Catalog Search Tips

The following tips will help genealogists locate resources in our catalog.

Published Genealogies

Set the catalog to "subject" search, and then search on the following subject:

[Surname] family.
Example: Chapman family.

Searching for Chapman family returns one result in the genealogy collection.

Local Histories and Vital Records

Set the catalog to "subject" search, and then search on the following subject:

[Name of County] or [Name of Town].

Example: Bastrop County

Searching for Bastrop County returns 4 results, including Austin Colony Pioneers.

Adding a subheading will narrow a subject that has too many results.

[Name of County or Town] – Genealogy

(local record indexes, probate abstracts, and more)

[Name of County or Town] – Biography

(biographical sketches)

[Name of County or Town] – History

(local histories)

Directories

Directories include city, phone, county, social, professional, fraternal, and ethnic directories. Local City directories are cataloged and located in a locked cabinet in the Genealogy Collection. Other directories can be found using the following keyword term:

[subject] Genealogy Directories.

Example: Ireland Genealogy Directories

Census

Online Databases

Online databases are the easiest and most effective way for researchers to access the U.S. and Canadian censuses. 

Federal Census in Microfilm

County and state indexes and transcriptions

[Name of County] – Census.

Example: Tarrant County (Tex.) -- Census, 1890.

[Name of State] – Census.

Example: Arkansas -- Census.

Magazines

[Name of Country, State, County, City, or Ethnic Group] – [History or Genealogy] – Periodicals.

Example: Swedish-Americans – Genealogy – Periodicals.

For indexing of articles, search the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) through Ancestry or HeritageQuest.

Church Records

[Name of Place] – Church history.

Example: Arlington (Tex.) -- Church history.

[Name of Denomination].

Example: Catholic Church.

[Name of Church].

Example: Fielder Road Baptist Church

Military Records

[Name of War].

Example: Black Hawk War, 1832.

United States. Army – [Unit Designation].

Example: United States. Army. Iowa Infantry Regiment, 12th

[Name of State] – Militia.

Example: Missouri -- Miltia.

[Name of State] – History – [Name of War].

Example: Ohio – History – Civil War, 1861-1865.

Pension indexes and abstracts:

Military Pensions – [Name of State].

Example: Military Pensions -- Texas.

Land Records

Land Titles – [Name of State, County, or Region].

Land Grants – [Name of State, County, or Region].

Land Tenure – [Name of State, County, or Region].

[Name of State, County, or City] – Genealogy.

Cemetery Records

[Name of State, County, or City] – Genealogy.

[Name of Cemetery].

Cemeteries – [Name of State, County, or City].

Inscriptions – [Name of State, County, or City].

Registers of Births, etc. – [Name of State, County, or City].

Ethnic Groups

[Ethnic Group] – Genealogy.

[Ethnic Group] – [State of residence].

Example: Czech Americans -- Texas.

Naturalization Records

Naturalization Records – [Name of Place].

[Name of State, County, or City] – Genealogy.

Passenger Lists

Ships – Passenger Lists.

[Ethnic Group] – Genealogy.

Histories and photographs of passenger ships:

Ship – Registers.

Passenger Ships.

Steamboat Lines.

Oceanliners.

History and Meaning of Surnames

Names, Personal – [Name of Country, Nationality, or Geographic Area].

Example: Names, Personal – Spanish.