How to Locate Your Ancestor in the United States

United States

How to Locate Your Ancestor in the United States

Introduction

Knowing where your ancestor lived is key to successful research, since records may be kept by state, county, or town agencies. Local records such as censuses, death certificates, county histories, military records, and obituaries tell so much about the people who lived there.

If you know the name of the town but not the state, you can find possible counties and states using the Rootsweb town search.

You may find in your research that your ancestor was born or lived in a particular state, with no county or town given. Thus it becomes a challenge to find out exactly where he or she lived in that state.

Fortunately there are many types of records to search to help you locate your ancestor. This guide lists these types of records and give suggestions on how to find where your ancestor lived in the United States.

What You Are Looking For: The place where your ancestor lived so that you can use the records of that place to find more information about your ancestor, such as birth, marriage, and death information.

Steps

The following steps list sources which may give the state, county, or town where your ancestor lived.

Step 1. Check previous research.

Research done by other people may have the information you are seeking. For suggestions on previous research, including Internet sites, see How to Use Previous Research. 

Step 2. Check these sources to learn where your ancestor lived.

• Census indexes and images online through FamilySearch Record Search, Ancestry.com, or HeritageQuestOnline.com.
• Social Security Death Index lists people whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration. Most people in this index died after about 1961. The index also shows the state where the person received a Social Security Number and the state where the person died. These Internet sites have the index: Ancestry.com or FamilyTreeMaker.com. The Family History Library and many Family History Centers also have the Social Security Death Index.
• Accelerated Indexing Services Index (AIS) is an index of census records covering either all the United States or large sections of the United States for given times up to about 1880. A few other records, such as some tax records, are also included. The index usually tells the county and town where people lived. This index is available on the Internet through Ancestry.com and FamilyTreeMaker.com. The Family History Library and many Family History Centers have this index on fiche.
• Military Records and Military Pension Records are indexed on a national or state level. Places to search: Archives, and Military Records USA
• Passports can help you if your ancestor applied for a United States passport. These are indexed on a national level.
• If you have a social security number, the Social Security Numbering Scheme site can reveal where the number was issued.

Step 3. Check these sources if you know the state but not the county or town.

Census indexes usually give the town and county where the head of the household lived. The censuses were taken every 10 years starting in 1790. United States Census Indexes are available from 1790 to 1940 for most states. For more information about censuses, check Census on the FamilySearch or in this Research Wiki

• Periodical Source Index (PERSI) genealogical and historical magazines by surnames and places. Also Check:
  

PERiodical Source Index

• Family histories. Also Check:
  

Genealogies

Archives

Free family history

• County and town histories To go to the county and town histories. Find the state you want to search click on it. Each state has links to all its counties and almost each county has a county history and many have town histories. Also check:
  

United States, Histories of Towns, Counties, and States

Genealogical Index of the Newberry

• Archive Free Family Historiesenter your state and search.
  Also:
  

Free family history

• Land records. Also:
  

The Official Federal Land Records Site

Ancestry Land Records

U.S. Land Records Online (About.com)

• Court records. Also check:

U S Courts/Court Records

United States Probate Records

Search System.net

GENEALOGICAL COURT RECORDS

• Marriage indexes.

familysearch.org/catalog-search Put in Marriage indexes + county, town, or state. (106,000+ results with just marriage indexes)

Marriage Records at Ancestry

U.S. Marriage Records at GenWed

Online Marriage Indexes at About

• Probate indexes.

familysearch.org/catalog-search Enter Probate indexes + county, town, or state.

U S Courts.gov/CourtRecords

Genealogy Blog

• Tax lists.
  

familysearch.org/catalog-search Enter Tax lists + county, town, or state.

Tax Lists Ancestry

• Militia lists.
  

familysearch.org/catalog-search Enter Militia lists + county, town, or state.

State militia lists at Ancestry

Cyndis List Military Lists

Step 4. If you want to know where your ancestor lived previously, check:

Note: The words in parentheses ( ) indicate whether to search for town, county, state, or national records.

• Family histories (national)
  *Local histories (town, county, or state)
  *Biographical works (town, county, or state) put "Local Histories of the United States" in the search box at the right on this page and search. Pick the one closest to area you are searching.
  *Land records (county).
  *Church records (town).
  *Obituaries (town or county).
  *Public or town records (town).
  * Court records (town, county, or state).
  *Censuses for 1790, 1800, 1810,1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 (state or United States).
  *Regional militia lists (county or state).
  *Migration patterns and maps (state or United States). also seeUnited States Land and Propertyand United States Emigration and Immigration

United States

Alabama   Alaska   Arizona   Arkansas   California   Colorado   Connecticut   Delaware   Dist. of Col.   Florida   Georgia   Hawaii   Idaho   Illinois   Indiana   Iowa   Kansas

Kentucky   Louisiana   Maine   Maryland   Massachusetts   Michigan   Minnesota   Mississippi   Missouri   Montana   Nebraska   Nevada   New Hampshire   New Jersey   New Mexico   New York   North Carolina

North Dakota   Ohio   Oklahoma   Oregon   Pennsylvania   Rhode Island   South Carolina   South Dakota   Tennessee   Texas   Utah   Vermont   Virginia   Washington   West Virginia   Wisconsin   Wyoming

Step 5. Find information about the relatives of your ancestor.

Use the sources in steps 1 to 4 to find where the following people lived:

• Children of your ancestor. Parents often lived near their children.
• Brothers and sisters. Siblings often lived together or nearby.
• In-laws. In-laws often lived nearby.

Since people usually moved with others who were relatives, friends, or neighbors, learning about these people may lead you to information about your ancestors.

Step 6. Check places where other events happened.

If you know where your ancestor was married, check marriage records, deeds, county and town histories, and other records of that place for birth information. See lists above.

If you know where your ancestor was born, check for marriage records of that place as many ancestors were married in the town or county where they were born.

See the list of suggested records for the other events.

Related Content

• How to Guess Where to Start
• Principles of Family History Research
• Family Trees: An Online Research Tool
• Toms, Gary R. Tips and Tactics from 50 Years of Research (35 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, 2010.
• Miller, Ellen. Beginning Genealogy (29 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, 2010.