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Kip's Tips
5/15/2001 - Archive
Indexes to Genealogical Periodicals
Periodicals are one of most valuable printed sources for family historians.
Genealogical periodicals publish a variety articles: compiled genealogies, methodology
(how to do research) articles, Bible records, vital records (births, marriages,
and deaths), divorces, church records, census schedules (federal and state),
photographs of early settlers, probate abstracts, military records, Civil War
letters, migration articles, lists of voters, naturalization records, newspaper
abstracts, obituaries, abstracts of diaries, court records, gravestone inscriptions,
burial records, descriptions of genealogical collections, and much more. You
will also find book reviews, genealogical queries, and many other items of interest
to genealogists and historians.
Libraries, genealogical societies, and historical societies house genealogical
and historical periodicals. Some of the largest repositories of genealogical
periodicals and indexes include: Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana;
Family History Library, Salt Lake City; Library of Congress; and New York Public
Library. Not to be overlooked are large university libraries, such as Brigham
Young University, Provo, Utah.
Indexes to Periodicals
An early index to selected genealogical periodicals is Joel Munsell's Index
to American Genealogies (5th ed., 1900, reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical
Publishing Co., 1984). It is a surname index to major American genealogical
periodicals, genealogies, and local histories. The 1900 reprint edition includes
a "Supplement, 1900 to 1908."
Donald Lines Jacobus indexed major American genealogical periodicals in
his Index to Genealogical Periodicals (3 vols. in 1, 1932-53, reprint,
Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978). Jacobus included mostly a name
index, place (locality) index, and a topic index.
Carl Boyer 3rd compiled the indexes in Jacobus' three volumes and arranged
the data in one alphabet, entitled Donald Lines Jacobus' Index to Genealogical
Periodicals (revised edition, Newhall, Calif.: C. Boyer, 1988). Boyer's
index is easier to use, but the original volumes are still found in many libraries,
often in the reference section.
Genealogical Periodical Annual Index, known as GPAI, is a valuable index
to genealogical periodicals. The earlier indexes were issued by various publishers,
but this index is now published by Heritage Books (1540-E Pointer Ridge Place,
Bowie, MD 20716). Earlier GPAI volumes were compiled by Ellen Stanley Rogers
and George Ely Russell. GPAI has been continued by Laird C. Towle, et al. Volume
1 was published in 1963 and covers titles published in 1962.
GPAI indexes surnames, localities, topics, and books reviews. Surname periodicals
are not indexed. Only titles contributed to the publisher are indexed, however.
GPAI is not a complete name index to all names published therein. Nevertheless,
GPAI is a useful index to personal names and locality records and should be
used by serious researchers.
PERSI
Since 1986, the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has published
Periodical Source Index (Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library
Foundation, 1986-annual). Also known as PERSI, it is a subject index to thousands
of articles in genealogical and some historical periodicals, although it is
not an every-name index to all personal names nor does it provide page numbers
of articles. Retrospective indexes have also been published covering the years
1847-1985.
PERSI is available in four formats:
Printed volumes at large libraries, such as the Family History Library
Microfiche at LDS Family History Centers, and some other libraries
Compact disc (CD-ROM) from Ancestry.com, which includes the thirty-two-volume set updated
in May 2000 (with more search options than are available on Ancestry's Web site)
shops.ancestry.com/product.asp?productid=2164
Online (for Ancestry subscribers)
www.ancestry.com/persi
Although PERSI does not index every name in periodical articles, it is the most
comprehensive of the indexes to American genealogical periodicals. Beginning
and experienced researchers should make full use of this reference tool. Researchers
should use PERSI to locate references to personal names and locality records.
If articles of interest are located, the researcher may request a photocopy
of them through Interlibrary loan, or obtain a copy for a fee by contacting
the Allen County Public Library Foundation (P.O. Box 2270, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270)
or another library that holds the periodicals of interest. A form is available
for requesting copies of articles from Allen
County Public Library.
Other Indexes: A Selected List
APG Article Index, 1979-1996 (supplement to APG Quarterly, December 1996).
This is an example of a subject index to a genealogical periodical.
Bailey, Geraldine, comp. Topical Index of Genealogical Quarterlies. St.
Louis: St. Louis Genealogical Society, 1973-.
The Genealogical Helper. Everton Publishers, P.O. Box 368, Logan, UT 84321.
Name indexes.
Newberry Library. The Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library, Chicago.
4 vols. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1960. Surname index to periodicals and other sources.
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register Index of Persons, Volumes
1-50 (2 vols., 1906-11, reprint, Camden, Maine: Picton Press,1989). The
New England Register is also indexed by Index of Persons, Volumes 51-148,
edited by Jane Fletcher Fiske (4 vols., Boston: New England Historic Genealogical
Society, 1995). This major periodical title and cumulative indexes are also
available on compact disc from the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Quigley, Maud. Index to Family Names in Genealogical Periodicals. Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Western Michigan Genealogical Society, 1981.
Swem, Earl Gregg, comp. Virginia Historical Index. 2 vols. in 4. 1934-36,
reprint, Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1965. Often known as Swem's Index,
this is a valuable index for Virginia researchers.
For Further Reference
Clegg, Michael Barren, ed. Bibliography of Genealogy and Local History Periodicals
with Union List of Major U.S. Collections. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County
Public Library Foundation, 1990.
Meyerink, Kory L., ed. Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical
Records. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1998.
Sperry, Kip. Index to Genealogical Periodical Literature, 1960- 1977.
Vol. 9 in the Gale Genealogy and Local History Series. Detroit: Gale Research
Co.,1979. This is a subject and author/title index to periodical articles describing
research techniques and procedures, genealogical and historical sources and
collections, and other genealogical subjects for the years indexed.
Sperry, Kip. A Survey of American Genealogical Periodicals and Periodical
Indexes. Vol. 3 in the Gale Genealogy and Local History Series. Detroit:
Gale Research Co.,1978. This work is a review of genealogical periodicals and
periodical indexes before PERSI.
Kip Sperry is an associate professor of family history at Brigham Young University,
Provo, Utah. He writes a weekly column at Ancestry.com called "Kip's Tips,"
which can be found at: www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/tips/tips.asp.
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