Websites

www.ancestrylibrary.com

The largest and most prolific online repository for genealogy research, Ancestry will prove to be the one-stop shop for most of your needs. While not everything you’ll need is online, its databases continue to expand. Here you’ll find census records (important for locating your ancestor in place and time), vital records (such as marriage, death, and birth records), limited military records, immigration records (such as boat passenger lists), city and church directories, and more. You’ll also find message boards full of others researching genealogy, a learning center full of helpful tips and tricks, and a plethora of charts and forms to help you organize your research. The free library edition can only be used WITHIN the Johnson City Public Library or another library with access to the database. Those wanting to use Ancestry outside the library will have to purchase their own membership.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89058128/ (Johnson City Comet)

In partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Library of Congress has spent years digitizing America’s historic newspapers, making them freely available for download online. This is a phenomenal tool for learning more about the life and times of your ancestors! Try searching using your ancestor’s name and place and see what crops up. There is an option to specify the year range as well as location, which can help locate obituaries or discover the local drama surrounding your ancestor. They have got a sizable collection of the Johnson City Comet (the predecessor of the Johnson City Press) available for research. Please note that this project is ongoing and being frequently updated, so it pays to check back every so often to see if they have added anything new.

www.familysearch.com

One of the more popular genealogy websites, FamilySearch.com is a subsidiary of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Here you will find extensive indexes of census and vital records, as well as a number of genealogy and history related books that have been digitized and made freely available. Access is available from anywhere, but you must sign up for a free account. Some content is hidden due to copyright restrictions and only available from within an LDS Family History Center, such as the one at 211 Mayflower Road here in Johnson City. While both Ancestry and FamilySearch share much of the same information, it pays to search both to be thorough. They both have strengths and they both have weaknesses that can be exploited.

www.findagrave.com

Find a Grave does exactly that, help you find a gravesite. While Ancestry and FamilySearch often includes this resource in its databanks, you can cut out the middle man if you are just looking for your ancestors final resting place. Tombstones provide a plethora of great information such as date of birth and death, all of which will help you narrow down your search on other databases. If you are lucky enough, gravestones might include nickname information, middle initials, spouses, and more. Since many families were buried together or nearby, it is also a great tool for locating other potential relatives. Be warned, however, that tombstones aren’t always 100% accurate. You’ll want to fact check it against other sources you’ve found.

www.google.com/maps

An often-overlooked tool for the busy genealogist, Google Maps can help flesh out your ancestor’s world. Use it in conjunction with historical city directories to find your ancestor’s home or place of employment, see what it has become since then. Do you have photographs of the old family homes? Compare it to today! You can use the “Street View” function by dragging the little yellow man to get down into street level or use the satellite function to view the surrounding area. A particularly useful tool if you don’t have the money, time, or energy to visit them in person. Need some assistance? Consider looking over this guide published by Google on how to use Google Maps Street View: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3093484

https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/HQA

Another one of the big genealogy websites, HeritageQuest is a free resource accessible from home. Here you will find United States Census records, Mortality Schedules, Revolutionary War records, Freedman’s Bank records, and more. It is not quite as handy or as easy to jump into as AncestryLibrary Edition, but the fact that it is freely assessable from home makes it a great tool for the budget conscious genealogist. HeritageQuest access is provided by the Tennessee Electronic Library and thus may only be accessible with a Tennessee IP address. Those outside of Tennessee should consult with their local or state library to see if they access. Have additional questions? Consider consulting this Heritage Quest guide created for the Tennessee Electronic Library: https://tntel.info/resource/heritagequest-online

www.stateoffranklin.net/johnsons

Perhaps the single greatest local resource on the web, Johnson’s Depot is filled with the history of Johnson City as well as historical postcards and photographs. It is a fantastic way to make the history of the area come alive! Many of the photos are marked by both location and era, which will allow you to compare them to contemporary images in Google Maps or by visiting them in person to get a better understanding of your ancestor’s life and times. The website also includes a plethora of downtown fire insurance and Southern railway maps that can be downloaded as PDFs. .Johnson’s Depot notably contains historical information on the Langston School, the only black secondary school before the Johnson City School System integrated in 1965.

https://register.shelby.tn.us/index.php

Don’t let the name fool you, the Shelby County Register has a vast database of Tennesee state-wide records for Death (1949-2014), Divorce (1980-2014), and Marriages (1980-2014). This is EXTREMELY useful for locating obituary records when you’re uncertain of time and place. After all, someone might live their entire life in one county and die in the next by sheer coincidence. Simply put in a name and a potential time frame and you’ll receive a list of names, dates, and county of the deceased. It’s not perfect, but it’s close. Looking for someone after 2014? The Johnson City Public Library also has an obituary index dated from November 2005 to the present for the Johnson City Press. To access, inquire at the Adult Services Information Desk.

https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/health/health-program-areas/vital-records/genealogy-research.html

Researching recent ancestors? Please be cognizant of Tennessee State laws designed to protect the privacy of its citizens. The Tennessee Department of Health maintains birth records for 100 years and death, marriage, and divorce records for 50; after which the records are sent to the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Hit a genealogical brickwall for your 20^th century family members? You may have to wait out the above time limits. Also of note for researchers, Tennessee only mandated birth certificate starting in 1908 and only began in earnest starting in 1914.

Only those named on the certificate or close vital family members (such as spouse and children) may request such information before the document reaches its age limit. If you require verification of information, this link will take you to the State of Tennessee’s forms.

https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/index.html

Hosted by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, the Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA) is a digital repository that provides access to thousands of documents, maps, photographs, and other cultural artifacts related to the history and culture of Tennessee. Looking for scans of Tennessee's founding documents? Photographs of Tennesseans during World War I? How about historic postcards? This is the place for you. Help understand your ancestor’s world by viewing these cultural artifacts. Remember, a good genealogist must also put the “history” in family history. Materials contained within the TeVA are considered fair use for educational, personal, and historical research use. If you're looking to reproduce the materials for inclusion in publications and websites, you must credit them as "Courtesy of Tennessee State Library & Archives."