If you are just beginning to put together your family tree or are a seasoned genealogist, the Western Reserve Historical Society offers a wealth of resources for genealogy research, including seminars and classes, outstanding collections and more. Click on the links below to discover all the WRHS Library has to offer. 

Genealogical Institute 2009 Class Schedule
 
The following is a list of upcoming classes which will be offered by the Genealogical Institute in 2009.  The Genealogical Committee has been offering yearly classes since the early 1990s. The fee for each class is $15 per person. Space is limited. Reservations are required. Check-in begins at 11:30 a.m. For more information and for reservation forms, contact Roger Ellsworth at 216-229-7887 or email at arby69@sbcglobal.net.
 
Upcoming: 
 
May 2: Genealogical Institute—Exploring Family History

May 16: Genealogical Institute—Intermediate Class—Immigration
Research

Jun 6: Genealogical Institute—Exploring Family History

July 11: Genealogical Institute—Exploring Family History

Aug 1: Genealogical Institute—Intermediate Class—Western Reserve and
Northeast Ohio Research

Sep 12: Genealogical Institute—Exploring Family History

Sep 26: Genealogical Institute—Intermediate Class—Colonial to 1850
Research

Nov 7: Genealogical Institute—Exploring Family History

Nov 21: Genealogical Institute—Intermediate Class—Land, Maps,
Migration Patterns

Dec 5: Genealogical Institute—Exploring Family History

Click here for the Genealogical Institute 2009 flyer. 

April 25:  “Out of the Shoebox! Sharing Your Family History” This is an all day seminar where several speakers will discuss methods you can use to share your family history such as publishing books, web pages, cook books, memory books, photo albums, newsletters etc. This seminar takes place on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at the Western Reserve Historical Society, 10825 East Boulevard, Cleveland. Registration fee is $30.00. If you care to have us provide a box lunch, the fee will be $38.00, payable in advance prior to April 20, 2009.

Into Print (books) ~ John Stoika
Topics: Organization  »   Choosing a Family  »  Type of Book  »  Design  »  Adding Interest  »  Cost

Putting Your Family on the Web ~ Jean Hoffman
Topics:    Creating Web Pages  »   Programs  »  Where to Put It  »  Blogs 

Short Term Projects ~ Panel Discussion with  Dianne Young, Amy Kenneley, Stacie Murry and Wally Huskonen
Topics:    Memory Books  »   Cookbooks  »  Family Newsletters  »  Audio/Visual

Displays ~ Be inspired by a display of examples of ways to share your research results. These displays will be available for viewing in the seminar room.

Click here for the Out of the Shoebox flyer.

June 7: Eastern and Central European Genealogy Research. Robert Jerin, writer, national lecturer, and officer in a number of ethnic societies in the Cleveland area, will present this Sunday afternoon seminar titled “Mystery along the Orient Express and Beyond.” This seminar will focus on European research with subjects such as an overview of the geography and history of the region, ethnic groups, locating the place of origin of your immigrant ancestors, and researching records in Europe and the United States.

This Sunday afternoon seminar takes place in the Library of the Western Reserve Historical Society, 10825 East Boulevard, Cleveland from 12:30 until 3:00 P.M. Registration fee is $25.00.

Subjects will include Geographic and historic overview of the region » Ethnic groups of the region and their origins and surnames » How those surnames may have been modified through immigration » What will you need to know to do your research? Finding ancestors in US documents, including issues of name changes, mis-transcribing of names and illegal immigration » Locating place of origin of your immigrant ancestors » Researching records in Europe » Sharing real life examples »  Questions and comments

Click here for the Eastern and Central European Genealogy Research flyer.

October 24: “Finding Your Ancestors Using New and Time-Tested Resources.” For 2009, the Genealogical Committee is hosting the annual Tri-C GO 2009 seminar at Western Reserve Historical Society.

More information on Tri-C GO will be forthcoming.

For further details on any of these seminars, contact Nancy Leinweber at 440-205-1942 or email nanlbwl@juno.com.

Census, Soundex/Miracode and Related Records

A. All available United States Federal Population Schedules from 1790 through 1930  (microfilm).

B. Complete 1880 and 1900 Soundex. 1910 Miracode for Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. 1920 Soundex for Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,Vermont, and West Virginia.  1930 Soundex for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky(part) and West Virginia(part).

C. 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 Enumeration District Descriptions.

D. Printed census indexes for most states through 1870.

E. 1890 Special Census of Union veterans and their widows.

F. All available mortality schedules for Ohio showing deaths in 1850, 1860, and 1880.

G. Accelerated Index System International ( AISI ) index (microfiche)

H. 1855 New York State census for all available counties

I. United States Census -- Federal non-population census schedules for Ohio, 1850-1880.

J.  AncestryPlus database

Religious Groups

A. Hinshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy with records of meetings in North Carolina, Ohio, New York, and Virginia; supplemented by Willard Heiss’ Quaker records for Indiana.

