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Alaska

United States

 

An Introduction

Researching

 by Surname

Researching

by Location

Gen-Tool Kit

Internet Resources

About This Webpage

 

 

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introduction

Introduction

 

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 Alaska is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent. As of 2007, the population was 683,478 with approximately 50% residing along the Anchorage metropolitan areas.  Statehood was approved in 1958. Alaska was officially proclaimed a state on January 3, 1959.

     The U.S. Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million at 2 cents per acre, about 5 cents per hectare. When adjusted for inflation, the total sum paid equates to approximately $360 million in 2008 dollars.The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an organized territory on May 11, 1912 and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959. The name "Alaska" was already introduced in the Russian colonial time, when it was only used for the peninsula and is derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning "the mainland", or more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed."[5] It is also known as Alyeska, the "great land", an Aleut word derived from the same root.

     The first European contact with Alaska occurred in the year 1741, when Vitus Bering led an expedition for the Russian Navy aboard the St. Peter. After his crew returned to Russia bearing sea otter pelts judged to be the finest fur in the world, small associations of fur traders began to sail from the shores of Siberia towards the Aleutian islands. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1784, and the Russian-American Company carried out an expanded colonization program during the early to mid-1800s. New Archangel on Kodiak Island was Alaska's first capital, but for a century under both Russia and the U.S. Sitka was the capital. The Russians never fully colonized Alaska, and the colony was never very profitable. William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State, negotiated the Alaskan purchase in 1867 for $7.2 million. Alaska was loosely governed by the military for years, and was unoffically a territory of the United States from 1884 on.

     In the 1890s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. Alaska was granted official territorial status in 1912. At this time the capital was moved to Juneau.

     During World War II, the Aleutian Islands Campaign focused on the three outer Aleutian Islands — Attu, Agattu and Kiska[19] - that were invaded by Japanese troops and occupied between June 1942 and August 1943. Unalaska/Dutch Harbor became a significant base for the U.S. Army Air Corps and Navy submariners.

 

 

Surname

Researching
by Surname

 

The following are surnames of persons, found within our databases, as having been either

born, married or died in this U.S. State. Names in dark red denote direct ancestral lines.

McVicker; Moreland; Pinnell; Scruggs and allied families

 

Bozarth; Peiffer; Quigley; Rhubart and allied families

 

Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar and allied families

 

Click on this link to find out more about each surname listed above as well as other surnames found within our three family databases.

This link will also lead you to surname resources at Rootsweb, and information about the world-wide distribution of a surname.

Free Surname
 Search Engines

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or   "tricks"  

that    will   likely   improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname.

The world’s largest free genealogy search engine, Mocavo.com, provides genealogists access to the best free genealogy content on the web

including billions of names, dates and places worldwide. Mocavo.com seeks to index and make searchable all of the world’s free genealogy information.

Where in the World do These
 Surnames Come From?

Click on the LINK to the right to see more information about the World distribution of any surname.  You can get greater

detail for any of the maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in.

 

 

research location

Researching
by Location

 

Our Ancestral Counties

Gazetteer of Places

Historical Changes in County Boundaries

County Research (Genealogical)

County Research

 (General Info.)

Where in the World

are My Ancestors?

 

Our Ancestral Counties

Our Ancestral Counties

 

The following named counties are associated with the history of our DIRECT ancestors.   To select a specific ancestral county, go to our Ancestral Locations home page. Here you will find additional links to our county pages where you can obtain information about our family gen-sites, images of localities, and surnames of persons, in our database, who have lived in the selected county.

Click on this thumbnail map for a full-sized version.

 

 

Gazetteer of Places

Gazetteer 
of Places

The following Links will take you to gazetteers that identify places within this U.S. State.  These resources feature profiles of cities, towns, neighborhoods and subdivisions.  In addition this site contains maps, data and directions for a wide variety of physical, cultural and historic features.

