Specific Resources for Cleveland, Ohio
New York City Cirectories Extracted Persons Entries, 1850-1890
New York City Directories
Select a a directory. Firsy batch 1849/50 through 1923 have already been scanned. 1786-1848/9 directories are right now being scanned.
Castle Garden
This was America's first official immigration center, 1820-1892. If your ancestors arrived through the port of New York before Ellis Island, then this is place to search.
Ellis Island
Database covers 17 million passenger arrivals through the port of New York from 1892 to 1924.
Genealogy Research Guides, Tips, and Online Records
The basics of online Genealogy research.
Chronicling America
Search newspapers from 1770-1963
Helpful websites from Warren-Trumbull County Public Library
Illogical Dates, Missing Parents, Bastardy Bonds
Ancestors Born Out of Wedlock
Chronicling America - Free collection of old U.S. Newspapers
US Federal Census Mortality Schedules 1850-1885
Kitchen Works Inc: A Guide to Genealogy
History at Home: A Guide to Genealogy - Thanks to Bailey for finding this great article.
One Great Family
The world's largest online family tree
Finding that Missing Maiden Name
Provides information from the great majority of your DNA. The Autosomes are the chromosomoes other than the X, Y, and mtDNA, and contain most of your DNA sequences and genes.
Autoosomal DNA tests can be used to identify individuals with whom you share one or more common ancestors up to a handful of generations in the past.
Autosomal are passed on only by woman. Traces a person's autosomal chromosomes, which contains the segments of DNA the person shares with everyone to whom they are related(maternally and paternally).
Autosomal DNA Testing
Provides information about your male line only. Only males carry a Y-chromosome. If two people have the same Y-DNA haplogroup, they will usually share a common patrilineal ancestor.
Y-chromosomes are passed from father to son virtually unchanged and allows males to trace their male line ancestry.
Test Your Y-DNA - and explore your paternal lineage
Y-DNA
Y-DNA Haplotree Reaches 50,000 Branches
Expected Relationships with Y-DNA Str Matches
How do you use a YDNA test to trace your paternal lineage
Surname DNA Studies & Projects
Provides information about your female line ancestry only. mitochondrial DNA is passed on by a mother to her male and female children, but only females can pass their mtDNA on to the next generation.
Males are dead ends for mtDNA.
Mitochondrial DNA Testing
Social Security Number Search
If you have someone's Social Security Number, this is the most effective search to locate a person.Social Security Tracing is not a restricted search and is unregulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Documents containing SSN are contracts, tax returns, marriage records, divorce records, birth records, medicalrecords, some military records, vehicle registration, and traffic tickets.
All social security numbers are nine digits long. The first three digits are called the area number
and they represent particular geographic areas.
National Identifers
Most city libraries have old phone book directories and city census criss-cross directories. Criss-cross directories are indexed by year and give information such as unlisted phone numbers,
names of spouse/children, occupation information, and address information.
Also check old newspaper archives(Birth, death, or marriage licenses issued are usually published in local newspapers)
Public Records - Government information
Virtually every major change in life - being born, getting a driver's license, getting married, buying a house, getting divorced, or filing a lawsuit - is recorded somewhere in a government document. All of these events are recorded in public documents and are easily available to you and others.BirthCertificates
Public Records on file with Cities & Counties
-- Dog permits
-- Deceased - Coroner/Medical Examiner
-- Children School Records
-- City Building Permits - Building Inspector's Office
-- Real Estate Transactions - Recorders Office
-- City Courts - Records are indexed by name
Are normally public records and can be accessed by a request to the court clerk.
Records contain information such as driver license #, SSN, and address.
--Traffic Tickets & Small Claim Court Records
Traffic tickets are usually indexed and can be viewed in the courthouse and they contain extremely valuable information like someones current address.
Check for traffic tickets indexed alphabetical order by name
-- Civil County Court Records
Litigation between parties such as law suits, divorces, name changes, and adoptions
-- County Criminal Records - indexed by name
-- * County & Towns Database * - Enter town and returns the county (need for county searches)-- Voter Registration Records
One of the most overlooked sources of information and a very effective method for search for someone.
Voter Registration files contain name and address inforamtion and in some states, will also contain the Social Security Number.
