Looking for the town or village where an ancestor lived? In genealogy
research it is common to have a place name but no knowledge of where that place
is. If you have this quandary, you should check a gazetteer. A gazetteer is
an index of geographical place names with brief descriptions of each place.
In short, it is sort of a dictionary of place names. A gazetteer might not contain
any maps at all, just text. However, many gazetteers I have seen will also include
maps as supplemental information. If not, a gazetteer normally gives the latitude
and longitude of each named place listed so that you can easily find the place
on an online or printed map.
Modern gazetteers often do not list ancient and obsolete place
names. Your ancestor may have lived in East Podunk, a thriving place two hundred
years ago, but a name that has since disappeared. Villages, towns, and even
counties have frequently been renamed over the past few hundred years. The best
way to find a one-hundred-and-seventy-five-year-old place name is to look in
a one-hundred-and-seventy-five-year-old gazetteer. An old gazetteer can give
the location of towns and other places that either no longer exist or have a
different name today. This gazetteer also has many historical facts, including
what different places were like many years ago. You don’t have an old gazetteer
on your bookshelf? Now you can find one on the Web.
The General Gazetteer of 1823 is a fascinating glimpse into the
world of our ancestors. Here you can find the world as they knew it. In this
book, large parts of Africa, Asia, and the Americas were thoroughly unknown.
Japan was a mysterious country not yet revealed to Westerners. Most of Africa
was unexplored. Well-known places of today had different names; Istanbul was
Constantinople, Ethiopia was Abyssinia. This book also makes no mention of automobiles,
telegraphs, telephones, or radio.
The full title of this digitized book is The General Gazetteer,
Or Geographical Dictionary: Containing A Description Of The Various Countries,
Kingdoms, States, Cities, Towns, &C. &C. Of The Known World; An Account
Of The Government, Customs, And Religion Of The Inhabitants; The Boundaries,
And Natural Productions Of Each Country, &C. &C. Forming A Complete
Body Of Physical, Political, Statistical, And Commercial. In Three Volumes.
Accompanied With Twenty-Six Elegant Maps, From The Latest Authorities. Apparently
the writers of 1823 liked long book titles!
The General Gazetteer of 1823 is available online at: www.vii.com/~cda/1823/contents.htm.
Make sure you read the FAQ (Frequently-Asked
Questions).
My thanks to Gene Vogt for letting me know about this online resource.
Dick Eastman Online
