RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 21, 2014
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Because the “Genealogy at a Glance” series is so popular, it continually adds new titles. The most recent booklet focuses on one of the thirteen original colonies. Maryland Genealogy Research, compiled by Michael A. Ports, furnishes an overview of basics that researchers need to know in order to navigate successfully through the various genealogical resources of the state.
Since the study of genealogy is closely connected to history, Ports supplies background data about the area’s early settlement, topography, and transportation. For instance, he explains that Maryland, unlike other colonies, advocated religious tolerance for all Christians, including Separatists, Quakers, and Catholics. He also briefly discusses migration patterns, various ethnic groups, and the influence of the turnpike system on population growth and the economy, especially in Baltimore. Knowing these facts will help genealogists understand how to use records properly.
Emphasizing traditional state and county sources, Ports briefly describes the historical background, contents, and location of materials concerning vital statistics, adoption, naturalization, legal actions, criminal records, land, military, divorce, and probate. For many of the categories, he also provides titles of publications for further reference and valuable research tips. He suggests, for example, that researchers consult probate records at both the county and state level since the two versions sometimes contain different details.
In case family researchers want to get in touch with some of Maryland’s major repositories to obtain information, Ports furnishes the names, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and websites of several archives, societies, and libraries. He also gives the websites for a few online resources and briefly tells what kind of services they offer. In addition, he lists a few more books for further reading.
Following the standard format of the series, Ports condenses into four laminated pages a huge amount of information about a specific subject into its key elements. Maryland Genealogy Research is a handy, compact guide that will be useful to family researchers whose roots extend back to the Old Line State.
To the guide's price of $8.95, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $4.50 for one item and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $6.00 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional item. The guide (item order 4665) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Genealogical Publishing Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com.
If you are tracing ancestors in the Tar Heel State, you may want to see how many useful items you can find at www.digitalnc.org. The website contains materials placed online by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, a statewide digitization program housed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Available items include newspapers, city directories, and yearbooks. Examples of digitized newspapers are issues printed in 1824 of the “Free Press,” published in Halifax and in Tarboro, North Carolina. More than 900 directories pertain to at least 100 cities in 64 counties.