I thought would be interesting to look back at the actual homes my ancestors lived in. Starting with the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, the very first column says "Name of Street". The enumerator was supposed to fill in the street name - if they did, it is usally written sideways across the columns. The second column is for "House Number". Armed with that information, I thought it should be easy to got to Google Maps (or any other map program) and look it up by address and see what the house looked like.

 

So, I started with a great-grandfather. I thought since he lived from the 1870s into the 1930s it would be easy to find his homes. What I found was that the 1880 Census did list his address, but the actual picture on Goggle's Streetview, it was obscured by trees. The 1900 Census (remember the 1890 doesn't really exisit) had information for a rent house, but that too, could not be easily identified. It looks like the house numbers changed or the original street eventually had a through steet cut across it, wiping out the homes. I got lucky with the 1910 Census and could actually find the address! Below is the picture, in Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went on to look for various other great and great-great grandparent's houses but did not have a whole lot of luck. It seems the mid-west ennumerators didn't feel they had to fill in the street address. I usually found, no street listed, but the house number; just the street with no house number; nothing listed at all and when I did have the entire address and mapped it, I saw just a parking lot or empty field. I persisted though, and below is a picture of a 3rd great-grandfather's house in Kansas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and a picture of my great-grandparents house, also in Kansas.

I say, give it a try and hope the census takers for your relatives were more diligent - or maybe you will find, oryou already have other records with the address!

I visited the Kansas State Archives a couple of years ago and while there viewed a cache of letters written between some of my Quaker ancestors. The letters were written in 1855 from John Milton Hadley urging my ancestors, Allens and Weesners, (and part of his family by marriages) to move to the "paradise" of Kansas as soon as possible. He was starting a Vegetarian/Water Cure Colony and needed settlers. I Googled "1855 Quaker vegetarianism and water cure" and turned up a story about John Milton Hadley. Interesting reading! 

 

However, the point is that I found the original letters in the Kansas State Archives. I had written to the archive earlier and was told they would not copy records for me, but I could hire a local person to do it. Having family there, I opted to go there myself and see my relatives at the same time. My Uncle and I had a wonderful day in the archive digging through boxes of records and pictures of our family.

 

If you have not tried searching for records within a State Archive, I urge you to give it a try, Some places will make copies for a small fee, some may be in a town you want to visit or you might be able to hire a local historian to do the research and make copies for you.

 

Here is a list of links to all of the US State Archives:

 

 

Try it - you may find letters, pictures, patent copies, family histories, who knows!

Do you have a library card? Have you used it to access online resources at the library? While this article will be geared toward the San Angelo library – it may hold true for other libraries out of town – so be sure and check.

 

The Tom Green County Library System has some great online resources for genealogists.  You must have a current library card to access them and a pin number of password. Go to www.tgclibrary.com  and choose “Adult Services” from the top line menu.  When that page opens, choose “Genealogy” from the left side menu. This page will have seven options. You will see a brief description of each option next to the name. If you click on an item, this is when you will be asked for a library card number and a pin or password.

This is the current list.

All of the above sites, other than Family Search, require a library card number and a pin number to access them. You will need to call or email the library to get set up (contact info is below those selections). Alternately, you can go to the library and use the computer that is set up for direct access to these websites. It's on the 2nd floor of the central library in the genealogy area.

 

Also, the West Texas Collection, located inside the Mayer Museum on the ASU campus, has access to Fold3 and Ancestry, but you must go to that location to use their computers as they don't offer online access. While you are there, check out the bookshelves with genealogy and history books from every state.

 

This is a free and easy way to do some research if you do not have access to these websites at home!

 

 

Do you have relatives or ancestors who fought in a War or Conflict? Have you used used Fold3 to find information on those people? If not, Fold3 is a military information website currently owned by Ancestry that holds a wealth of information that you need to try! It is a subscription site, which means you will have to subscribe OR check with your local public library to see if they have the Fold3 Library Edition - if so, you can access it for no charge.

 

Here in San Angelo, the Stephens Central Library downtown does have Fold3 and all you need to do to access it for free is to go through TexShare at the Tom Green County website. You will just need is a password, which you can get by calling the reference desk. Go to TGCLibrary to get started. Pick "Adult Services", then "Genealogy" (call the library first). For those out of town or out of state - check your local library!

