Locality Research

Have you ever noticed that your ancestors lived in clusters in one locality? Have you ever wondered why they relocated to areas miles away from where they were born? Locality research answers these questions and more.

Kimberly Powell, professional genealogist, states in her article “Resources for Researching Local History” (www.thoughtco.com/genealogy-of-a-town-1422042) that “researching the local history of the town, village, or city where your ancestors lived is a big step toward understanding what their life was like and the people, places, and events that impacted the course of their own personal history.” Powell in her article gives seven steps on how to conduct this research.

1. Read Published Local Histories. You can find local histories in Google Books, Internet Archive and other similar websites. These local histories have profiles for each family in the community in the area. They also give the history of the locality, why people migrated there, and what people did for a living.

2. Map Out the Town. City and county atlases, plat maps, and fire insurance maps, are great resources. A Google search for these maps is a great place to start.

3. Look at the Library. State and University libraries are great places to look for manuscripts and local histories. The FamilySearch Library catalog is a must search. It will show you the maps, histories, biographies, and records that are available for the locality you are researching.

4. Dig into Court Records. At the courthouse, you will find maps of roads, deeds, probate records, and civil complaints.

5. Interview the Residents. Look for residents that are interested in local interest. You may locate them through local newspapers that carry local history columns. They may have stories that are not available elsewhere.

6. Google for the Goods. Look for local history blogs or Facebook groups. Powell suggests that your “do a search on the name of the town or village along with search terms such as history, church, cemetery, battle, or migration.” Google will find images for these locations too.

7. Read All About It (Historical Newspapers). Local newspapers are full of great information. There are obituaries, death notices, marriage announcements, local events, town news, court cases, etc. Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) is a great newspaper resource.

These resources may not mention your ancestor specifically, but you can get a good idea on what life was like for them and why they migrated to where they did.