TIP OF THE WEEK – WORLDCAT

Suppose you just learned about a book on a subject or a family that you were researching, a book that you had not heard of before?  Wouldn’t it be great if there was a quick & easy way to find the library closest to you that had that book?!

Well, there is.  It’s called WorldCat and it’s the world’s largest library catalog, literally a global catalog of library collections.

On this website, https://www.worldcat.org/, you can enter the title or the author of the book to find a list of libraries that hold that book.  By entering your zip code, you can quickly determine whether a nearby library has that book.  Seattle Public Library, the King County Library System, the University of Washington libraries and the Fiske Genealogical Library are all participants in WorldCat.  (The SGS Library is not at this time because the costs have been deemed too great.)

If no nearby library has the book, you can still obtain information from a library that does have it, via interlibrary loan, or by requesting photocopies of relevant pages. WorldCat can also be used to search for all books on a given topic or subject, thereby discovering books that you didn’t know about before

TIP OF THE WEEK – Puget Sound Genealogical Society’s Obituary Records Project

Check out Puget Sound Genealogical Society’s Obituary Collection Index file on-line.  PSGS entered into a partnership with the Kitsap Regional Library and has indexed over 40,000 obituaries dated from 1891 through August 31, 2012.

You can request a search and mailing of obituaries that they may have on file. Response is fast.  It’s free; however, they are always happy to receive a donation for this valuable service.

You can access their Obituary Index File & the Obituary Research Request Form at : http://www.pusogensoc.org/obituaryprojectcommittee.html

TIP OF THE WEEK  –  Bring Back the Interactive Map
Have you ever used the Newberry Library website “Atlas of Historical County Boundaries” page?

Renowned as the easiest, most complete site to track county boundaries, it has maps, text and tools to view historical county configurations against the modern county network.

The Legal Genealogist, Judy Russell, has an informative article about this interactive map at :
http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2015/07/21/dear-newberry/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+T

Unfortunately at this moment, as you read, the interactive map portion of this site is “temporarily unavailable”. Please take the time to add your email address to the list of those that need to be notified “when this functionality has been restored”.  Let the Newberry Library folks know this interactive map is useful and important to you.

TIP OF THE WEEK  –  Update

Remember “U.S., Index to Alien Case Files, 1940-2003” from last issue’s “Tip of the Week”?  It is not only available at Ancestry.com as reported, but it is also available via FamilySearch.org.  Check out:  https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2540918

TIP OF THE WEEK – INDEX TO U.S. ALIEN CASE FILES, 1944-2003

Are you researching an ancestor who immigrated to the U.S. prior to World War II, was alive during the war, but was not a naturalized citizen before the start of the war? Such individuals were required to register as an alien so seek out their “Alien File” aka “A-File”.  It will contain valuable genealogical information, including birthplace and birth date, maybe even a physical description and fingerprints.

Obtaining these documents can be a bit tedious.  They are held by the National Archives and there is no on-line ordering system.  You will have to write, call or fax in order to get the documents.  However, if you have an Ancestry.com account, you can search the database “U.S., Index to Alien Case Files at the National Archives at Kansas City, 1944-2003” to determine if an Alien File exists for the ancestor you are researching.

If you don’t have an Ancestry.com subscription, stop by the SGS Library and use Ancestry at the library.

 TIP OF THE WEEK – NEW SOCIAL SECURITY INDEX ON ANCESTRY.COM

People just starting their genealogy research, and who know little about their parents or grandparents, are told that if their ancestor was alive after the Social Security system was established in 1935, they should get that person’s Social Security application.  The application should list the person’s parents’ names as well as the person’s place of birth. Since this application was completed by the individual, it should be more accurate than other sources. But ordering these applications can be expensive and time consuming.

Ancestry now has a new database called “U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007”.  The difference between this database and the old Social Security Death Index is that the new database reports the individual’s place of birth and both parents’ names, which is what one wants from the SSN application in the first place.

Of course keep in mind, you won’t find your ancestor in this index if they died before the Social Security Act of 1935 or if they never applied for Social Security.

If you don’t have a subscription to Ancestry, visit the SGS library and use our computers, or try your local community library.