According to Plato, "The soul takes nothing with her to the other world but her education and culture." This may be true, but as family historians, we hope those souls leave behind at least some clues as to what kind of schooling or training they had in this world. Schools of every kind have much to do with carving out personalities and futures. Records created by and about educational institutions can provide incredible insights into individuals and into the part schooling has played in defining personalities and society as a whole.

From the bare essentials of a school history or a class list to more revealing report cards, student profiles, and otherwise unavailable photographs, school records can be most enlightening. Educational records have played a critical role in my personal research, and from my experience and research for other families I have drawn the following examples.

As an infant of twenty-two months, I was separated from my parents and brothers and sisters when my father became ill. I was sent from New York to live with relatives in Texas until he recovered, but he didn't recover. I remained in Texas and never knew my father or anything about his family. It is from his school records that I have some of my best insights into his personality. In his Fordham University yearbook (copies of pages obtained from the university(, I found one of the few surviving pictures of him, and from the yearbook I learned that "Joey" graduated from Brooklyn Prep before advancing his studies at Fordham, where he played interclass football among other activities. More fascinating to me is his report card. Though he received his degree in law, I learned that his highest marks were in history.

Typically, the types of records most valuable to the family historian are found in original school districts or in the archives of the institutions that created the records. In many cases, records of long-closed schools have survived in local libraries, historical societies, and museums and in state, local, private, and even federal archives.

Albums. Report cards, essays, artwork, and photographs are common inclusions in albums and scrapbooks. Distant family members may have inherited personal collections. A surprising number have been salvaged by archives, libraries, and museums.

Alumni Directories. Most colleges and universities and some high schools have kept tabs on a large number of their alumni. Typically, directories indicate year of graduation and provide current addresses. Sometimes, previous residences, subsequent education and careers, and maiden and children's names are noted. Divisions or colleges within a school frequently have separate directories. For example, the Iowa State College Engineering Alumni Directory, 1872 to 1949 notes for each individual the degree he or she attained, current address ("unknown address" is a rare entry), and whether the alumnus is deceased. Call schools to find out where directories can be found.

A.M.A. The American Medical Association's Deceased Physician Masterfile contains information, including educational background, on more than 350,000 U.S. physicians from 1878 to 1969. The database can be searched for a fee. Direct inquiries to the AMA Library and Archives, P.O. Box 10623, Chicago, IL 60610.

Board of Education. Typical board of education records include proceedings of the board; annual reports of superintendents, including faculty names and salaries; textbooks used in schools; statistical charts; and names of graduates. Employment records of teachers, including addresses and credentials, are often preserved. In city situations, having an exact address for a student is important. With that information, a client obtained a copy of a file card for her grandfather, Gustav Schreiber. The card indicated that he lived at 13 Cornelia, was eight years old, and attended Carpenter School from 1872-73. The line for his mother's name was blank, but the card named Gustav Schreiber as his father, and Germany as the birthplace.

Census Records. The educational level attained by an ancestor may be included in census records. Also, complete lists of students enumerated in boarding schools, colleges, and vocational schools may be included.

City Directories. Look in old city directories for lists of school addresses. Cross-reference these with ancestors' addresses to determine the schools he or she likely attended.

Employment Records. When they are extant, employment records often point to educational backgrounds. See The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1983).

Fraternities and Sororities. An example is The Sigma Chi Fraternity Manual and Directory, (Nate, 1922). The "Province Roll" on the first page identifies chapters on other campuses. A chronological list of members follows, identified by their years of graduation, occupations, and current addresses. A geographical and an alphabetical index for the publication is included. Alumni may be listed from as early as 1775.

Genealogical Societies. For years genealogical societies have been preserving and publishing school lists, photographs, teacher lists, and other genealogically important information from or about schools. See Library Sources, "Periodical Sources" by David Thackery in Ancestry, March/April 1994).

Jewish Sources. Genealogical Resources in the New York Metropolitan Area (Guzik, 1989) provides an insight to some Jewish school sources in one metropolitan area. The guide suggests the sources that may be found in any area.

Local Histories. These publications can be found in every part of the country. Typically, they contain names of founders and physical descriptions and locations of the schools. Occasionally, list of early teachers and students are included.

Local Historical Societies. Look in ancestors' hometowns and counties for collections of albums, newspaper clippings, yearbooks, student registers, and photographs. Ridge Historical Society (Chicago), for example, has 10 volumes of "Annual School Register of Pupils-Elementary Schools." A typical entry for Sutherland School, 1928-29, lists names of pupils, exact dates of birth, addresses, other schools attended, dates of entrance to school years of vaccination, grade levels, whether promoted, and names of parents or guardian and place of residence.

Military Schools. U.S. Military Records (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994) details a variety of records from Annapolis, West Point, and other military institutions.

Native American. If your ancestor attended a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, either on the reservation or one of the non-reservation boarding schools, records maintained by the school often contain genealogical information. See The Archives: A Guide to the Field Branches of the National Archives (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1988).

Newspapers. Local newspapers often carry lengthy stories and unique photographs of school graduates, honor students, and sports participants and events.

Reunions. Class reunions are increasingly popular, and frequently, reunion booklets can be gold mines of genealogical information. Some of these booklets have been donated to local libraries, archives, and genealogical, and historical societies.

Used Books, Antique, and Memorabilia Stores. While shipping in South Bend, Indiana, I found my husband's picture in an antique store, in old Notre Dame yearbooks. Yearbooks, school books, reunion books, and other memorabilia are often purchased by these stores.

Vocational Schools. The same kinds of individual pupil records, photographs, yearbooks, reunion books, and more are available for institutions in most U.S. counties.

Yearbooks. Yearbooks are often available at the school where they originated. Most colleges, universities, high schools, and even some grade schools have produced yearbooks. They show club memberships, sports and music participation, and general interests. Some include address lists.