 

 

 

 

Once the results are displayed, there will be an image, on the left, of each record choice. It will also show if there is more than one page of records for that person. It will help to know where the ancestor lived and where he might possibly have enlisted so that as you look at the records you can determine if it is the person you are researching. In my example below, I knew he fought in the Mexican-American War. I didn't know about these records, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever is found can be downloaded, each page separately. There is an "Actions..." button at the top right of the image that will access the "Download" or "Print" process. If you download, you can chose JPG or PDF and either the whole page or just a section of it. If you are at home you can choose to print to your printer, at a library it is best to ask if a printer is available and what the fee is to use it. These records can contain so much information about the ancestor's military service, his rank, pay, the commander, and possibly pension.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it is October already and perhaps we should go with a bit of a Halloween theme? Let's give it a try.

 

First, if you plan to visit a cemetery, don't go at night when there may be ghosts about! Go during the day and do take pictures. You will want to get the cemetery name, usually on a sign at the entrance, and when the grave of interest is located, take pictures of the tombstone(s), a close-up of the details on the tombstone and if it is found in a family plot, you may want a picture of the plot and the other family graves found within.  It is also a good time to tidy up around the graves, pulling weeds, removing dead flowers, etc. 

 

If you have had trouble finding relatives on the census, don't forget to check the Mortality Schedules. These were included with the Federal Censuses from 1850 - 1880. These additional schedules recorded the deaths within the 12 months prior to that census date. They will inlcude the decedent's name, death date, where born, age, occupation, cause of death and length of illness. Quite a lot of information!

 

Do you think (or know) that you had a Witch in the family? The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man died under torture after refusing to enter a plea, and at least five people died in the disease-ridden jails.

 

This is an interesting link with information about the trials: https://famous-trials.com/salem  Next, is a Wikipedia page that lists those who were accused, executed and some who survived. You may find an ancestor on the list! https://famous-trials.com/salem 

 

If you have a Vampire in the family, you may already know it, since they tend to live on and on and on.... what a great resource for family stories! Otherwise, Family Search has a Wiki for researching Transylvanian ancestors that may be helpful if you have family from that part of the world. It is best if you know the town or area the ancestor is from, but look anyway.  

 

Here is probably more than you want to know about Vlad the Impaler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_the_Impaler Several online sources say that King Charles is related to Vlad, so if you trace back to the Royal family, you might want to look into that! If you are related to Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee (among others) you can legitimately claim a Vampire in the family.

 

Finally, you may be related to Frankenstein if Boris Karloff or Peter Boyle are in your family tree; Nosferatu if you are related to Max Schrek; a Mummy if you find Boris Karloff or Arnold Vosloo in your tree; and a Wolfman if you can include Lon Chaney, Jr. or Michael Landon in your list of relatives.

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Have you ever struck out in trying to find an online record? We all have! There is a family story about why my great-grandmother, Theressa McMahan, eloped. It was because her parents did not approve of the man she was in love with, Clarence L Myers. The reason they did not approve was because he had a prior marriage! I searched marriage records for years trying to find proof of that first marriage.

 

I have a copy of Theressa and Clarence's marriage certifiate, so I know when and where they married, but nothing on a first marriage for Clarence. One day a hint popped up on Ancestry and indicated a marriage between a Clarence Myers and an Iva Palmer in Jefferson Illinois, 1902. I didn't know if this was my Clarence, but there was no image to get any other information off of. I decided to go into Family Search and look at their image collection. It can be tedious going through images (it's like turning the pages of the actual book) but sometimes it pays off. 

 

To search images, go to familysearch.org and login (be sure to create a user name and password so you can view the images) - it is a free site. Once logged in, select Search from the menu across the top of the page. Then select Images and fill in the State. I filled in Illinois. There were 40 pages of indexed titles for the State. I next went to the right  side of the page where I could choose the county. I put in Jefferson. There were now only 5 pages of indexed records. The only marriage records were for Mount Vernon, so I chose "Marriage Registers:Mount Vernon 1891-1904". There were 3 volumes. I chose the first and just picked a random page to look at. It was marriages in 1891. I went to the last page in that group and it ended in 1901. The second volume was just 1901 and the third volume was 1902 and on. I did not know which month the marriage took place, but it was the correct year. I had to go page by page (using the arrow that appears when hovering near the right edge of the page). I did find the record! It was May 28, 1902. The record lists his parent's names, his age and where he was from. I also found out he was a Telegraph Operator. This confirmed it was my Clarence Myers.

