FALLS CHURCH, VA, 23 AUGUST 2021— The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is pleased to announce the publication of two new books as part of its Research in the States series, which now covers research in thirty states and the tribal records of Oklahoma’s American Indians. The newest volumes are Research in Alabama by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, and a new edition of Research in Maryland, by Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL, and Debra A. Hoffman, PLCGS. The books are available in the NGS store in both PDF and print versions.
Both guidebooks provide detailed information on a wealth of resources, including:
- Archives, Libraries, and Societies
- Atlases, Gazetteers, and Maps
- Bible, Cemetery, and Census Records
- Court and other Jurisdictional Records
- Directories and Newspapers
- Ethnic, Land, Probate, and Religious Records
- Military, Naturalization, State, Tax, Vital Records, and more
The guide books include the website address, physical address, and telephone number for each repository.
In Research in Alabama, Garrett-Nelson also reviews archival documentation regarding the state’s enslaved people and its free people of color, including non-traditional repositories. The author covers information on pertinent digital collections and databases such as bills of sale, estate inventories, and letters as well as postbellum records.
Alabama was one of the few states to grant property rights to married women prior to the Civil War. Historical records of testamentary documents, deeds, bills of sale, and more offer a possible pathway for tracing maternal ancestors. These topics and more are thoroughly addressed in Research in Alabama.
Garrett-Nelson is an author, lecturer, and a trustee and president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG). She is the registrar general of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage. Her articles have appeared in NGS Quarterly and the Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
Research in Maryland, New Edition, is an invaluable guide for family historians who seek to trace ancestors who lived in Maryland as well as lands that were once part of the “Maryland Colony,” including Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania as far north as Philadelphia, and parts of what are Virginia and West Virginia. Koford and Hoffman explain the system of land grants during the colonial period as well as after America’s independence. They also discuss Maryland’s court system and its numerous name and jurisdictional changes during and after the colonial period.
Maryland’s state and local governments did not begin to keep records of births and deaths until the late nineteenth century. Research in Maryland reviews other sources including religious records for Anglican/Episcopalian, Baptist, Lutheran and Reformed, Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Quaker religions; and source material for several ethnic groups, including African American, German, Irish, Jewish, and Native American. The authors also describe the resources at Maryland State Archives (MSA) and its Archives of Maryland Online, which includes more than 471,000 historical documents.
Koford is an author and lecturer and Course One coordinator at the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Records (IGHR). She serves on the Board of the ProGen Study Groups, is the executive director of the BCG, and is director of the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records.
Hoffman specializes in Maryland and German research. An author and lecturer, she has presented at IGHR and coordinated the Maryland course at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. She is past co-director of Gen-Fed and recording secretary for the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society.
Research in the States series is edited by Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FUGA, FVGS, a former NGS president and editor of the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Research in Alabama and Research in Maryland are available for purchase in the NGS online store in both PDF and print versions.