In 1872, teachers in Dodge City, Kansas were supposed to obey these rules: "Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity, and honesty. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly." The rules for teachers are a little less strict today.

January and September are often thought of as "back to school" months. Since family historians are always searching for records in which to locate their ancestors and learn more details about them, this column will discuss school records as a genealogical source.

School records are often overlooked by genealogists and may include accounts, enumerations, district reports, censuses, enrollment cards, pupils' annual records, and school board minutes. Some records are known by other names, such as the "Scholastic Family Census" or the "Scholastic Annual Reports and Census." Some records contain statistics only and are of less value genealogically. In some localities, reform school records were kept, sometimes known as inmate case records. Native American school records and census reports have also been kept. Most school records in America date from the early-nineteenth century, but not all school records have survived.

When found, early school records can serve as a substitute to federal and state census records and missing or incomplete vital records. This is especially true in states where school records have been kept before 1850. The records show the name of the head of the household (usually the father) or the name of the guardian, the name of school-age children, their gender, and each child's age. Nicknames of students are sometimes used. Also, the signature of the parent or guardian is shown. Some records show the occupation of the parent or guardian and the person's nationality. Students' grades are sometimes recorded. Teachers' names and names of school board members are shown in many of these records.

Some school records may also be found on the Internet. These include class lists, biographies of students and teachers, yearbooks, lists of graduates (often by year of graduation), school history, and school registers. One of the first places to look for American school records on the Internet is to search the USGenWeb Project.

Texas is one example of a state where scholastic family census records have been kept. These records show the full name of the student, his or her birth date and age, the name of the county in which the family resides, parents' names, the student's length of time living in the school district, his or her nationality and post office address, and the name of the census trustee.

A number of school records have been microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by state or county and then under the subject heading "Schools." Early school records can often be found in state and local historical societies, courthouses, state archives, and local libraries. Some have been published, such as alumni registers and yearbooks.

School records are also sometimes published in genealogical and historical periodicals. Yearbooks, annuals, and alumni directories are available and may be found in school libraries, state and local historical societies, and public libraries. School newspapers may have been preserved in school libraries or on microfilm.

Finally, you may also be able to make contact with classmates from your high school or from another school. Classmates.com is one example of a school Web site established with the purpose of getting old high school classmates together, but there are others. All of these tools can help you find additional records to complete the search for your ancestors' information.

For Further Reference

• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet: Schools

• Establishing a School Archives

• Morgan, George G. "A Primer in School Records." "Along Those Lines . . ." 23 June 2000.

• Smith, Juliana. "Back to School—School Records, That Is." Ancestry Daily News, 13 September 1999.

• Szucs, Loretto Dennis. "Education Records: Insights to Souls." Ancestry Magazine, January/February 1995, Vol.13, No. 1.

• Warren, Paula Stuart. "The Three Rs: Reading, 'Riting, and Research in School Records." 1999 FGS Conference (tape available from AudioTapes.com).

Kip Sperry is an associate professor of family history at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.