Alaska Cities - profiles of 800 Alaska cities, towns & neighborhoods

Alaska Schools search by city, borough, or address

Alaska Physical Features such as lakes, islands & steams

Alaska Cultural Features such as parks, hospitals & airports

Alaska Civil Features such as Native Areas and Political Subdivisions

Search by Name, Borough, ZIP Code or Area Code

 

* includes but not limited to Cemeteries, Churches, Locales,

Military Installations;  Populated Places, Post Offices, Schools, Streams, and Trails

Alaska, United States

Details | Resources | Boroughs, Census Areas, Cities and Boroughs and Municipalities | Cities | Cemeteries |

 

Boundary changes

Historical Changes in the Boundaries of this State

     Conducting genealogical research in the United States requires an understanding of State and County boundaries.  As the population grew more counties were created to meet the public’s need for localized governments.  This phenomena was common in all states during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.  As such you may be looking for records in the wrong county or state.  

     The web site for the Atlas of Historical County Boundary Project provides interactive maps for all states. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is meant to be a resource for people seeking records of past events, as well as people trying to analyze, interpret and display county-based historical data like Land Records, Probate Records, Court Records, Tax Records, and Vital Records that document birth, death, and marriage.  The following link will take you to a list of all the boundary changes to this State and each county or equivalent within this U.S. State, as well as the date these changes occurred.  Each entry is followed by a citation to the primary source(s) used to determine the change.

 

Alaska:

Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries

County Research (Genealogical)

County Research
(Genealogical) 

Clicking on a Link (below) will take you to the County’s website.  Here you will find additional links to more information specific to that location.    The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects, at the national level, that were created to collect and disseminate data that goes beyond county and state lines.

 

·        Aleutian Islands East Borough
Aleutian Islands West Census Area

·        Anchorage Borough

·        Bethel-Wade Hampton Census Area

·        Bristol Bay - Dillingham Borough

·        Denali Borough

·        Fairbanks North Star Borough and
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area

·        Haines Borough

·        Juneau Borough

·        Kenai Peninsula Borough

·        Ketchikan - Prince of Wales - Hyder Borough

·        Kodiak Island Borough

·        Lake and Peninsula Borough

·        Matanuska-Susitna Borough

·        Nome Census Area

·        North Slope Borough

·        Northwest Arctic Borough

·        Sitka Borough

·        Skagway Borough & Hoonah-Angoon Census Areas

·        Valdez-Cordova Census Area

·        Wrangell - Petersburg Borough

·        Yakutat Borough

·        Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area

 

County Research  (General)

County Research
(General)

Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based mostly on anonymous contributions. Clicking on a Link (below) will take you to the Wikipedia article about the county.  Here you will find additional links to guide the user to related pages with additional information.

Alaska is not divided into counties, as most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into boroughs. Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's sixteen boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. However, unlike county-equivalents in the other 49 states, the boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the Unorganized Borough. The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own, but the U.S. Census Bureau in cooperation with the state divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation.

·        Cities of 100,000 or more people: Anchorage

·        Towns of 10,000-100,000 people: College;   Fairbanks;   Juneau (State Capital)

·        Towns of 1,000-10,000 people: Ketchikan;  Sitka;   Wasilla;   Kenai;   Kodiak;   Palmer;   Bethel;   Barrow;   Unalaska;   Valdez;   Soldotna;   Homer;   Nome;   Petersburg;   Wrangell;   Kotzebue;   Seward;   Dillingham;    Cordova;   Haines;   North Pole;   Hooper Bay;   Craig;   Houston;  Metlakatla

 

Where in the World  are My Ancestors?

Where in the World are My Ancestors?

Resources which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are almost as important  as  their  names.  The LINK

to the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers,   and other helpful  resources  that will assist you in discovering Ancestral Locations. 

 

Gen tool-kit

Gen Tool-Kit

 

Our “Gen-Tool Kit” has been primarily designed for those researchers who may be traveling to this location to perform on-site studies of their family history, or to just visit some of the interesting historical sites located therein.  It can be very satisfying to mix research with sightseeing at historical and scenic spots.  Such activity not only gives you an understanding of the land but a needed break from intense research sessions.  When visiting an ancestral state for genealogical research we’ve found that the three most important places to visit are the State Archives; the State Library; and the State historical and/or genealogical societies.  It is also good to plan ahead by contacting any site you intend visiting in order to ascertain where it is and when it will be open.  This is especially true with regard to historical and genealogical societies.  We hope that the following information will provide you with a better idea of what resources are available, within this county, to the family historian.

