Thursday, February 23, 2012

Review - Genealogy at a Glance: Virginia Genealogy Research

The Genealogical Publishing Company in Baltimore has published another in its series of "Genealogy at a Glance" laminated research guides - this time for  Virginia Genealogy Research by Carol McGinnis. 



This "Genealogy at a Glance" booklet has four laminated pages on one 11" x 17" paper (folded). They are designed to give the user the basic elements of genealogy research in the allotted space. They provide an overview of the facts a researcher needs to know in order to begin and proceed successfully with research in the subject.

The  Virginia Genealogy Research folder has these subjects:

* Contents list
* Quick Facts  
*  Settlement Background -- Ancestry of Virginia's Settlers
*  Record Sources -- Vital Records; Church Records; Cemetery Records; Land Records; Probate Records; Military Records
*  Census Returns and Tax Lists
*  Supplementary Sources -- Bible Records, Biographies, and Family Histories; Periodicals and Indexes
*  Major Repositories
*  Online Resources


This booklet is designed primarily for the person who is not an expert, or has no experience, in Virginia genealogy research.  It provides a summary of the fundamentals of research in Virginia, including online resources. Reference books, online databases and websites for each topic are cited in the text.  A researcher wanting additional expertise should rely on quality published books with in-depth knowledge about the resources available.  

For someone like me that teaches and talks about genealogy a bit, it is invaluable because I can pull it out and provide some guidance to my student or colleague interested in the subject.

The beauty of these "Genealogy at a Glance" folders is that they are very light and portable in a briefcase or laptop case. They are fixtures in my research case.

This four-page laminated booklet costs $8.95,  plus postage and handling (4th Class Mail $5.50; FedEx Ground Service in the USA, $7.50). You can order it through the Genealogical Store, or use the link for the Virginia Genealogy Research booklet and click on the "Add to Cart" link.


Disclosure: Genealogical.com contacted me recently and asked me to provide a review of this booklet. They mailed me a review copy for my personal use as remuneration for this review.

No comments: