RALEIGH – The identity of the first baby born in North Carolina in 2009 will probably be known before New Years’ Day breakfast. The identity of the first baby born in North Carolina in 1909 still probably is unknown. If a baby was lucky, someone recorded its birth in the family Bible, but it was not until October 1913 that the state began recording births and deaths.
Finding facts about people from the past can be tough. Some researchers spend holidays and vacations tracing family links. Last fiscal year (July 2007-June 2008), 6,251 came to the State Library of North Carolina Genealogy Branch seeking such information. Amateur and professional genealogists discover published family histories, census records, abstracts of county, state and federal records, genealogy research databases and much more information about relatives who lived and died in North Carolina. About 8,000 researchers used the services online.
“We have people from all over the country, even England, Australia; somebody came from China last year,” explains genealogy reference librarian Pam Toms. “So many families started out in Virginia or the Carolinas and headed out West.”
Tracing family history sometimes is among New Year’s resolutions, and there are many tools to help get started at http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/iss/gr/starting.htm. There are many free resources to assist anyone interested in tracing their family tree in the State Library and also in the State Archives, where records of North Carolina land transactions, manuscripts, tax records, and General Assembly and higher court records are stored.
Toms recalls an African American researcher whose sister said to her at her mother’s funeral, “We’re all that’s left,” to which her sister replied, “No we’re not and we’re going to find the rest of us.”
So the sure sister began researching the family, coming into the State Library after work and on weekends. “She brought her husband and children, and put them to work,” Toms recalls. “and after two years she had a huge family reunion.”
People often come to do research in the summer as family reunions approach, but Toms warns not to wait until two weeks before the event to get started. She also advises visitors to write down and also electronically record interviews with older family members to add to family histories.
Federal census records are a great starting point for back tracking the family tree. Records were recorded as early as 1790, but only listed the head of household. Surviving records for the U.S. from 1790 to 1890 are on microfilm in the State Library, as are records for other Southern states. Because of privacy laws, the most recent census that the public can view is from 1930.
Census records from 1790 to 1860 also enumerated slaves, but not by name. To find slave records, the researcher will need to learn as much as possible about the owner’s family, in-laws and children. The 1870 federal census is the first to name all African Americans. Federal census enumerators also were instructed in 1870 to report race as Chinese and Indian. Previous census reports showed white, black or mulatto only. Native Americans often were designated as mulatto or black. From 1890 on, enumerators were instructed to include Japanese, and by 1930 census takers were told to list persons born in Mexico or to parents born in Mexico as Mexicans.
In addition to census microfilm and print indexes, the online database Ancestry Library Edition is available onsite for free to library users as well as the HeritageQuest database. Both offer many collections of census schedules and name indexes. Ancestry Library Edition offers additional birth, death, and other records through individual subscription purchase. HeritageQuest is available through NCLIVE at local libraries too. It includes census information, family and local history books, and more.
“Sometimes they don’t have a lot,” Toms says of researchers. “They should have names, places, and some approximate date of the last known person they are sure about. Some give a birth date of the 1800s. That’s pretty broad.”
For information on the State Library Genealogy Branch call 919-807-7460 or go to www.ncculture.com and select Libraries on the left for the link to the State Library and genealogists. For information on the State Archives call 919-807-7310 or visit www.ncculture.com and select History for the link to the Office of Archives and History.
The State Library and the State Archives are within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. Now observing the 2008 theme “Telling Our Stories” and podcasting 24/7 with information about the Department of Cultural Resources, all available at www.ncculture.com.