Cemeteries

History

Libraries, Museums

and Archives

Maps and Gazetteers

 Records

Societies

(History & Genealogical)

Cemeteries

Cemeteries

 

·        Alaska - The Tombstone Transcription Project

·        Alaska Cemeteries Project 

·        Alaska Cemetery Directory

·        Alaska Cemetery Photos

·        AK-INDIAN-CEMETERIES-L Mailing List Homepage

·        AK-INDIAN-CEMETERIES-L Browseable Mailing List Archives

·        AK-INDIAN-CEMETERIES-L  Searchable Mailing List Archives

 

history

History

HISTORIC PLACES (select a county)

Aleutian Islands Anchorage Bethel Bristol Bay Dillingham Fairbanks North Star Haines Juneau Kenai Peninsula Ketchikan Gateway Kodiak Island Lake and Peninsula Matanuska-Susitna Nome North Slope Northwest Arctic Prince of Wales-Outer K. Sitka Skagway-Yakutat-Angoon Southeast Fairbanks Valdez-Cordova Wrangell-Peterburg Yukon-Koyukuk

 

·        Alaska  Its History, Climate and Natural Resources

·        Alaska  Its History, Resources, Gold Fields, Routes & Scenery

·        Alaska Lynchings  1898 and 1899

·        History of Alaska  1730-1885

·   History of Alaska

·   Meeting of Frontiers

·   Our northern domain  Alaska, picturesque, historic & commercial

·   Yukon & Alaska History 

Libraries, museums, arcxhives

Libraries, Museums & Archives

·        Alaska Genealogy Records 

·        Alaska Historical Library Online Collections 

·        Alaska Public Libraries

·        Alaska's Digital Archives

·        Historic House Museums & Historic Structures

·   Historic House Museums in Alaska

·   Historical Museum Guide for Alaska

·   Mining Museums and Miners' Memorials for Alaska

·   Museums Alaska

·   USGenWeb Archives Project  Alaska

Maps and gazetteers

Maps and Gazetteers

 

·        1886 Railroad Map

·        1922 Map of Alaska

·        Alaska  1906

·        Alaska  1879

·        Alaska 1892 Gold and Coal Fields Map

·        Alaska 1895

·        Alaska Digital Map Library

·        Alaska Historical County Boundaries

·        Alaska Historical Maps and Atlases

·        Alaska Maps  Broer Map Library

·        Alaska Maps

·        Alaska Points of Interest

·        Alaska Post Offices

·        Alaska Postal History

·        Alaska Towns and Cities

·        The Gold and Coal Fields of Alaska  1898

·        Guide to the Ghost Towns of Alaska 

·        Historic USGS maps of Alaska

·        Map Of Alaska  1897

·        McKenney's Pacific Coast Directory for 1883-4

·        North western America showing the territory ceded by Russia to the United States  1873

·        North western America showing the territory ceded by Russia to the United States  1872

·        Northwestern America Showing The Territory Ceded By Russia To The United States  1867

·        The Pacific Coast Business Directory, 1867

·        Pam Rietsch's 1895 Atlas

·        Rand-McNally Official 24x36 Map of Alaska  1897

·        Sleem's Map Of Central Alaska  1910

·        Territory of Alaska  1936

records

Records

 

