Resource Check List

RESOURCES CHECKLIST

Ancestor's Name __________________
Kinship to You ____________________
Soundex code of surname _________

Vital Records Miscellaneous Records
___ Birth ___ Passenger List
___ Baptism/Christening ___ Immigration
___ Marriage Cert/License ___ Naturalization
___ Death ___ Passport Records
___ Divorce/Annulment ___ School Diplomas/Awards
___ Baptism/ ___ School Yearbooks
___ College Records/Yearbook
Census Records ___ Voter Registration Cards
___1790 ___ Drivers License
___1800 ___ Insurance/Auto/Life/Property
___1810 ___ Employee ID Cards
___1820 ___ Tax Lists
___1830 ___ Assessment Rolls
___1840 ___ Doctor/Dentist
___1850 ___ Prison Records
___1860 ___ Military/Retirement Papers
___1870 ___ Pension Applications/Papers
___1880 Soundex ___ Acts/Journals
___1890
___1900 Soundex Land Records
___1910 ___ Deeds
___1920 Soundex ___ Mortgages
___ Leases
State Census Records ___ Recorded Wills
_______________ ___ Power of Attorney
_______________ ___ Maps
_______________ ___ Plats
___ Mortality Schedule ___ Grants
___ Interviews w/ ___ Partition of Property
___ Letters To ___ Foreclosures
___ Homestead Applications
Probate Records ___ Cemetery Records
___ Wills ___ Cemetery/Tombstone
___ Inventories ___ Mortuary Cards
___ Settlement of estates ___ Memorial Books/Cards
___ Guardianships
Library
Home ___ Indexes
___ Family Bible ___ Newspapers/Clippings/Files
___ Scrapbooks ___ City & County Directories, histories
___ Journal/Diaries ___ Occupational histories & record
___ Family Histories ___ Biographical compendia
___ Family Genealogies ___ Manuscript histories
___ Soc Sec.Cards/Info ___ Obituary collections & indexes
___ Newspaper Clippings ___ Cemetery records/grave inscriptions
___ Lodge/Club Records ___ Abstract volumes
___ Employment Records

Thirteen Colonies Jurisdictions

Contemporary documents usually list the thirteen colonies of British North America in geographical order, from the north to the south.

New England colonies

• Province of New Hampshire, later New Hampshire, a crown colony

• Province of Massachusetts Bay, later Massachusetts and Maine, a crown colony

• Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, later Rhode Island, a crown colony

• Connecticut Colony, later Connecticut, a crown colony

Middle colonies

• Province of New York, later New York and Vermont, a crown colony

• Province of New Jersey, later New Jersey, a crown colony

• Province of Pennsylvania, later Pennsylvania, a proprietary colony

• Delaware Colony (before 1776, the Lower Counties on Delaware), later Delaware, a proprietary colony

Southern colonies

Note: Virginia and Maryland comprised the Chesapeake Colonies

• Province of Maryland, later Maryland, a proprietary colony

• Colony and Dominion of Virginia/Virginia Colony, later Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia, a crown colony

• Province of North Carolina, later North Carolina and Tennessee, a crown colony

• Province of South Carolina, later South Carolina, a crown colony

• Province of Georgia, later Georgia, northern sections of Alabama and Mississippi, a crown colony

Other divisions prior to 1730

Dominion of New England

Created in 1685 by a decree from King James II that consolidated Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Province of New York, East Jersey, and West Jersey into a single larger colony. The experiment collapsed after the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, and the nine former colonies re-established their separate identities in 1689.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Settled in 1630 by Puritans from England. The colonial charter was revoked in 1684, and a new charter establishing an enlarged Province of Massachusetts Bay was issued in 1691.

Province of Maine

Settled in 1622 (An earlier attempt to settle the Popham Colony in Sagadahoc, Maine (near present-day Phippsburg and Popham Beach State Park) in 1607 was abandoned after only one year). The Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed the Maine territory (then limited to present-day southernmost Maine) in the 1650s. Parts of Maine east of the Kennebec River were also part of New York in the second half of the 17th century. These areas were formally made part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691.

Plymouth Colony

Settled in 1620 by the Pilgrims. Plymouth was merged into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691.

Saybrook Colony

Founded in 1635 and merged with Connecticut Colony in 1644.

New Haven Colony

Settled in late 1637. New Haven was absorbed by Connecticut Colony with the issuance of the Connecticut Charter in 1662, partly as royal punishment by King Charles II for harboring the regicide judges who sentenced King Charles I to death.

