Providing practical, down-to-earth advice for family historians since 1995, online since 1985.

The BASICS

DearREADERS,
This is my list of great books that will be hopefully found on the shelves at your local public library. Wherever possible, you might consider purchasing these basic reference works for your home library as well. Sometimes it just helps to curl up with a book like The Source, and study different ways to get out of your research doldrums.

• General How-To Books about citations, how-to, female ancestry & writing your personal & family history.
• United States - Books discussing county & state resources, census, handwriting, how-to, immigration & naturalizations, library & military resources.
• Foreign - Books about the basics of doing research outside the US.
• Computers - Books about genealogy, computers & the internet.

  A star identifies essential titles  -- they are simply that good!

General How-To - Books about citations, how-to,  female ancestry & writing your personal & family history.

Citations:

• Evidence! : Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian.  Mills, Elizabeth Shown. 124 pp., Indexed. (1997), 1999. ISBN 0806315431. 

How-To: 

• Ancestors : A Beginner's Guide to Family History and Genealogy by Jim Willard, et al (Paperback)
• Beyond Pedigrees : Organizing and Enhancing Your Work by Beverly Delong Whitaker (Paperback - October 1993)
• Family History for the Clueless by George D. Durrant, Larene Gaunt (Paperback - July 1999)
• Family History Made Easy : A Step-By-Step Guide to Discovering Your Heritage by Loretto Dennis Szucs, Loretto D. Szucs (Paperback - September 1998)
• First Steps in Genealogy : A Beginner's Guide to Researching Your Family History by Desmond Walls Allen (Paperback - August 1998)
• Genealogy Made Easy by Karen V. Sipe (Paperback - September 1998)
• The Genesis of Your Genealogy : Step By Step Instruction for the Beginner in Family History (4th Revised Edition) by Elizabeth L. Nichols (Paperback - 1998)
• The Genealogist's Companion & Sourcebook.  Croom, Emily Betterway Pubns; ISBN 1-55870-331-4.
• How to Climb Your Family Tree : Without Going Out on a Limb : A Guide to Family History by Elizabeth Queener
• Unlocking the Secrets in Old Photographs by Karen Frisch-Ripley (Paperback - June 1991)
• Unpuzzling Your Past : A Basic Guide to Genealogy (3rd Edition) by Emily Anne Croom. 180 pages. (September 1995) Betterway Pubns; ISBN: 1558703969
• Organizing Your Family History Search : Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack (Paperback - April 1999)
• Shaking Your Family Tree (Paperback - February 1988)
• Tracing Your Ancestry : A Step-By-Step Guide to Researching Your Family History by F. Wilbur Helmbold, F. Wilbur Helmbol (Paperback - November 1990)
• The Sleuth Book for Genealogists : Strategies for More Successful Family History Research
  by Emily Anne Croom (Paperback - March 2000)

Female Ancestry:

• A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Female Ancestors: Special Strategies for Uncovering Hard-To-Find Information about Your Female Lineage.  Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo. 1998. Betterway Pubns; ISBN: 1558704728.
• The Hidden Half of the Family: A Source Book of Women's Genealogy.  Schaefer, Christina K. 310 pp., Indexed. Illus. 1999. ISBN 0806315822. 

Writing your personal & family history

• Family History Logbook.  Klein, Reinhard. 224 pages. 1997. Betterway Pubns; ISBN: 1558704256
• For All Time : A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History.  Kempthorne, Charley. 150 pages. 1996. Heinemann; ISBN: 0867093811
• How to Find Your Family Roots and Write Your Family History by William Latham, Cindy Higgins (Paperback - March 2000)
• How to Write the Story of Your Life.  Thomas, Frank P. 1989. Writers Digest Books; ISBN: 0898793599.
• Producing a Quality Family History.  Hatcher, Patricia Law. 286 pages. 1997. Ancestry, Incorporated; ISBN: 0916489647. 
• The story only you can tell : creating your family history with ease and expertise by Toni Sorenson Brow.
• Writing the Family Narrative.  Gouldrup, Lawrence P. Set includes book 157 pp., ( 1998) ISBN: 0916489272 and workbook 168 pp. Workbook edition (1998) ISBN: 0916489418. 
• Writing Your Life : Putting Your Past on Paper.  Stanek, Lou. 179 pages. 1996. Avon Books ISBN: 0380786257.

United States - Books discussing county & state resources, census, handwriting, how-to, immigration & naturalizations, library & military resources.

County & State:

• Ancestry's Red Book : American State, County, and Town Sources.  Eichholz, Alice. 858 pps. Rev edition (1992) ISBN: 0916489477. 
• Bibliography of American County Histories.  Filby, P. William. 449 pp., (1985), 1987. ISBN 0806311266.
• Everton's Handybook for Genealogists.  Everton, Lee, editor. 619 pp. (1999) ISBN: 1890895032. 
• International Vital Records Handbook by Thomas Jay Kemp.

• Compendium of Historical Sources : The How and Where of American Genealogy. Bremer, Ronald A. (1998). www.everton.com

Census:

• The American Census Handbook. Thomas J. Kemp. 580 pages (November 2000) Scholarly Resources; ISBN: 0842029257.
• The Census Book: A Genealogist's Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes.  Dollarhide, William. 83 pp. (1999) ISBN: 1877677981. 
• Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Census Records.  Thorndale, William and William Dollarhide. 445 pp., Illus. (1987), 2000. ISBN 0806311886. 