Like I said, it can be time consuming to go through the actual record books, page by page, but sometimes it is worth it to solve a mystery!

Do you have ancestors in the UK? Did you know there are free data bases for birth, marriage and death records (called BMD) and for  censuses and parish records?

 

FreeBMD https://www.freebmd.org.uk/ is an ongoing project, where volunteers are transcribing the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and they provide free Internet access to the transcribed records.

 

This is a part of the Free UK Genealogy family, which also includes FreeCEN (Census data) https://www.freecen.org.uk/ and FreeREG (Parish Registers) https://www.freereg.org.uk/. All are ongoing projects so new records are continually being added.

 

To search the records that have been transcribed by FreeBMD just click on the Search button in the bottom left of the page. The choose "all" records or individual records for birth, marriage or death. You can only fill in the date if it is a death record. FreeCEN and Free REG are a little easier to navigate - I think they are newer websites.  If you find a person on FreeCEN, you can view the information such as other family members, locations and street address (fun to look up the house on Google Maps). On FreeReg  the record type needs to be checked (on left side of form) and fill in as much or as little info as you want. 

 

It's been fiun exploring - and finding records - so why don't you give it a try!

 

Amy Johnson Crow is a well known genealogist and also the creator of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge (mentioned in a prior post). I was looking for genealogy research tips and topics on YouTube - there are a lot! - and came across her page.

 

I watched a new video about the NEW Enhanced Matching tool for Ancestry DNA accounts. She explains how it works and why it is beneficial all in about 4 minutes. This tool does require and added subscription on top of the one you may already have, it's called Pro Tools.

 

She addresses a wide variety of other genealogy topics and tips in other videos and each one shows in the corner how long the vidieo lasts. If you would like to try out a few:

https://www.youtube.com/@AmyJohnsonCrow  (clicking the link wil open a new tab in your browser)

 

What I normally do with my DNA matches is look at our Shared Matches, then I try to figure out where in family tree we match. Of course my hope is that the shared ancestor just pops right out and the match has a  huge tree with all the info I need. In my dreams! I will probably bite the bullet and subscribe to get the added tools and hope for the best!

Have you heard about the Orphan Trains?

 

I was looking at the blog (Vita Brevis) on American Ancestors website and came across an article about it.

 

These trains ran between 1854 and 1829. There were more than 30,000 children living on the streets in New York when it all started and eventually these trains transported 250,000 abandoned, neglected and orphan children to new homes. Many were initially taken to a children's or foundling hospital and were sent by trains from there.

 

Charles Brice founded the Childrens Aid Society and came up with the idea of sending children to other cities and states to be adopted. Advertisements were sent to the cities where the trains would stop and protocols were established to place children with new families.  The adoptive family was required to sign a contract in which they promised fair treatment and education for the children - although many were just looking for a child to use as a laborer. There was no follow-up to see if the families honored the contract. The trains usually arrived with thirty or forty children accompanied by some society members. At each stop, the children were lined up on a stage and inspected. Then a child would be chosen, the contract signed and just like that, the family had a new member.

 

If you are looking for a missing relative and suspect an "adoption" or foster situation, tied to the orphan trains, be sure to look closely at the censuses for children with a New York place of birth living with a family from someplace else. Many of the 1900 and 1910 census enumerators listed these children as adopted or orphan. Some children had a hard life, while others were fully integrated into the family and even took on that familie's surname. 

 

I guess the point of this article is to check the censuses carefully and look for discrepencies. I also suggest you read the article linked above for more information!

We are coming up on Memorial Day. which is, as you know, a day set aside to remember those who died in military service. 

 

Do you have relatives or ancestors who were in the military? Do you know where to look for clues?

 

Here are some ideas:

 

 

Ancestral Findings is a website I have used for more than 10 years. It is run by Will Moneymaker who has been a genealogist for years. He offers tips, free look-ups, giveaway books and free podcasts (with the text to read if you don't want to, or can't listen). I signed up and I get weekly emails with the free look-up information, the upcoming podcasts, free books and give-aways. I have actually had him look up some info for me in the past. It was helpful. The looks-ups change, so you need to keep and eye out for a time when it might help you with an ancestor's information.

