Breland, Claudia C. Genealogy Offline: a Beginner's Guide
to Family History Records That Are Not Online. 2013. 131 pp. ISBN
978-1490463889, paper, $12.95; Kindle eBook, $7.95.
Although the title clearly states this helpful book is designed
for beginners, many experienced genealogists will also be delighted with
Breland's guide to tracking down original records that are not online.
Why the emphasis on offline records? Breland is definitely not PC
or Mac-phobic. As a librarian and teacher she knows the value of online
research as well at its limitations. Her primary goal is to encourage all
researchers to seek out original documents from archives and other institutions
if/when online material is inadequate. While transcriptions, indexes, and
abstracts of original documents may be found online, they are often incomplete
or contain errors. As part of a thorough research, the conscientious genealogist always pursues
the original record.
Each chapter in Genealogy
Offline is devoted to a
different U. S. record type, such as adoption, land, probate, and
naturalization records. The author provides quick, highly readable
descriptions of each record type, what you can learn from them, how to locate
original documents, and even which online tools will facilitate your searches.
Lots of examples explain her techniques, although accompanying photos are often
unclear and hard to read.
While newbie genealogists will certainly gain from using this
book, more experienced genealogists will gain tips on how to track down the
records from which derivative abstracts, indexes and transcriptions are
created. In the near future, Breland also plans a sequel, Genealogy Offline 2, which
promises to show us how to track down even more elusive records, such as
photos, hospital records, and manuscripts.
For this review, I purchased a paperback copy. At the time of
writing this post, the best way to read this book is to buy it since
availability through public libraries is limited. With both Kindle and
paperback formats for sale at amazon.com, I am sure you'll find this a
worthwhile, inexpensive purchase.
