Searching for Your Ancestors: The How and Why of Genealogy

by Gilbert Harry Doane, James B. Bell

hardbound with dust cover

Genres: History, Nonfiction

270 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

The edition I read was copyright 1937 and printed 1973. It is no longer a "how-to" book but rather a piece of history, chronicling what genealogy work was like pre-internet.

And what was my biggest take-away? Well, that the internet is a beautiful thing. Nowadays it just takes a few clicks to start an account with a genealogy site and start receiving photos of census reports, baptism records, military records, etc. Combine that with interviewing your living relatives and you're pretty much set.

The chapter "Odds and Ends to Help Your Search" was great -- would have been nice if the whole book gave tips like that, maybe even helping you understand how to navigate specific country's records (explaining the Swedish patronymic system, for example). This book would have been 4 stars if this was 1937 but in 2012, it's dropped to a 1 star, sorry.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reliable and well-written guidebook.

[Megan]

September 10, 2000