It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.
"Genealogists are generally positive and energetic, and most are ready to share their findings or research experience with anyone they can help. There are hundreds of genealogical societies at the grass-roots level. Knowledge of the genealogical community will place you in the midst of much activity, increase your productivity, and alert you to the importance of research standards and etiquette." Sandra Hargreaves Luebking,
Editor of FGS Forum, Co-editor of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.
For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.
Arkansas Historical Association, 416 Old Main, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701; 479-575-5884, 479-575-2775 FAX
Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 796, Rogers, AR 72756-0796; (479) 273-3890 Serving the Arkansas Counties of Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington
Southwest AR Genealogical Society, % Kitty Reeves Jean, 1022 Lawton Circle, Magnolia, AR 71753
Several statewide, regional, and local genealogical publications are available for Kentucky. Most can be found at either the Kentucky Historical Society, the University of Arkansas Library, the Filson Club Library, regional libraries, or the FHL. Some local libraries maintain copies pertaining to their area. Many genealogical publications are maintained in the Arkansas Genealogical Society's collection housed at the Arkansas Department for Libraries and Archives.
Statewide or regional publications include the following: [ see specific county page for individual county list ]
Two
important early newspapers were the Arkansas Advocate and the
Arkansas Gazette. Abstracts of articles and data from both newspapers
have been published. These volumes are available at the Arkansas
History Commission. A valuable source is the Union List of Arkansas
Newspapers, 1819–1942: Partial Inventory of Arkansas Newspaper
Files Available in Offices of Publishers, Libraries, and Private
Collections in Arkansas which was prepared by the Historical Records
Survey, Division of Community Service Programs, WPA (Little Rock,
Ark.: Historical Records Survey, 1942). Although current publications
are not included, it is an excellent guide to those newspapers
published during the territorial period through the beginning
of World War I.
The Arkansas History Commission maintains files of approximately
700 Arkansas newspapers published at about 200 different places
for the period 1819 to date. It also has an index to the Arkansas
Gazette for 1819 through 1881 and 1964 through 1983.
While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.
Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.
Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.
The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).