East Jersey and West Jersey

Settled as part of New Netherland in the 1610s, New Jersey was captured (along with New York) by English forces in 1664. New Jersey was divided into two separate colonies in 1674, which were reunited in 1702.

Province of Carolina

Founded in 1663. Carolina colony was divided into two colonies, North Carolina and South Carolina, in 1712. Both colonies became royal colonies in 1729.

(Family Roots & Branches) 

List of U.S. states by date of statehood

This is a list of U.S. states by date of statehood. It has the date when each U.S. state joined the Union. However, Virginia's peoples' convention in May-June 1776 prepared the first Constitution for a State Government, plus a Declaration of Rights. Other Colonies became States in late 1776 and into 1777 and used Virginia's Declaration of Rights as a pattern for their own Declaration. In the 1778 Articles of Confederation, which formed the first national government, it specified the name of the country as "The United States of America", stating "Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated." It also stated "Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States or a Union of State Legislatures. The first 13 States thus were in this Union from 1778 to 1789, when the second national government was established by a Constitution, which, in list of purposes, "in order to form a more perfect Union". This does not make the States enter the Union only when it ratified the U.S. Constitution. 

#   State       Date joined    Colony Founded/What it was called before becoming a state

1   Delaware             Friday, December 7, 1787 ‡       Founded 1638 by New Sweden Company / Province of Delaware

2   Pennsylvania        Wednesday, December 12, 1787 ‡  Founded 1682 by William Penn / Lower Counties on Pensylvania

3   New Jersey          Tuesday, December 18, 1787 ‡   Founded 1664 by Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret / Province of New Jersey

4   Georgia                Wednesday, January 2, 1788 ‡   Founded 1732 by James Oglethorpe / Province of Georgia

5   Connecticut         Wednesday, January 9, 1788 ‡   Founded 1636 by Thomas Hooker / Connecticut Colony

6   Massachusetts      Wednesday, February 6, 1788 ‡ Founded 1620 by Puritans / Province of Massachusetts Bay

7   Maryland             Monday, April 28, 1788 ‡           Founded 1633 by Lord Baltimore / Province of Maryland

8   South Carolina      Friday, May 23, 1788 ‡              Founded 1663 by Nobles with Royal Carhter / Province of South Carolina

9   New Hampshire    Saturday, June 21, 1788 ‡          Founded 1638 by John Mason / Province of New Hampshire

10  Virginia               Wednesday, June 25, 1788 ‡      Founded 1697 by London Company / Virginia Colony

11  New York            Saturday, July 26, 1788 ‡           Founded 1626 by Duke of York / Province of New York

12  North Carolina     Saturday, November 21, 1789 ‡ Founded 1653 by Virginians / Province of North Carolina

13  Rhode Island       Saturday, May 29, 1790 ‡          Founded 1636 by Roger Williams / Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

14  Vermont             Friday, March 4, 1791                Province of New York & New Hampshire Grants (ownership disputed), Vermont Republic

