Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources

by Alice Eichholz (Editor)

Family history research is easier than it has ever been. Today, with an increased emphasis on preserving local records and with the burgeoning use of the Internet and computer technology, we can discover a great deal regarding the specifics of our family’s past—no matter what the locality. Designed to help you recover the multigenerational facts of your ancestry,  Red Book is an expansive guide to the most useful resources in each of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. Organized by state, the book easily directs you to information-rich resources in areas The result of the collective effort of renowned professional researchers and state archivists, this book sets the standard for resource identification and is a must for anyone serious about tracing their roots in the United States.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

900 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a source that all hobbyist and professional genealogists should have access to.

[Thelma Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extensive source book. If you are searching for ancestors you must read this book. I borrowed it from my local library. Made notes regarding the areas that where important to me. It's a large book, detailed, and not everyone needs to own a copy. But a valuable reference resource. Well written with great examples.

[Kbord · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the books you should have access to if you are a professional or serious-hobbyist genealogical researcher.

Where The Handybook for Genealogists uses lists, Ancestry's Red Book uses sentences and paragraphs. There is more description of records than in The Handybook. I do like the written background information on types of records.

Otherwise, the two books are very similar. The state maps show county seats in Red Book, but the counties are colored for easier viewing in The Handybook. Both books have a list of counties and their creation dates, along with useful information for contacting the correct county officials to search for records (which is good, because counties hold the most records in the U.S.--except for New England, where the towns hold the records).

Note: This is now available online in Wiki format. All the information is there. I think the hard copy is still an easier format to use if you will use this book frequently.

[AdultNonFiction Teton County Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

TCL Call# 929.1 RED

Lynn 5 Stars
This is a great reference book for the beginner and serious genealogy researcher. It lists by state all of the vital records available in each state since each state houses tax records, state census years, war records, land records, etc. differently. This book was updated in 2004, but is still very current since state archives seldom change. Also available on online through Ancestry now.

[Malia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another must have source for any genealogist and library genealogy collection. Information is organized by state and provides a quick reference for finding vital records and clues to locating other sources of information.

[Frank Westgate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book to use for Genealogy, The internet stole the fun out for me researching.
If you really want to dig into the archives, research deep I highly recommend this book and skip the internet stuff, write personal letters ask question and get to real evidence of your family tree.

[Janelle V. Dvorak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as useful a reference as it once was--a good deal of the information contained can be readily found these days on the Internet.

[Jessie J]

Available via Ancestry.com subscription:

http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.ph...