B. Shaker Records -- Membership file, manuscripts, and printed materials from all Shaker settlements in the northeastern United States (123 microfilm rolls and 1,187 microfiche).

C. New York church records compiled by Vosburgh (13 microfilm rolls), consisting primarily of Dutch Reformed and Lutheran church records from eastern New York.

Immigration & Ethnic Sources

A. Passenger lists for the port of New York, 1820-1841, index covers 1820- 1846; the port of Baltimore, 1820-1879; the port of Philadelphia, 1800- 1819, index covers 1800-1906; the port of San Francisco, 1850-1875.

B. Dutch passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820-1880 (microfiche).

C. Filby’s Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (and all supplements) and many of the sources indexed therein.

D. Morton Allan Directory of European Steamship Arrivals 1890-1930.

E. Filby’s Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliography 1538-1900.

F. The Famine Immigrants,1846-1851 -- Irish immigrants arriving at the port of New York.

G. Many Cleveland newspapers published for ethnic groups such as African- American, Czech, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Jewish, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, and Slovenian. An index to death and marriage notices in the Jewish Review and Observer is complete from 1889 to 1940.

H. Griffith’s Valuations -- Irish tax lists of 1823 to 1864.

I. Germans to America and Italians to America, ed. by Glazier and Filby.

Local Histories & Records: Books

A. City directories for Cleveland, including east and west suburbs, from 1837, and for many other United States cities, late 1800s to the early 1900s.

B. Histories of all Ohio counties, most of which include numerous biographical sketches of residents. Many county and town histories for the original 13 states, the Midwest, and the upper South.

C. Transcribed marriage records of most Ohio counties to 1865 and many Ohio cemetery tombstone inscriptions. Similar records for areas in other states, with extensive recent additions for Illinois and Indiana.

D. Extensive series of published vital records of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, and other eastern states.

E. Late 19th century land-ownership atlases for most Ohio counties.

F. Pennsylvania will abstracts, late 17th century to 1825, for Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties, and marriage and death notices from Philadelphia’s Poulson’s Daily Advertiser, 1791-1839.

G. Index to the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey by Stryker-Rodda, Swem’s Virginia Historical Index, and other historical and genealogical journals with indexes.

H. Henry Baldwin collection of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania genealogical materials in 67 volumes, with a detailed 8-volume index.

WRHS Card Catalogs

A. Main Catalog -- author entries for all published genealogies, subject entries for town and county histories.

B. Family History Catalog -- family surnames, arranged alphabetically.

C. Local History Catalog -- entries by city, county, and state for transcriptions of birth, marriage, cemetery, probate, and tax records, etc. Emphasis on Ohio, New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states.

D. Map and Atlas Catalog -- place-name entries for a collection that covers the United States; includes many detailed state maps and various city maps showing ward boundaries.

E. Manuscripts Catalog -- Title, subject, and name entries for more than 3,000 manuscript collections.

F. Union Catalog of American Genealogies -- Entries by family surname for the genealogies held by the Library of Congress, New York Public Library, Genealogical Society of Utah, and WRHS through ca. 1979.

Local Records: Microforms

A. New England marriages prior to 1700. Compiled by C. A. Torrey (7 rolls)

B. Connecticut State Library Vital Records: Charles R. Hale Collection (358 rolls) of newspaper notices and headstone inscriptions plus the Barbour index to published vital records.

C. Vital Records for Ohio Counties, including tax, deed and probate records for Geauga County. 1800-1850, which included present day Lake County until 1840 (64 rolls).

D. Vital Records for Cuyahoga County, Ohio, including marriages, 1810- 1941, and index, 1810-1988, and auditor’s tax duplicate, 1819-1869.

E. Cleveland Necrology File I & II, alphabetical index to Cleveland newspaper death notices, 1850-1975.

F. Ohio Surname Index (64 rolls) to biographical information in numerous county histories and other Ohio sources. Compiled, 1928-1936.

G. Indiana Biographical Index (16 Fiche) to biographical sketches in numerous county histories and other Indiana sources.

H. Corbin Manuscript Collection in New England Historical and Genealogical Society (55 rolls).

I. Lyman C. Draper Manuscripts (123 rolls).

J. Massachusetts Town Records -- Holbrook Series (3000+ microfiche).

Family Histories

A. More than 18,000 family histories in book, pamphlet, and manuscript form, with many on microfiche (UMI’s Genealogy and Local History Series).

B. Periodical publications of various family associations and genealogical societies.

C. Rider’s American Genealogical-Biographical Index, full name index to many genealogies and related sources. Most of the indexed sources are also available in the library.

D. Genealogical notices from the Boston Transcript, 1896-1941 (microfiche), an important source for New England genealogical research.

E. Kaminkow’s Genealogies in the Library of Congress, with Supplements and Complement.

F. Greenlaw’s descriptive index of genealogies in the library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

G. International Genealogical Index to more than 200 million names recorded in the genealogical files of the Mormon church.

H. Family Registry -- alphabetical list of surnames together with names and addresses of researchers registered with the Mormon church.