Find Your Family at the Port Jefferson Free Library

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history and it is all the rage right now! But unlike other fads that have slowly faded from the forefront of our minds, family search is here to stay.

Thanks to the ever popular Who Do You Think You Are? television series, now in its third season, the hunt for elusive ancestors has become fun. There are many sources to use out there and it is important for the non-famous and un-guided researcher to be aware of which sources are and are not credible.

I personally have been researching my family history for about three years now. It is very exciting when you are able to connect a new ancestor to your family tree. I have mostly used the internet to search and store my family tree. I have yet to request an official copy of a vital record and that is due to my lack of free time. I tend to work on my genealogy in spurts, which makes it difficult to remember which branch of my tree I was working on last and where I found some information.

Even after a few years I still consider myself a novice in genealogy and I make a lot of beginner mistakes. For example, I was working on my boyfriend’s tree and I found someone who I thought was his paternal grandfather’s parents; so of course I add them to the tree with the intention of coming back later to confirm this connection.

A few days later I received an email from a gentleman informing me that the great-grandmother I was looking for was incorrect because her husband is different from the husband I have recorded.  With that simple mistake I learned not to immediately add a possible ancestor to my tree until I can positively confirm it. In speaking with a much advanced genealogist she suggested confirming a connection with three vital records such as birth and/or death certificates, draft cards, census records, etc… Clearly I have a lot more to learn if only I can stay consistent with my research.

I have listed below some popular genealogy website along with some new genealogy books that we have added to our collection.

Websites

• Ancestry.com - Free access to our patrons from inside the library ONLY.
• Italiangen.org - This website is not just for those with Italian heritage. It has two great databases: Naturalization Records and Vital Records. The databases will list the date of naturalization, birth and death as well as the certificate number of that specific record. The certificate number is important when you are requesting official copies; it helps to speed up the process.
• Germangenalogygroup.org - This is a great resource for those with German heritage. This site is very similar to italiangen.org; it offers the same two databases and provides a large amount of links to other sites.
• live-brary.com/historic-newspapers - Historic newspapers are a great way to discover more information about your ancestors than can be garnered from official documents.  The Suffolk County Library System did a great job digitizing a lot of local newspapers. Hosted through www.live-brary.com, all you need is a Suffolk County library card to gain access.
• familysearch.org - FamilySearch is a service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history.
• portjefflibrary.org/heritage.html - And of course, the Port Jefferson Free Library heritage website is a great source for both your local history and genealogy needs. We have a number of links available that are helpful to patrons in their genealogy hunt.

New Books to Our Collection

• 101 Brick Wall Busters: Solutions to Overcome Your Genealogical Challenges, Genealogy 929.1 FAM
• Crash Course in Genealogy, Genealogy 929.1 DOW
• Family History 101: a Beginner’s Guide to Finding Your Ancestors, Genealogy 929.1072 MEL
• Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors, Genealogy 929.107 RIS
• The Family Tree Sourcebook: Your Essential Directory of American County and Town Records, Genealogy 929. 1072 FAM
• The Genogram Journey: Reconnecting with Your Family, Genealogy 306.87 MCG
• Your Living Family Tree: Keeping Your Family Together Forever through Print, Photos, Sound and Videos, Genealogy 929.1 BUR