 

You can also follow this site on Facebook. Just use the Search Facebook magnifier glass (icon), at the top left, on your Facebook page and type in Ancestral Findings, then when it pops up, click on the name to get to the main page. If you click on "like" at the top right, you will see posts on your Facebook page in the future. There will be several topics that play on YouTube that you can click to go to. There is also a section to become a member or to create a login. I have not done this, but it's your choice if you want to join.

 

I hope you will find this a useful site!

Do you have Quaker ancestors? 

 

The Society of Friends, also called Quakers, immigrated to the American colonies from England and other parts of Europe due to religious persecution. They first arrived in Massachusetts in 1656, but faced persecution there and moved on to other colonies. By 1750, Quakers had settlements in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, New York, Maryland, and both North and South Carolina. They also heavily settled and had influence in the colonies of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

 

Happy hunting!

Just because someone tells you something, doesn't mean that it's true. The same goes for the genealogical records we use. Just because a source record gives you a certain piece of information, it doesn't mean that the information is correct.

 

Have you ever searched census records for a relative and finally found a record that could be the right one, has correct dates, maybe even a correct spouse or list of children - but the name is all wrong?

 

We all have! There are just a few things to keep in mind:

Here is one example:

I was looking for Irena Greene – most commonly listed as Arena Green, and I found this:

 

 

I believe the enumerator wrote Oreena  Green but it got transcribed as Oceena Green. It is the correct person because she has her two daughters with her, Angelina and Almeda (notice how their names got spelled!) You can see how the transcription mistake was made. So please look carefully at those records and see if you actually do have the correct person after all!

It seems most of us family historians are familiar with Find-a-Grave. It is well-known and also owned by Ancestry, so you get hints for that site if you are an Ancestry subscriber.  Early on, I ran across Billion Graves. (https://billiongraves.com) I did not have much luck locating any of my family's graves so I kind of forgot about it.

 

BillionGraves is now tagged as the world's largest resource for searchable GPS cemetery data. That means the people who add to the database actually go to the cemeteries, take pictures and mark the exact GPS location. So it you want to visit a particular gaveyard to see a family member's tombstone, you will be able to find it by GPS. Pretty slick!

 

I do subsribe to their blog, (https://blog.billiongraves.com/) so recently, after reading the current entry, I decided to visit the site and so some searching. I had been unable to locate my grandparents burial in AZ. There were 2 cemeteries with the same name and neither had my grandparents on Find-a-Grave. I typed in the names on BillionGraves and lo and behold, there they were!

 

Was your ancestor an inventor? Did that person patent their idea? Want to find out?

 

One day I ran across a Google patent database. I started typing in names and, lo and behold, I found my great-grandfather. He was quite prolific in his ideas and went on to patent those ideas - I found 17 patents!  Below is an example of what I found.

 

Give it a try! Just go to https://patents.google.com/ and type in a last name or for a more precise search, the first name and last name in quotes (ex: "John Doe".)

 

Have fun and I hope you find some family inventors!

 

Have you ever used RootsWeb? 

 

It used to be the "go-to" source for free family histories, genealogy webpages and other topics of interest. Over time, it was bought by Ancestry and things changed. A lot of content providers left or moved their information to other website hosts - that's why Googling the surnames or locations you are interested in can turn up family webpages you might not otherwise find!

 

RootsWeb does still exist (www.rootsweb.com) and now would be a good time to take a look before it changes again or goes away. I went to the site and found this banner at the top of the page: 

 

"Hosted websites will become read-only beginning in early 2024.

At that time, all logins will be disabled, but hosted sites will remain on RootsWeb as static content. 
Website owners wishing to maintain their sites must migrate to a different hosting provider before 2024."

 

This means that the websites/pages currently found on RootsWeb will remain as they are, in early 2024, but will no longer be accessible by the owners to update or add information. Some owners may be OK with that, but I expect many will move to another hosting site.

 

So, go visit RootsWeb now while there is still a fair amount of content. Just type the link (shown above) in your browser, or click on it from here when you are ready to explore. 

 

You will arrive at the main page. There are a few choices, but this time go to Hosted Websites and click Search Now. Once on that page, you will have two choices, Free Pages and WWW. Try Free Pages first then go back and try WWW. There are several choices within those selections - I usually start with Family or Genealogy (feel free to explore the others). Then, an alphabet list will come up. This is where it becomes cumbersome. Choose the letter that corresponds with the first letter of the surname you are interested in. A long list will appear in alphabetic order. Scroll down the list to see if the name you are interested in is there. If so, click the link and you will be redirected to that webpage.

