School Records

The summer is almost over, and it’s time for school to start again.  It is surprising the amount of information schools keep on their students, staff, and teachers.  Many do not realize that the information from school records can be a treasure trove for genealogists. 

Findmypast.com has a great blog article “How School Records Can Help You With Your Genealogy Research.”  This article gives visuals on what the actual records look like and provides a list of information you can find in these records. This list includes:

1.     Child’s age and date of birth. Information such as this can help you find birth records.  You need to keep in mind that this information may not be accurate as some parents fibbed about the age of their child to get them in school sooner or there were errors in the recording of this information.  It is always best to find other sources to verify this information.

2.     Parent’s names.  The records give the name of the parents of the child.  It may not provide the mother’s name or maiden name, but it will give the father’s name.  It will also contain the name of the guardians if they do not live with their parents.

3.     Parent’s occupation. Finding information about how the parents earned a living can help in identifying that you have the right child.

4.     Address of your ancestor and if they moved.  The address of your ancestor can point you to census records, land records, and even newspaper articles.  Be sure and check the “Remarks” column as it may indicate that the child moved, left school, and when.

5.     Death information. Again, check out the “Remarks” column as it may indicate that the child has died.  Listing the death of a child gives a year to look for death information.

6.     Glimpse into your ancestor’s school life.  School logs can provide information about your ancestor especially if they “misbehaved.”  These logs also give you an idea of what day to day school life was for them.

Findmypast has over ten million school records.  Ancestry and FamilySearch have school records too.  State archives and libraries, historical societies, google books, newspapers, and even the school itself are great places to search for school records.

In searching for your ancestors, don’t forget to include school records.  It is in these unexpected places that you may find the information you need!