Documents Of Our Ancestors - A Selection Of Reproducible Genealogy Forms and Tips for Using Them by Michael J. Meshenberg

Genealogists rely on official documents for most of their ancestral information. Copies of vital records, naturalizations, census enumerations, passenger arrivals, and other less common sources represent key events in the live of ancestors that must be recorded accurately. Most of the time, photocopies can be made from a microfilm, microfiche, book, or other source. Often, however, the quality of the document is poor and the copy may not be fully legible, or it may literally be impossible to reproduce. Every genealogist has had the painstaking experience of trying to make out an obscure name or date off a microfilm reader.

This publication helps fill a void in the material available to genealogists by providing an extensive set of recording and search forms in a format that allows easy reproduction. While many forms are provided, he selection is not comprehensive. The selection includes a large number of forms used to record and obtain data from federal sources, New York State and New York City, plus a variety of other organizations that have material of value to genealogists.

This book offers only some general guidance on finding and using these materials. It doesn't substitute for the in-depth knowledge required before conduction research in an unfamiliar set of records. It also doesn't duplicate research information available elsewhere but suggests some useful reference sources that can explain how to search these materials most efficiently and effectively. Finally, included in each section are some user tips to make the search and recording easier and quicker, that the author has discovered by trial and lots of error (and wasted time).

Although the forms here should be valuable for many genealogists, the set should be particularly beneficial for Jewish genealogists, many of whose ancestors lived for a time in New York City or New York State.