15  Kentucky             Friday, June 1, 1792                  Virginia Colony

16  Tennessee          Wednesday, June 1, 1796          Province of North Carolina, Southwest Territory

17  Ohio                   Tuesday, March 1, 1803*           Northwest Territory

18  Louisiana            Thursday, April 30, 1813            Orleans Territory

19  Indiana                Wednesday, December 11, 1816 Indiana Territory

20  Mississippi          Wednesday, December 10, 1817 Mississippi Territory

21  Illinois                 Thursday, December 3, 1818      Illinois Territory

22  Alabama             Tuesday, December 14, 1819     Alabama Territory

23  Maine                 Wednesday, March 15, 1820      Massachusetts

24  Missouri             Friday, August 10, 1821             Missouri Territory

25  Arkansas             Wednesday, June 15, 1836        Arkansas Territory

26  Michigan            Thursday, January 26, 1837        Michigan Territory

27  Florida                Monday, March 3, 1845            Florida Territory

28  Texas                  Monday, December 29, 1845     Republic of Texas

29  Iowa                   Monday, December 28, 1846     Iowa Territory

30  Wisconsin           Monday, May 29, 1848              Wisconsin Territory

31  California            Monday, September 9, 1850      California Republic, Mexican Cession, Alta California

32  Minnesota          Tuesday, May 11, 1858              Minnesota Territory

33  Oregon                Monday, February 14, 1859       Oregon Territory

34  Kansas                Tuesday, January 29, 1861         Kansas Territory

35  West Virginia       Saturday, June 20, 1863             Virginia

36  Nevada               Monday, October 31, 1864        Nevada Territory

37  Nebraska            Friday, March 1, 1867                Nebraska Territory

38  Colorado             Tuesday, August 1, 1876            Colorado Territory

39  †  North Dakota   Saturday, November 2, 1889      Dakota Territory

40 †  South Dakota    Saturday, November 2, 1889      Dakota Territory

41  Montana             Friday, November 8, 1889          Montana Territory

42 Washington         Monday, November 11, 1889     Part of Oregon Territory, became Washington Territory on March 2, 1853

43  Idaho                  Thursday, July 3, 1890                Idaho Territory

44  Wyoming            Thursday, July 10, 1890             Wyoming Territory

45  Utah                   Saturday, January 4, 1896          Utah Territory

46  Oklahoma           Saturday, November 16, 1907    Oklahoma Territory & Indian Territory

47  New Mexico        Saturday, January 6, 1912          New Mexico Territory

48  Arizona               Wednesday, February 14, 1912  Arizona Territory

49  Alaska                 Saturday, January 3, 1959          Alaska Territory

50  Hawaii                Friday, August 21, 1959             Kingdom of Hawaii

Legend

‡ Date ratified United States Constitution.

*Congress extended federal laws to Ohio on February 19, 1803, but no formal date of statehood was set by the act of admission or a later resolution, as occurred with all other new states. On August 7, 1953, Congress passed a law retroactively making Ohio a state as of March 1, 1803, the date when Ohio's first legislature convened.

† The actual statehood proclamations for North and South Dakota were intentionally shuffled so that no one actually knows which was admitted first. However, North Dakota's was published first in the Statutes at Large (since it is first in the alphabet); hence, it is considered admitted first by most sources (including the US Mint 50 State Quarters program).

State                       Date of Statehood

Alabama                 December 14, 1819

Alaska                     January 03, 1959

Arizona                    February 14, 1912

Arkansas                 June 15, 1836

California                September 09, 1850

Colorado                  August 01, 1876

Connecticut             January 09, 1788

Delaware                December 07, 1787

Florida                     March 03, 1845

Georgia                   January 02, 1788

Hawaii                    August 21, 1959

Idaho                       July 03, 1890

Illinois                     December 03, 1818

Indiana                    December 11, 1816

Iowa                        December 28, 1846

Kansas                     January 29, 1861

Kentucky                  June 01, 1792

Louisiana                 April 30, 1812

Maine                      March 15, 1820

Maryland                 April 28, 1788

Massachusetts        February 06, 1788

Michigan                 January 26, 1837

Minnesota               May 11, 1858

Mississippi              December 10, 1817

Missouri                  August 10, 1821

Montana                 November 08, 1889

Nebraska                 March 01, 1867

Nevada                    October 31, 1864

New Hampshire      June 21, 1788

New Jersey              December 18, 1787

New Mexico            January 06, 1912

New York                 July 26, 1788

North Carolina        November 21, 1789

North Dakota          November 02, 1889

Ohio                        March 01, 1803

Oklahoma               November 16, 1907

Oregon                    February 14, 1859

Pennsylvania           December 12, 1787

Rhode Island           May 29, 1790

South Carolina        May 23, 1788

South Dakota          November 02, 1889

Tennessee               June 01, 1796

Texas                       December 29, 1845

Utah                        January 04, 1896

Vermont                  March 04, 1791

Virginia                   June 25, 1788

Washington            November 11, 1889

West Virginia          June 20, 1863

Wisconsin               May 29, 1848

Wyoming                July 10, 1890

(Family Roots & Branches)

DNA Genealogy Test - five things I've learned

Five Things I've Learned in My Search for My Roots

I admit to more than a casual interest in genealogy shows like PBS’s “Finding Your Roots” and Lifetime’s “Who Do You Think You Are?,” where famous folk find out that they’re descended from Founding Fathers or Scottish Kings. I, too, have been curious about my own genetic makeup, but since I’m not a celebrity, no one’s going to pay for my tests and send a film crew to reveal my results for dramatic effect.

So like more than 12 million people worldwide, I went the DIY route and did a consumer genetic genealogy test — two, in fact. 

Additional story at: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/entertainment/dna-genealogy-tests-five-things-learned-search-for-roots/Rc7hE8POCTgILLAOge5RYI/