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.

TIP OF THE WEEK – ALL CATHOLIC PARISH REGISTER MICROFILMS OF IRELAND AVAILABLE ON-LINE FOR FREE!

The entire collection of Catholic parish register microfilms held by the National Library of Ireland is now available online, and for free.  With this database, people with Irish Catholic ancestors will be to trace their roots back to the 1740’s on a dedicated website free of charge.  Over 370,000 digital images of the microfilm reels will be available for download.
These parish register records are considered the single most important source of information on Irish family history prior to the 1901 Census.
The documents, primarily baptismal and marriage records, date from the 1740s to the 1880s and encompass 1,086 parishes throughout Ireland.
For more information, visit www.nli.ie. For more on the launch follow the hashtag #ancestorsonline or follow @NLIreland on Twitter.
To use this site, one must know the parish or diocese where their ancestor lived.  It is not possible to search the site for a particular individual or surname.
The site includes a great, interactive map of the counties and dioceses of Ireland.

BONUS TIP OF THE WEEK – KING COUNTY PROBATE COURT RECORDS COMING ON-LINE AT FAMILYSEARCH.ORG

One of the many new databases coming online at Familysearch.org is “Washington, King County Probate Records, 1851-1927.”  This database consists of images of probate records, arranged and filmed in chronological order; currently it contains nearly 34,000 images of probate records from 1861-1893, with the expectation of more records being added as they are digitized and uploaded.
The URL for this database is: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1878788