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Library index program can ease search for ancestors

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By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 5, 2009

An early step in genealogical research is to search for ancestor surnames in genealogical and historical journals and magazines. Another step is to conduct background studies on the places those ancestors lived.

But if the local library doesn't house journals and publications from remote locations, where does a researcher turn?

The Periodical Source Index, PERSI, lists almost 2 million genealogy and history articles where just about any researcher will find something of interest. The index covers more than 6,500 journals and magazines from 1800 to the present.

The Allen County (Indiana) Public Library created and operates PERSI. Researchers can search the index from the comfort of home at persi

.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/

library/do/persi and then order copies of the articles.

Searchers have four options for gathering information: "People," "Places," "How To's" and "Periodicals." Under each of the options, use keywords to narrow the search.

Here are some examples of using this resource:

•An ancestor living in Johnston County, N.C., fought in the Revolutionary War. What was the war like in that area? A "Places" search with the key words "Revolutionary War" produced three articles published in the Johnston Journal in 1996, 1997 and 2005.

•An ancestor is believed to have traveled on an Orphan Train. A "How To" search for "orphan trains" gives nine articles from locations ranging from Washington to Cape Cod, Mass.

•Placing a fairly common surname such as Richardson in the "People" search box returns an overwhelming 1,000 hits, but adding North Carolina as a keyword reduces the hits to five.

•Understanding an ancestor's occupation is an important aspect of genealogical research. Searching "blacksmith" in the "People" category will net 236 articles, including obituaries, ledger books, photographs and biographies. Entering "blacksmith" under "How To" nets three articles, including one about that occupation in the 19th and 20th centuries and another about the profession and tools.

Someone researching in Carroll County, Ohio, might find an ancestor listed as one of blacksmith Gabriel Wagner's customers. (His account book, 1866-1878, is among the articles that pop up.) That same researcher might never have thought to search under that occupation, since his ancestor was not a blacksmith. A "Place" search for Carroll County, Ohio, reveals "Carroll Cousins." In fact, 703 articles appear for Carroll County, offering many aspects of life in this community.

A caution when using keywords is that using the single versus plural of a word usually nets a different result. Searching for "blacksmith" netted 236 hits but searching for "blacksmiths" netted 10 entirely different articles.

Also remember to search for surnames with every possible spelling variation. Searching for Stalcup produced 10 results, but Stalcop added four more - all stories about the same family. Spelling "Stansell" revealed 16 hits, but "Stancel" gave one and "Stancil" showed nine.

A click on the title of any article takes the reader to a screen with full publication details and a link to a form to request the full copy. Print out the form and fill it out with the article name and publication information. Order up to six articles for $7.50. Researchers will also be billed 20 cents per page. It takes about six weeks to get the articles, and it's like waiting for Christmas.

Sharon Tate Moody is a board-certified genealogist. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of Getaway, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa, FL 33606 or stmoody0720@mac.com. She regrets that she is unable to assist wit

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