Handwriting:

• Handwriting of American Records for a Period of 300 Years.  Kirkham, Kay. (1973) ISBN: 9996474593. 
• Reading Early American Handwriting.  Sperry, Kip. 289 pp. (1998) ISBN: 080630846X. 

How-To:

• Land and Property Research in the United States.  Hone, E. Wade. 600 pp. (1998) ISBN: 091648968X
• Locating Lost Family Members & Friends : Modern Genealogical Research Techniques for Locating the People of Your Past and Present by Kathleen W. Hinckley (Paperback - August 1999)
• Printed Sources : A Guide to Published Genealogical Records.  Meyerink, Kory, editor.  800 pp., (1998) ISBN: 0916489701 
• The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy.  Greenwood, Val D. 3rd ed. 676 pp. (2000) ISBN 0806316217. 
• The Source : A Guidebook of American Genealogy.  Szucs, Loretto Dennis & Sandra Hargreaves Leubking, editors. 846 pp. Revised edition (1997) ISBN: 0916489671. 

Immigration & Naturalization:

• A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors : How to Find and Record Your Unique Heritage by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack (Paperback - July 2000)
• Albion's Seed : Four British Folkways in America.  Fischer, David Hackett. 946 pp. (1989) ISBN: 0195037944. 
• American Naturalization Records 1790-1990: What They Are and How To Use Them.  Newman, John J. 127 pp. (1998) ISBN: 1877677914. 
• American Passenger Arrival Records.  Tepper, Michael.  Updated edition (1993) ISBN: 0806313803
• Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas.  Christina K. Schaefer.  830 pp., Indexed. Illus. 1998. ISBN 0806315768. 
• Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States.  Christina K. Schaefer. 439 pp., (1997), 1999. ISBN 0806315326.
• They Became Americans : Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins.  Szucs, Loretto Dennis. 260 pp., (1998) ISBN: 091648971X.
• Migration, Emigration, Immigration Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. Miller, Olga K. www.everton.com

Libraries:

• America's Best Genealogy Resource Centers.  Dollarhide, William. 139 pp. (1998) ISBN: 1877677906. 
• American Genealogical Research at the DAR, Washington, D.C. Grundset, Eric G. and Steven B. Rhodes. 180 pp. (1997) http://www.dar.org/
• The Center: A Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Capital Area. Christina K. Schaefer.  160 pp., Indexed. Illus. 1996. ISBN 080631515X. 
• The Librarian's Genealogy Notebook : A Guide to Resources by Dahrl Elizabeth Moore (Paperback - November 1998)

Military:

• US Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Neagle, James C. 1994.
• The Great War : A Guide to the Service Records of All The World's Fighting Men and Volunteers.  Schaefer, Christina K. 1998. ISBN 0806315547. 

Foreign - Books about the basics of doing research outside the US.  dearmyrtsdailyge

How-To:

• Finding Your Roots : How to Trace Your Ancestors at Home and Abroad by Jeane Eddy Westin, John J.  Stewart (Introduction) (Paperback - January 1999)
• In Search of Your European Roots 2nd ed.  Angus Baxter. 304 pp., (1994), 1999. ISBN 080631446X. 
• International Vital Records Handbook by Thomas Jay Kemp (Paperback)
• Long-Distance Genealogy by Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer (Paperback - September 2000)
• The Great War : A Guide to the Service Records of All The World's Fighting Men and Volunteers.   Christina K. Schaefer.  1998. ISBN 0806315547. 

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British Isles

• Ancestral Trails. The Complete Guide to British Genealogy & Family History. Herber. Mark D. 720 pages Revised edition (May 2000). Genealogical Publishing Company; ISBN: 0806316330
• In Search of Your British & Irish Roots.  Angus Baxter. 320 pp., Indexed. (1994), 1999. ISBN 080631611X. 
• Genealogical Research in England's Public Record Office : A Guide for North Americans (#4862) by Judith Prowse Reid (Hardcover - July 1996)

Canada

• In Search of Your Canadian Roots 3rd ed.  Angus Baxter.  400 pp., Indexed. (1994), 2000. ISBN 0806316268. 

Ireland

• Irish Records : Sources for Family and Local History.  Ryan, James G.860 pp. ISBN: 0916489760 

Italian

• Finding Italian Roots : The Complete Guide for Americans.  Colletta, John Philip. (1993) ISBN: 0806313935 
• Italian Genealogical Records.  Cole, Trafford. 265 pp., (1995) ISBN: 0916489582. 

Germany

• In Search of Your German Roots.  Angus Baxter. 122 pp., (1994), 1999. ISBN 0806314478. 

Computers - Books about genealogy, computers & the internet.

• Everything Online Genealogy. Pat Richley (DearMYRTLE). Oct 2001
• Genealogy Online, 5th Edition by Elizabeth Powell Crowe
• Genealogy Online for Dummies  by April Leigh Helm, Matthew L. Helm (Paperback - February 2001).
• Genealogy Software Guide by Marthe Arends (Editor)
• Genealogy on CD-ROM by Marthe Arends
• Netting Your Ancestors : Genealogical Research on the Internet  Cyndi Howells.
• Your Roots : Total Genealogy Planning on Your Computer/Book and CD-Rom by Richard Eastman

Myrt     :)
DearMYRTLE,
Your friend in genealogy
www.DearMYRTLE.com  

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