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Maps Show Terrain Of Long-Gone Landmarks

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By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 1, 2008

Elusive ancestors are easier to find if we understand the circumstances and times in which they lived. Maps can give you a visual perspective of those earlier wandering relatives.

Each of you probably pictures something different when you think "map." That's because there are so many different types. To simplify the study of maps, think of them first as either modern or historical.

It will be important to use both modern and historical maps in your research. One of the obstacles most of us face at some point is when an ancestor's community no longer exists.

Locating a map from the appropriate period may show an extinct community from its heyday. Finding features common to both the historical and modern maps will guide you to finding where the community stood and how to get there.

For example, I am conducting research on a Georgia community known as the Watters District. Many of the elements of interest to me no longer exist so I've spent many hours digging around the Internet, with surprising success.

The Georgia Archives has a Web site titled "Georgia's Virtual Vault." Historical maps are among the digital collections. I located a map dated 1895, which showed me the location of a number of farms. A subsequent search of local land records gave me the names of owners and physical descriptions of those farms.

The beauty of the map, however, is that I got a visual picture of the farms in relationship to one another and could see the roads as they were in 1895. Without the distraction of the four-lane highways crisscrossing those farms today, it is much easier to understand how the families related to one another, how they traveled and how they communicated.

If your research isn't in Georgia, you're still likely to find similar Internet sites with historical maps. Try checking with Web sites for the state archives, libraries at state universities and even large genealogical societies.

Within those historical and modern categories is a wide variety of map types. Knowing about each type and how you can use it will greatly aid your genealogical quests. Here are the types you will find most useful.

County maps: As soon as evidence indicates your ancestor was in a specific county, get a map of that limited geographic area. County maps generally are available through a local or state government office. A good place to start is with the state or local transportation office.

County maps identify all the roads in a community, including those unpaved country trails that might lead right to the old family home place. They also will show cemeteries, churches, small creeks and other geographic features that will help pinpoint your ancestors' lands.

Find links to various state transportation offices at www.roadmaps.org/links/ index.html.

Land maps and plat books: Land records are among the best ones kept by the government. Counties usually maintain maps and plat books of land ownership, and these are excellent sources for visual graphic identification of where ancestors planted their roots.

These are kept in courthouses with property deeds and will take some digging to locate.

Military maps: Perhaps one of the good things to come from the Civil War was a massive number of maps. They contain outstanding details of areas through which troops marched or where two sides engaged in battle.

After the war, the government compiled a military history and called it "War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies." Researchers also refer to it as the "Official Records." This multi-volume publication consists of official reports, telegrams and casualty lists.

The Army then compiled maps drawn during the war by engineers, draftsmen and even generals. The compilation is called "The Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies." It contains hundreds of maps, engravings and drawings. This book has been commercially produced, and you can purchase it locally at Barnes and Noble for $25 to $30.

The maps also are a great resource for finding buildings and facilities long destroyed by man and time.

Troops entering the area needed to know as much as possible about the man-made and natural objects they would encounter. Most of the maps show not only roads, but also schoolhouses, farms, taverns, churches, cemeteries, tanneries, furnaces, distilleries, mills, creeks, railroads and more.

Sanborn Insurance maps: The company created by D.A. Sanborn in 1867 made maps for 12,000 cities until 1961. Insurance underwriters used them to determine risks and establish premiums. The maps are widely available and a wonderful resource for genealogists.

Topographic maps: These show an area's geography. They aid in the understanding of how people moved around various physical barriers. Seeing mountains, rivers and the general terrain will give you a true perspective of your ancestor's life.

In upcoming columns, we'll take an in-depth look at some of these maps and how to find them.

Sharon Tate Moody is a genealogist certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Send genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of BayLife, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606; or stmoody0720 @mac.com. She reg

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