Articles by Shannon Bennett

• Posted on October 28, 2014October 24, 2014
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Marriage and Death

Another week, another couple of modules! I am still learning great information from the course US: Vital Records, Understanding and Using The Records  and I think you will find the information interesting too. Modules 3 and 4 covered death and marriage, which I hope you remember from my introduction post  was what I was most  interested in reading more about. I thought it was wonderful that the instructor took the time to explain the differences in civil and church records for marriages. Many people are confused by this topic and because of their confusion don’t always look in the correct places for the documents they need. So we are all on the same page, civil records are the certificate, license, or register of return that is kept at the clerk’s office usually in the county seat. Church records would be the register of marriages that the clergy keep as a record of what occurred in the church and when. The records kept at the clerk’s office is what you should think of as the vital record. In addition to the explanation of what the differences in record types are we were also given search strategies on how to locate those records. The course author gave us tips on extracting and pulling information from common sources (like the U.S. Census) and not so common sources (newspaper articles). Bible records were also discussed since they can be used as clues for locating birth, marriage, and death records. I am still waiting to…

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• Posted on October 24, 2014September 23, 2019
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Alternatives to Vital Records

by Shannon Combs Bennett, Student Alright, down to the final modules before I take the exam. The last two modules covered birth records and other documents that a researcher could use in the place of vital records. Which, if you have ancestors particularly in southern states, you need all the alternative ideas on finding records you can find.   I did know a lot of the alternative resources listed, but there were a few that made me think and want to explore more.  As I alluded to above, some states and counties have nearly non-existent records. If you are doing research in a burned county or a place that had a large natural disaster you will need to figure out ways to work around traditional vital records. The list was extensive for alternative places that you could find vital records information, and I wanted to share a few here with you. Court records (one of my favorite places to look, by the way Chancery records are amazing!) Military records (have you seen what a pension file can hold?) Immigration records (I am envious of those of you who can look here.) Ship Lists (don’t forget, people came through other places than Ellis Island!) Lineage societies (there are some amazing libraries and resources out there.) In particular my greatest successes have come from military pension files, but service records, medical records, and histories can provide a lot of information too.  For example, in my 4th great grandfather’s 1812 pension file I…

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• Posted on October 21, 2014October 25, 2014
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on A Vital Record is a Vital Record

  We are off with a bang in the US: Vital Records, Understanding and Using The Records course! Module 1 jumps right into what is a vital record and how to find them. Contrary to what I thought from reading the introduction to the course, it appears that there are a whole slew of vital records, and not just birth and death. Good to know! However,  course author Leslie Brinkley Lawson  is quick to point out to us that divorce records are not vital records, and I can see her point. Marriage records are created by the county and usually stored at the clerk’s office thus making them a record of the government, like a birth or death record. Divorce records are court records and while they do contain information that is good for genealogical purposes, they are not vital records. Nope, divorce records are records of the court not the government. I was also pleased to see a step-by-step tutorial on how to find vital records on the Internet. Many people are unable to travel to research, and I understand that. Even though I love visiting onsite research facilities my circumstances make it difficult to drop everything and travel thousands of miles for the record I need. It is just not feasible! The guides, tips, and suggestions on finding these records on the Internet (and in some cases how to order them) was a wonderful addition. Lastly, and I was really grateful this was covered, the instructor talked about vital…

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• Posted on October 14, 2014February 21, 2019
• by Shannon Bennett
• Leave a comment on Time for US Vital Records

By Shannon Bennett, Student Vital records are the bread and butter, go-to source, for many genealogists. The volumes of information you can glean from their pages are treasure troves. Yes, many of my brick walls have tumbled once I laid my hands on those pieces of paper, but I never actually stopped to really study what they are. Have you? In the US: Vital Records, Understanding and Using The Records course, we take an extensive look at birth, marriage,  and death records within the United States. I was excited to read that we will study the levels of government that are involved with these records and where they are kept. To me that is one of the most important things to understand about records, where you can locate them and if you can get them. I know from experience that each state had different start years for vital records which makes uncovering proof very frustrating. Then you have to jump through each jurisdiction’s hoops to get the records because they are not the same from state to state or even county to county. The topics covered look very in-depth. There is also a module on finding alternative records, or perhaps using them as clues to find those vital records. Many of you know from reading my previous posts that I approach genealogy as a great big puzzle that has to be put together. At times I have to get out my magnifying glass, put my Sherlock hat on and really…

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