Ancestry.com- Shaking Your Family Tree, June 11, 1998

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Shaking Your Family Tree

June 11, 1998

Shaking Your Family Tree, by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

WORLDWIDE QUERIES: AMERICAN LAND RECORDS AID GENEALOGISTS' QUEST FOR THEIR ROOTS

by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

Genealogical Research Directory (GRD) is in its 18th year of publication, and the 1998 edition is a hefty tome of 1,216 pages. The GRD, compiled and edited by Keith A. Johnson and Malcolm R. Sainty, directors of the Library of Australian History in North Sydney, Australia, is the largest query book on surnames available.

The current issue contains nearly 150,000 entries from genealogists in Great Britain, Canada, United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It also lists more than 400 archives, record offices and major libraries, and more than 600 genealogical societies worldwide. These are more than just addresses -- the entries also provide telephone and fax numbers, contact names, hours of operation, and requirements regarding access and research policy.

Purchasing the book entitles you to 15 free line entries in the next edition of the GRD. Nonprofit genealogical societies and historical societies with a family history group may be listed for free in the societies section of the directory.

The directory's largest section pertains to surnames, but other sections include category entries about computers, migration, military, occupations, places, religion, ships and migration, plus a general topic that lists diverse items of interest such as Norway Farm Names and Locations, Pamunkey Indians, Postcards and Used Stamps Exchange, and Medical Genealogy (genetics).

Other sections of GRD are the listings of the One Name (surname) Studies associations, professional services and names and contact information on the contributors. Many researchers now have e-mail addresses listed, making international contact easier and faster.

Seven volumes of GRD (1990-1996) containing about 500,000 research queries is now available for the first time on CD-ROM (Windows PC).

The 1998 GRD and CD are available from L. Burlo, 737 Calle Pensamiento, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360. The directory costs $25.25, and the CD-ROM sells for $35.25. Add $3.75 for postage. California residents must also include sales tax. On the Web: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~grdxxx

STAR BREAK

Land records are usually the most valuable genealogical proof of an American pedigree. If you're researching Colonial Virginia or in Lancaster County, Penn., a couple of new publications that may be of interest. They are:

-- Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, Volume VI, 1749-1762, edited by Dennis Ray Hudgins.

This is the latest publication by the Virginia Genealogical Society, 5001 West Broad Street, 115, Richmond, VA 23230-3023. The 553-page volume begins with Land Patent Book 29 and continues through Patent Book 34.

In the index, patentee names appear in uppercase, allowing the user to distinguish between the patentee and other references. The index also includes place names.

Cost is $43 postpaid (for VGS Members, $35 postpaid). Virginia residents should add 4.5 percent sales tax.

-- Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Land Records, 1729-1750 and Land Warrants, 1710-1742, by Marsha Martin, is available ($17.50 postpaid) from Family Line Publications, 65 East Main Street, Westminster, MD 21157, (800) 876-6103.

Many of the early pioneers who settled in the Susquehanna River area were Quakers from the Delaware Valley, but by 1723 the Germans and Scotch-Irish were streaming into Lancaster County. The Germans settled in the center of the county, while the Scotch-Irish and Welsh obtained land to the north and south.

This 188-page softback book provides names of owners, neighbors, heirs, and wives. It gives relationship of heirs and a history of the land back to the original patent.

Such information is most useful to the genealogist, especially when no will exists.

(c) 1998, Los Angeles Times Syndicate

Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter

Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page
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June 11, 1998
	WORLDWIDE QUERIES: AMERICAN LAND RECORDS AID GENEALOGISTS' QUEST FOR THEIR ROOTS by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.
Genealogical Research Directory (GRD) is in its 18th year of publication, and the 1998 edition is a hefty tome of 1,216 pages. The GRD, compiled and edited by Keith A. Johnson and Malcolm R. Sainty, directors of the Library of Australian History in North Sydney, Australia, is the largest query book on surnames available. The current issue contains nearly 150,000 entries from genealogists in Great Britain, Canada, United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It also lists more than 400 archives, record offices and major libraries, and more than 600 genealogical societies worldwide. These are more than just addresses -- the entries also provide telephone and fax numbers, contact names, hours of operation, and requirements regarding access and research policy. Purchasing the book entitles you to 15 free line entries in the next edition of the GRD. Nonprofit genealogical societies and historical societies with a family history group may be listed for free in the societies section of the directory. The directory's largest section pertains to surnames, but other sections include category entries about computers, migration, military, occupations, places, religion, ships and migration, plus a general topic that lists diverse items of interest such as Norway Farm Names and Locations, Pamunkey Indians, Postcards and Used Stamps Exchange, and Medical Genealogy (genetics). Other sections of GRD are the listings of the One Name (surname) Studies associations, professional services and names and contact information on the contributors. Many researchers now have e-mail addresses listed, making international contact easier and faster. Seven volumes of GRD (1990-1996) containing about 500,000 research queries is now available for the first time on CD-ROM (Windows PC). The 1998 GRD and CD are available from L. Burlo, 737 Calle Pensamiento, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360. The directory costs $25.25, and the CD-ROM sells for $35.25. Add $3.75 for postage. California residents must also include sales tax. On the Web: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~grdxxx STAR BREAK Land records are usually the most valuable genealogical proof of an American pedigree. If you're researching Colonial Virginia or in Lancaster County, Penn., a couple of new publications that may be of interest. They are: -- Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, Volume VI, 1749-1762, edited by Dennis Ray Hudgins. This is the latest publication by the Virginia Genealogical Society, 5001 West Broad Street, 115, Richmond, VA 23230-3023. The 553-page volume begins with Land Patent Book 29 and continues through Patent Book 34. In the index, patentee names appear in uppercase, allowing the user to distinguish between the patentee and other references. The index also includes place names. Cost is $43 postpaid (for VGS Members, $35 postpaid). Virginia residents should add 4.5 percent sales tax. -- Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Land Records, 1729-1750 and Land Warrants, 1710-1742, by Marsha Martin, is available ($17.50 postpaid) from Family Line Publications, 65 East Main Street, Westminster, MD 21157, (800) 876-6103. Many of the early pioneers who settled in the Susquehanna River area were Quakers from the Delaware Valley, but by 1723 the Germans and Scotch-Irish were streaming into Lancaster County. The Germans settled in the center of the county, while the Scotch-Irish and Welsh obtained land to the north and south. This 188-page softback book provides names of owners, neighbors, heirs, and wives. It gives relationship of heirs and a history of the land back to the original patent. Such information is most useful to the genealogist, especially when no will exists. (c) 1998, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page
Copyright 1998, 1999, Ancestry.com Inc. and its subsidiaries. Terms and Conditions \| Privacy Statement