·        Alaska Census Index

·        Alaska Census Records

·        Alaska - 1900 U.S. Federal Census

·        1930 United States Census  Alaska

·        Alaska Lynchings  1898-1899

·        Black Sheep Ancestors

·        Legal Correspondents of Wilber Mercantile Agency in Alaska, 1917

·        Alaska City, Town, and Rural Directories

·        McKenney's Pacific Coast Directory for 1883-4 

·        The Pacific Coast Business Directory, 1867 

·        Alaska Immigration & Naturalization Project

·        Alaska Naturalization & Citizenship Records and Substitutes

·        Alaska Forts 

·        Alaska Medal of Honor Recipients 

·        Korean War Casualty List 

·        Vietnam Conflict Casualty List  Alaska

·        WWI Registration Cards

·        Alaska Territory  World War II Casualties

·        World War II Casualty and POW Lists 

·        WW2 Draft Registration for 1942

·        Alaska Newspaper Project 

·        Events That Touched Our Ancestors' Lives  Alaska

·        Personal...But Polite  Newspaper Extracts

·        Alaska Funeral Homes 

·        Alaska Newspaper Obituaries

·        Alaska Obituary Search

·        Directory of Alaska Funeral Homes 

·        National Hall of Records Repository for Online Obituaries

·        Obituaries 101

·        Alaska Marriage Project

·        Online Alaska Death Records & Indexes

societies

Societies (Historical & Genealogical)

·         Alaska Historical Society 

·         Alaska Office of History & Archaeology 

·        Last Frontier Chapter #405  United States Daughters of 1812

·        Pacific Northwest Chapter Slovenian Genealogy Society  

 

Internet resources

Internet
Resources

 

The Google search engine

 button  and following web

sites    may     provide    you

with additional information

to assist with your research

about   this   U. S.   State. 

General Resources

Locality Specific Resources

FREE Record Collections

Our Genealogy Reference Library

 

General Resources

·        GenealogyLinks.net

·        Histopolis.com – Collaborative Genealogy and History

·        50states.com - States and Capitals

·        United States Research Wiki – Family Search

·        Kindred Trails.com

·        Genealogy Trails History Group

·        Family Search,  USA IGI Batches, Localities

·        Birth & Marriage Records Indexes for USA

·        Record Search - Family Search.org

·        Genealogy.com: Resources by county

·        Libweb - Libraries on the Web

·        The USGenWeb Project

·        RootsWeb Town Search 1.0

·        Genealogy Forum: U.S. States

·        Rootsweb.com – U.S. Message Boards

·        Cyndi's List – United States Index

·        USGenWeb Archives

·        Data Base Collections at Ancestry.com$

·        USA Resources at RootsWeb

·        MyGenealogist.com

·        Access Genealogy

·        n2genealogy.com

·        DistantCousin.com - archive of genealogy records

·        Searchable Death Indexes & Records

·        Census Finder –Free Census and other Records

·        StateGenSites - U.S. Genealogy Sites by State

Locality Specific Resources

Locality Specific Resources

·        Genealogy Links - Alaska

·        Histopolis.com - Alaska

·        50states.com -  Alaska

·        Research Wiki - Alaska

·        Kindred Trails.com – Alaska

·        Genealogy Trails History Group – Alaska

·        Alaska Genealogy Forum

·        Rootsweb Message Board – Alaska

·        Cyndi's List – Alaska

·        USGenWeb Archives – Alaska

·        Alaska Data Collection - Ancestry.com $

·        Alaska Resources at RootsWeb

Free Records & Databases

FREE Records
 & Databases

All of the records and databases we’ve collected are FREE and can be accessed and searched online without having to pay for a subscription.   We have divided our collected into 14 record types as follows: Biographical; Birth; Cemetery; Census & City Directories; Church; Court; Death; Immigration & Naturalization; Land; Marriage; Military; Newspapers; Occupational; and Tax Records.    We try not to list any sites that have only a few records for the purpose of getting you to a website that will charge a fee to actually see the record beyond just a name.  

This Link will take you to our

collections of FREE Records.  

Genealogy Reference Library

Our Genealogy 
Reference Library

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference books that pertain to this U.S. State.   Here you will find books about the history and records of this State, as well as its counties and other localities such as towns and churches.   The collection also contains research works about State military units and personnel during America’s wars.  In addition, there are resource texts about the ethnic and religious groups who settled in this State.

This Link will take you to our

collections of reference books.  

Click on these links to visit some of the websites we really like!!

 

About thiswebpage

About This Webpage

CONTACT INFORMATION

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-- This webpage was last updated on --

01 October 2011