dallas and eat at Commander's Palace in New Orleans?) Each regional section opens with a rather superficial history essay which suffers from lumping too many states within each region. Comments on the historical roots of "the South" mean quite different things in Delaware and Texas. Like many guides in our field, this one tries to be all things to all genealogists, in a single not-too-expensive volume, but it ends up being inadequate (or merely insufficient) in most areas for most people much of the time. This is especially true with the recent publication of the completely revised and hugely expanded _The Source,_ which generally succeeds in those grand goals. I suggest you buy that (on CD, if you carry a laptop on your research trips) and go to AAA for maps and travel guides.