1. Enter search terms sparingly. Add-a-little, add-a-lot.
2. Learn to use wildcard characters, can help you find records for names that are often misspelled. The wildcards can differ from site to site but are often “?” & “*”. Check the databases “Help” section.
3. Look beyond the targets’ name. For example, if you can’t find a man’s birth record can you search for all the boys born to a mother named Emily in Redwood County in 1910?
4. Search for relatives - For example, if you can’t find census records on your direct ancestor, try searching for his siblings or parents.
5. Search abbreviations and shortened versions of names. Jas./Jos./Geo./Wm. Elizabeth – Liz, Lizzie, Eliz., Liza, Betty, Betsy
6. Ignore vowels – replace with wildcards.
7. Assume capitals are incorrect – use wildcards.
8. Reverse the fields – James Smith as Smith James.
9. Check multiple sources who may have each indexed a record, such as looking at census records on Family Search and Ancestry.com.
10. Browse
Minnesota Historical Society Links
Genealogy Page www.mnhs.org/genealogy/
Family History Overview www.mnhs.org/genealogy/family/family.htm
People Finder - Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Veterans Graves, Census http://search.mnhs.org/?brand=people
Finding Aids http://search.mnhs.org/?brand=findaids
Research Services sites.mnhs.org/library/researchservices Native American Family History Research @ MHS and the Science Museum
Dakota Family History www.mnhs.org/genealogy/dakotafamily/
Ojibwe Family History http://libguides.mnhs.org/ojibwefh
In Honor Of The People A Minnesota based site compiling information, photos and materials from the Bishop Whipple collection on American Indians. http://www.inhonorofthepeople.org Other Minnesota Research Sites
Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS) The Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS) is an online service designed for the general public to search and locate official marriage information and to be directed to the county which holds the custodial marriage record. A great source for genealogists! https://www.moms.mn.gov
Minnesota Discovery Center The Minnesota Discovery Center (Iron Range Research Center) has indexed Naturalization Records and the 1918 Alien Registration records for the ENTIRE state of Minnesota. Free search of their database gives you the reel and page number if you have access to the microfilm, or copies are available for a fee. They also have many other records indexed. mndiscoverycenter.com/research-center/genealogy
Minnesota Reflections A Website with over 135,000 images and documents shared by over sixty cultural heritage organizations across the state. reflections.mndigital.org
Dalby Database Compiled information on southern Minnesota genealogy including cemeteries, Civil War information, obituaries, and much more. www.dalbydata.com
Other Sites
New York - Castle Garden Search for passengers entering the Port of New York through Castle Garden from 1820 - 1913. www.castlegarden.org/searcher.php
New York - Ellis Island Search for passengers entering the Port of New York through Ellis Island from 1892 - 1904. www.ellisisland.org/search/passSearch.asp?
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System Information on over 6 million soldiers who served during the Civil War. www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/
Shtetlseeker A great site that allows you to search for European towns and villages. www.jewishgen.org/Communities/LocTown.asp
Cyndi’s List Cyndi’s List is an index of over 330,000 curated genealogical sources available on the internet, vetted and cross-referenced into over 200 plus categories. A virtual card catalog of online genealogy.| http://www.cyndislist.com
Family Search Family history site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. https://familysearch.org
Find A Grave Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and ca note to a loved one's grave, etc. http://www.findagrave.com
Death Index This website is a directory of links to websites with online death indexes, listed by state and county. www.deathindexes.com
U.S. GenWeb Project A volunteer-based project providing free websites for genealogical research in every country and every state of the U.S. www.usgenweb.org
Rootsweb The oldest and largest FREE genealogy website. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com
Ancestry The world’s largest online family history collection that requires membership to view resources. www.ancestry.com