County Histories

Once again, I am AMAZED by the detail in 18th and 19th century county histories and the clues they give us to trace an ancestor and their family back in time, occupational notes, memberships in local churches and organizations, burial information, marriage information, information on the spouse and his/her birthdate and parents, and usually all of the children born to the couple and then back to the geographic locations of orgin! Even for relatively recent immigrants who made an impression in the local economy or served in the community, there may be entries in the town histories usually also written up in the county histories. Make sure to check the index, if there is one, and check to see if a local genealogical or historical society has produced an index to make your research easier. (I have gone through 600 page county histories page by page searching for ancestors, when there hasn't been an index, and I always keep my fingers crossed that some kind person will have indexed a county history that I may need.)

The indispensable guide to U.S. published county histories is A Bibliography of American County Histories complied by P. William Filby, of course. Organized by state and then listing all of the known county histories, this guide can assist in your quest to flesh out the pedigree charts. Remember to also check for county boundary changes over time, as populations grew, the county may have been divided several times. I find the Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920 by William Thorndale and William Dollarhide most readable for that task. My local Family History Center has a reference copy of both of these books available.