by Gena Philibert Ortega
Finding aids assist genealogists in obtaining the information they need. According to E. Kay Kirkham’s, A Study in Finding Aids for American Genealogical Research, “A finding aid assists in locating additional information, it gives reference to more information along a sustained line of searching in a given area.” One finding aid valuable to the genealogist is encyclopedias. Now most of us are familiar with a standard encyclopedia, whether it be online or in a series of hardback books on our bookshelf. All types of encyclopedias exist that can help researchers increase their genealogical knowledge, provide information about their ancestor’s way of life, and uncover additional clues.
Genealogical Encyclopedias
Sometimes an encyclopedia can provide you with an overview of a subject. Dick Eastman’s Encyclopedia of Genealogy located at http://www.eogen.com/ includes genealogical articles of all kinds. This is a place to find out how to conduct research, what different genealogical terms mean, and where to find historical records. This collaborative website allows you to search on a term and then choose the corresponding articles. Searching on the term “Canadian” brought results ranging from specific terms involved in French Canadian research such as dit names, Filles du Roi, and a generalized article on Canadian townships. In addition, there were general articles on sending cash overseas and research facilities.
The web site Family History 101, http://www.familyhistory101.com/encyclopedia.html, has several online encyclopedias and glossaries that can assist in your genealogical research. GenealogicalAabbreviations; Early Illnesses & Diseases; Early Occupations; Common Nicknames; Tombstone Symbols; Genealogical Terms; and Worldwide Epidemics are all represented here.
Religious Encyclopedias
The Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, 1750-1930 is a six-volume work compiled by William Wade Hinshaw from Quaker monthly meeting records. This work provides information on over 400,000 Quakers that lived in New Jersey, New York, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. This collection is available online through Genealogy.com at http://www.genealogy.com/192facd.html. An index of the encyclopedia is located at http://www.rootsweb.com/~quakers/hinshaw.htm . The actual encyclopedia is available for purchase through various book retailers. It is also available on microfilm through the Family History Library.
An encyclopedia that can assist you in learning more about the
Catholic faith is found at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html. While this will not provide information on your specific Catholic ancestor, it will provide you with a better understanding of their faith. Several other faiths have similar online or encyclopedia books that explain tenants of their religion, including the Encyclopedia of Mormonism by Daniel H. Ludlow (ISBN 0028796063); Seventh-Day Adventist Encyclopedia (ISBN 082800918X); Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online at http://www.gameo.org/; and the Baptist Encyclopedia available at http://www.baptisttop1000.com/Baptist_Encyclopedia.html. A web site provides digitized pages of biographies from the Baptist Encyclopedia (1883) at http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/reference/ref2.htm.
Fraternal Orders
Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry can be found at http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/mackeys_encyclopedia/index.htm. Part of the web site for Phoenximasonary, several e-books can be found here. This encyclopedia is also available as a download for $6.99 at ebookmall at http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/title/encyclopedia-of-freemasonry-mackey-ebooks.htm. For those interested in fraternal and secret societies throughout time there is The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders (ISBN 0816038716). The EH.net Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History has an article entitled Fraternal Sickness Insurance at http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/emery.insurance.fraternal that explains organizations such as Woodmen of the World and the important role they played in the lives of workers.
States
When researching a family it is as important to learn about the time period and locality the family lived as it is to know about the family’s biographical information. This can be especially vital in researching places that you are unfamiliar with. Life is different from one region to another. Learning how a region is different can help us better understand our ancestors.
To better understand your ancestor’s life, you may want to check out an online state encyclopedia. Not every state has one, but those that do include articles on people, localities, events and history that can assist you in researching and understanding your ancestors. These encyclopedias are different from traditional print or online encyclopedias in that they solely focus on a particular state. I have used The Handbook of Texas Online numerous times to research my family and the cities they lived in. This has made it easier to find out more about cities where my ancestors were from but that only exist as ghost towns in present day Texas.
Some examples of state encyclopedias include:
Encyclopedia of Alabama
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
Laptop Encyclopedia of Connecticut History
Floripedia
The New Georgia Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis
The Kentucky Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Louisiana
Maryland Online Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri
Online Nevada Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia of New York
North Carolina Encyclopedia
Ohio History Central
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
The Oregon Encyclopedia
South Carolina Encyclopedia
Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
The Handbook of Texas Online
Utah History Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Virginia
History Link, the free online encyclopedia of Washington state
West Virginia Encyclopedia