 

Alternately, if you use the Chrome or Edge browser, there is a helpful tool located in the top right corner of the screen. Look for 3 dots (on Chrome they are vertical, on Edge horizontal). Click on the dots. In Chrome, go down the list to "Find and Edit", on Edge it will be "Find on page", click that and a small box pops up. Just type in the name or word you are looking for. If it is anywhere on the page, it will show how many occurrences (if any) next to the name that was typed in. Use the down arrow (v) to navigate to that name. TIP - on a Windows PC just hold down the CTRL key and the F key at the same time to open the Find window. On Apple products, I believe it is the Command key and the F key. 

 

So, go exploring on RootsWeb! Who knows what you might find!

You may subscribe to a newspaper archive like Newspapers.com or GenealogyBank.com, but did you know there are also some free resources for newspaper research?

 

My favorite is Chronicling America (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/)  from the Library of Congress. They have newspapers from 1770 - 1963 and it's easy to use. Once you bring up the site, you can choose the State, date range and search word(s). You could use a last name, a location, a subject. When the results come up there will be thumbnail images of the newspapers which contain your search word. The location of that word, in each paper, is highlited in orange (or maybe it's pink?) Click on the newspaper of interest and then double click several times to enlarge it, or use the menu options at the top left. There is also an option to go "back to search results" when you are through looking (and maybe downloading) that paper. I found a lot of my Midwest family on this site. Maybe you will have some luck too!

 

If you are looking for just Texas newspapers, try The Portal to Texas History's Texas Digital Newspaper Program  https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TDNP/  There is an option to fill in a name, place or subject and search the entire collection, but I often use the "Other Search Options" located right above the blue "Search" button and choose "Guided Search". Using this I can type in an entire name, date range and if I want, locations or collections (I usually just leave those as they are). You can doulble click or use the menu options to enlarge the papers and the key word will be highlighted in yellow (unless it's light orange, LOL!)  Also, after clicking on a newspaper, on the left menu is an option to "Search Inside" and below that "Matching Results". Click on that to see a transcription of the article where your search word appears. I have found some interesting family information in the small town newspapers. If you want to visit an archive in person, or get a library loan or other access to Texas Newspapers, here are several resources from the Texas State Library: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/newspapers

 

I have had some marignal success with The Ancestor Hunter newspaper links - be warned, there are a lot of adds to scroll past. https://theancestorhunt.com/newspaper-research-links.html Just scroll down the page until you get to the list of States and choose the State that interessts you. The next screen will list all of the towns where the newspapers are located, so just pick your location. There are often not too many papers to look at, but it might be worth a try!

 

Of course, you can always just Google "historic newspapers (fill in location)". Happy hunting!

Do you know or suspect that you have an ancestor who particpated in the Revolutionary War?

 

Have you a name for that person? If so, you can access the Daughters of the American Revolution database to see if that ancestor has been recorded. You will need the last name, at the very least, but if you have the first name, even better. If your ancestor is listed, you should be able to get the lineage that was submitted plus any supporrting documents (for a small fee). 

 

To take a look, go to https://www.dar.org/.  Be sure to read through the information on that main page. Then, click the menu item near the top that says Genealogy. There is a lot of helpful information on that page, but if you want to dive right in, click Ancestor Search (in blue) to the right, under Genealogical Research. You will see a form where you must fill in any one (or all) three fields marked with an asterisk in red. The search results will hopefully return a list of names and some information to help you identify the correct person.

 

There will be an Ancestor # and a purple icon with an image of a person in the right corner. Clicking the Ancestor # will return a list of all DAR members who submitted that Patriot's lineage to become members. Clicking the purple icon will return information on that Patriot, such as birthdate, residence, Military service, spouse. It will also show the DAR members attached to that Patriot and if there are supporting documents (S) and/or a descendants list (D). You can purchase copies of either or both. By clicking Nat'l Num, a listing appears with some of the Patriot's information and an opportunity to buy a copy with all of the information. Click on the Patriot's name for a partial descendant list. It's a good start to verifyiing the lineage that you may have in your family tree. It might even fill in some blanks. You can also tell if you have the correct person. 