Are kept at the County Clerk's or Registrar of Voters Office:
The Voter Registration search also contains forwarding address information so you also get a national charge of address with this search.States available for online searches:
Kept at the County Clerk's or Registrar of Voters Office:
- Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, DC
- Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts
- Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire
- New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio
- Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah
- Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
--Marriage Records
Another hidden goldmine that can be found at the county courthouse (under marriage records) just like traffic tickets, can be searched, and are usually considered public record information. Check at the state level to find the information by utilizing State Vital Records. Pay a small fee, and then send a letter asking for the marriage record, some states you can call and get the information (SSN number, DOB, Driver license number, and spouses maiden name).
Are usually filed in the County Clerk's office where the marriage application was filed and in the State Registrar's Office.Texas always gives the SSN in Marriage Records.Where to find Marriage Records
- Vital Records - US - How to obtain records such as birth, death, marriage, divorce.
- Vital Records - International Records
- Go to the courthouse that issued the marriage license
- Can also be obtained by many states "Office of Vital Staistics Department
- National Center for Health Staistics
At top of page under 'Index' , click on 'M', then scroll down to 'Marriage', select State you want
- Family Search
- Archives.com
--Divorce Records
Divorce records are usually considered part of court files and are filed at the Superior Court clerk's office of the county in which the divorce was granted
Divorce records almost always list children born from a marriage and their name and year of birth. Usually get employer & occupation at time of divorce.
Where to find Marriage Records
- Contact the State's Department of Health and Vital Records
- Ancestry
- Vital Chek
- Genealogy
-- Uniform Commercial Codes (commonly called UCC's)
At Recorder Offices are notices of lien filings done at each county courthouse and then sent to a state repository.
UCC records can be accessed by computer in some states. Can also be accessed through general indexing at the local court house. They can also be searched state wide. Since UCC codes give you credit history source information, it is an alternative to running a full credit bureau search which is restricted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
-- All About County And Town Resources
-- US Counties.com
Breakdown of all counties within the statePublic Records on file with States
-- * State and Local Governments * - Directory of offical state, county, and city government websites.
Nice breakdown by county, city
-- Corporate names -- Vital Records - Birth, death, marriage, divorce records
-- Boat Registration
-- Birth Index Records - Index of all births that occured within the state
Records are usually available as public records, where most birth certificates are not
Records found at the state office can provide you with a great deal of background information and most of the records available are open to anyone who requests them.
Many of these records can also be found at the county level, but best to start at the state level and work down to the county level.
Some states try to limit access to certain records but most records on file with the county can be obtained by requesting them, or by filing a request under the state public law in conjunction with the freedom of information act.
- * Public Records (county, state, federal) * - Free Internet Access to Public Records
- Public Records Online - Portal to official state websites, tax assessors' & recorders offices.
- * Public Record Databases - Free searchable public records database *
- * Background Check Gateway * - Free Background check (Good Information)
Vehicle Records - Driver's License File
Most drivers licenses have to be renewed every four years.
Most of the time you can get driving record information is you have a full name and DOB. The release of driver license information will usually contain name, address, DOB, height, weight, color of eyes, and hair color.
This is a good search tool, but it is not legally available in all fifty sates.
DMV Records
The DMV maintains records for vehicle registration and there is no national repository of vehicle data or driving records that is open to the public. Each state has its own computer system of information and storage and rules and regulations about release of information varies from state to state.
There are four types of searches that can be performed (Not all are available):Links To All Known State DMV Record Sites Online
- Tag Trace - Use if you have a tag number
- VIN - Use if you have a VIN
- Title Trace - Use if you have the title
- Aplha Trace - Use if you have subject's name and DOB
There are various ways to obtain the driver license number in order to run a state search:
Online Searches (tap into a few states online system), County Court Records (check vehicle registration by name).If you don't have someones DOB, search under the Date of Birth Database
Death Certificates
Are usually kept on file in the county in which the death occurred at
the County Clerk's Office and the State Registrar's Office:
Property Records
When you purchase a home or other real estate, a record of the
transaction is made by the County Assessor's office and the County
Recorder's office:
1) CourthouseDirect.com
2) ** Property Records USA **
Real Estate/Property Ownership Records
Court Records|| Arrest Records
Superior, municipal and small claims court records are kept in the court clerk's office:
Two places to check in the county courthouse:
1) Felony
2) Misdemeanor
Can contain information such as driver license number, SSN, address & former address, employment.
Voter Registration Verification
Misc Information