PROVING ELIGIBILITY to a LINEAGE SOCIETY
The first question that I asked as an applicant to DAR was:
"Just what do I need to do, in order to prove my lineal descent?" Since
then I have discovered that most of the lineage societies out there demand primarily
the same types of documentation, and, through my employment as an educator in
Genealogy and as a Registrar in my DAR chapter, I have distilled this information
for you.
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First gather all of the documents that you have
on hand (your birth certificate, marriage license, etc.) which will prove
your identity and your relationship to your parents and to a spouse, if applicable. You will be making copies of all of your originals...only the copies will accompany your application to the lineage society.
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Next, seek out your living parents and grandparents for
the same type of documents. Most states have vital records going back to
the late 1800s. If those documents have been lost, then as a direct relative,
you can apply for a copy with the correct identification. The cost depends on the state and the type of
document that you're requesting. You may find the forms, addresses, telephone numbers
and cost for these services by searching with your browser...for example,
"Minnesota Vital Records"...or try "Pennsylvania birth records".
There are records at the state level, but also many county seats kept
a local record of the birth, marriage, deaths and burials of their citizens. So if you cannot locate your records at the state repository, then don't hesitate to check with the city or county seat for them. While
you're waiting for those documents, continue with the next step.
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Get organized. Download some family chart forms (they're free at many
of the genealogy web sites) and begin inserting the information that you already
have, in pencil. Make a notation for your sources and the dates that you made
the request for the document. You will transfer the data onto a worksheet later,
after you have finished your research. (Vital records can help you prove the first few generations but after that, you will need to provide other sources. Some of these reliable resources are in federal census reports, pension packets and burial records.)
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There are two general proofs that you will need to document within each generation. The first is to prove the relationship of the primary person in that generation, to his or her spouse (like their marriage license or the marriage bond). The second is to prove the relationship of this person to his or her parents (a birth certificate, burial report of a parent, a copy of the last will and testament, or a census report after 1850).
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Census Reports can be found online, but in most cases, they are mere
transcriptions. This is not proof but it is a good lead to the proof. Copy
down the reel, page, and line numbers from the transcription. You need to
locate a historical society (county or state), or a Latter Day Saints Library
near you. Most of these have online-access to scanned images of the original
documents which are acceptable proof of descent. The cost for copies is
minimal compared to traveling to that state. HeritageQuest also has many census images available through their online web site, as well as Revolutionary War pension files, scanned books and periodicals. This site is remarkable and extensive.
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Pension packets for several wars are available through NARA, a national
registry which stores and copies several types of authentic documents. Some
of these are census reports, military service records, and pension papers.
The military records are okay but have no genealogical information in them.
Not all servicemen and women applied for pensions, only those who were disabled
in that particular war. Spouses of deceased servicemen were also eligible
to apply for benefits whether their spouse died in the service of their
country or whether that individual died afterwards. These packets were usually
full of important genealogical data (names of children and spouse , along with birth dates, marriage date, and date of death) and a very valid form of proof. Another
source of these records is available online through HeritageQuest.
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Burial Records can be more difficult to locate unless you know what
cemetery that your ancestor is interred. Larger, maintained cemeteries keep
good records and for a minimal cost will copy these records for you. There
are hundreds of cemeteries across the nation that lie forgotten in weeds
and disrepair. The lucky ones have been adopted by historical societies.
The records may be kept at City Hall or they might be kept at the local
mortuary ...every town is a little different.
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Deeds are also helpful when the relationship between family members is states. Family Bibles can be a source of information, but are not as reliable as the actual document (information was entered by relative(s) who may or may not have been absolutely truthful!).
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Books on the history of an area (city, county, state, or colony) or of a family line are also a great resource. Start with your own public library, in the reference section. There are reference books which list all the books in publication. There are also reference books which list all of the genealogical histories in print. Items that your library does not have in their holdings, may usually be borrowed through the service of the Interlibrary Loan system.
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The state historical society of your state will probably have several state census indexes, which are bound books containing an alphabetical listing of surnames in their state for that particular census. The alphabetical listings should give the name of the county and, sometimes, the name of the township in which that family resided. These books usually contain maps of the counties of that era, as well as a listing of the years that each county was incorporated. This is important to study during your search. An example of this is Augusta County, Virginia. At one time, this county's limits covered the present ares of several states. A certain ancestor may have been born in Augusta County, but that actual place may really be located in West Virginia today! It's important to know the specific location of the event, because in the case of this particular example, you would find the records at the county seat level in the State of West Virginia...not in the State of Virginia. In some cases, your ancestor may have been living in Indian Territory (IT) at the time, but may still be found on the census of the IT. Soundex files and books are also included with the census records, as another method of locating your ancestor when you don't have their exact location. Your historical society should be able to help with this type of search.
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If you know the dates of certain events (like your grandparents' wedding anniversary) and you know which newspapers would have covered it, it will be easier to utilize this resource. Make sure that you have the banner (name of the newspaper, the date, place and page number) in your copy. Birth announcements, obituaries and engagements usually have listings of relatives in attendance, along with the nature of their relationship. Most historical societies have their area's newspapers on microfilm along with the equipment to read and copy the pages. Newspaper clippings are a secondary source and, as such, do not carry as much value to the society, as proof of relationships, as do some of the others mentioned on this web page. They are helpful in identifying other members of the family and are excellent leads to documentation.
Township maps can be helpful if you're interested in locating the actual property that your ancestors lived on, but they do not have any value in this arena of proving relationships.
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When you have gathered all of the documents, notify the lineage society for assistance in completing the application form. There are usually some specific guidelines which they are usually glad to help you with.
This is only a beginning into the wonderful world of genealogy. If you would like to go deeper in depth, I suggest that you check with your local colleges for courses in this study...or apply for a newsletter to one of the on-line associations.