 

In my case, I had my grandmother's DAR application and membership papers, so I had the name as well as the Ancestor number. I was doing background research in order to join the DAR. It turned out that the 4 people who "got in" on my ancestor, including my grandmother, did not submit enough proof by today's standards, so I got a message that basically said "there is something wrong with this file".  That meant that there was not enough documentary evidence to prove my ancestor was actually related to the Patriot, as claimed. I ultimately had to prove a relationship between the Patriot and my known ancestor (they were father and son). I did order the supporting documents and got a copy of the descendants and the family bible pages which confirmed quite a few names and relationships I had speculated about. It was worth the effort, for me, to get this information!

 

Have you ever been looking and looking and looking for some bit of information for a certain relative? It is SO frustrating to not find anything! Sometimes I just have to take a break and noodle around with some websites that likely won't turn up anything significant (but might!) and are just kind of fun. Click on the name of the site below and a window will pop up! Have fun!

 

First is Behind the Name to look up the origin and meaning of first names. I found this useful when I was trying to determine if some names in my family tree were real or made-up (like Benejah, Hopestill and Orange, brother of Polantis). For surnames try, Surname DB. If the name is found, it will show the origin, alternate spellings and a little history. I was testing the family story of our name's origin....it was not accurate.

 

If you are hoping to find an old picture, you may get lucky on Dead Fred. It is a site where people can upload old photos they find in thrift or antique stores and hope they can find the family they belong to. 

 

Here is a glossary of ancient diseases just scroll down to find out what Apoplexy or Mormal really is. It's helpful when you find that an ancestor died of ... what? There is also a numeric "code" written on some death certicates near the "cause of death" section. What's that all about? Find out what it means HERE. Note - you will choose the list by the date or date range of the death certificate.

 

Perhaps you are wondering if an ancestor invented something and registered a patent. Google has a database for that! You can look up Google Patents or just click HERE. Type in the person's name. I found 16 for one great-grandfather. I searched by his whole name (first, middle, last); his first name, last name; first name, middle initial and last name; first name initial, middle name initial and last name. Who knew?

 

Want to know what a symbol on a headstone means? Headstone Emblems may have the answer. There are more at Gravestone Symbols

 

Now, back to ancestor researching!

I ran across this website (again) today and decided I'd better put the link on here for everyone to try it!

 

 

Access Genealogy has a very large collection of free genealogy collections for research within the USA. Specifically, they provide sources for birth records, death records, marriage records, census records, tax records, church records, court records, military records, historical newspapers, cemeteries, and ethnic records. They also provide some historical details about different times and people in America’s history. They specialize in Native American records, so expect to find quite a few - maybe some you haven't seen before.

 

There is an easy access menu bar across the top of the page, but be sure "page down" to see the topics they are highlighting. You can also subscribe to get an email update of new records and databases as they are added. On the right side of the main page is a search feature as well as all of the States listed. This makes it easy to jump right in! So go ahead, check it out!

 

 

Have you looked at TXGenWeb lately? (http://www.txgenweb.org/) This site was created to give people searching for ancestors within Texas, free access to transcribed records - and they have been doing this for 25 years so there is a wealth of information to be discovered.

 

TXGenWeb is a group of coordinators who each “adopt” a county and then get volunteer helpers to transcribe and upload information relevant to that area. In fact, each county will have a link to the surrounding counties as well. It’s easy to navigate, just follow the top-level menu. Click on "Counties" to get started and see which counties have information online.

 

It does appear every county has been adopted (as shown by being in underlined, blue text). When I first started using this site, about 15 years ago, not all the counties were clickable (meaning there was no info on that county yet).  Clicking on “Records” will show links to what they have onsite and links to offsite repositories. “Special Projects” has some old post cards, Texas Archives found on USGenWeb (a similar project encompassing the entire Unite States) and other projects of interest. Click on each item and see what you find.

 

I clicked on Tom Green County and found a nicely done page with links for Biographies, Cemetery Inscriptions, Censuses, etc.  (https://tomgreencotxgenweb.com/) Keep in mind that every county’s webpage will look different and have different sorts of information. This is all done by volunteers and each coordinator is responsible for putting info and laying out their own county page, so some may have more or less information than others. You can certainly volunteer to add information by contacting the coordinators.

 

Each page has, somewhere on it, the last time it was updated. Doing a spot check showed me that most county pages have at least 2020 – 2022 dates, which means the page is actively being monitored and updated  - and that means more and more information is being made available!

 

I suggest you visit TXGenWeb and see what you find!