New Guides and Publications on Our Website!

Check out the following new guides and publications, which are available on the Grosvenor Room Genealogy Web Page!

Census – Buffalo Wards by Street 1915 1920 1925

Church Records –

• Buffalo Churches 1832-1860
• Buffalo Churches in 1931

Family History – Genealogy Pamphlets on Microfilm in the Grosvenor Room

Maps and Atlases – Buffalo Street Name Changes

Military – Erie County Civil War Regiments

Vital and Related Records –

•   A Select Index to the Bellringer 1940-1945
•   A Select Index to the CurtissWrightER 1943-1944
•   Births, Deaths, and Marriages Found in Local Publications
•   Death Notices and Obituaries in the Buffalo News 4/22/2009-2010 by Name
•   Marriages and Deaths in the Pierce Arrow Newsletter 1918 to 1922

Finding Local Histories

Local history books often contain a wealth of biographical information on pioneer families, professionals, business owners, and prominent citizens.  Find out what local histories exist for the areas where your ancestors lived by using the following resources.

• Books

Gro CS47 .Y3 1996. Hoffman, Marian.  Genealogical & Local History Books in Print.   Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996.  Includes U.S. and world sources.

Gro Ref CS47 .N39 1998. New England Historic Genealogical Society. Circulating Library Catalog, Volume II, Research Aids.  Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1998.

Gro Ref CS47 .U56 1990, 3 volumes. UMI Guide to Family and Local Histories. Ann Arbor, Michigan:  UMI, 1990.

GRO Ref F119.N4 1990. Harold Nestler.  A Bibliography of New York State Communities.  Bowie, Md. : Heritage Books, 1990.

Buffalo Collection – The Buffalo Collection in the Grosvenor Room, includes thousands of books related to Buffalo and Erie County.

Grosvenor Genealogy Collection – Our Grosvenor Genealogy Collection includes local history books for areas outside Erie County, NY.  They are arranged by state, and by county and city within the state’s section.

• Databases

HeritageQuest Online – HQ includes over 28,000 full-text books which mainly consist of family and local histories.  PERSI is a genealogy and local history periodicals index.  It will help you find local history articles.

The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library’s online catalog – Search our collection online by using the following subject heading search method:

Nameoftownorcity StateAbbreviationwithspaces History

-OR-

Nameof County  StateAbbreviationwithspaces History

Examples:

Buffalo N Y History

Dunkirk N Y History

Providence R I History 

Erie County N Y History

Cattaraugus County N Y History

• Specialty Files

Grosvenor Genealogy File – This is the card catalog of the old Grosvenor Library.  It includes listings of local history books.  Search alphabetically by town, county, or state.

• Websites

http://www.archive.org/ – The Internet Archive provides access to almost three million full-text books including local histories.

https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/ – Access thousands of family and local history books for free.

https://www.hathitrust.org/ – A nonprofit collaborative that has digitized over 17 million items.

https://www.worldcat.org/ – WorldCat is a union library catalog which contains library holdings information for all over the United States and some foreign holdings as well.  You can find out what local histories are available and at what libraries they are available.

Read more about local histories and how they can help your research here.

Medical Terms for Genealogists

Would you like to better understand your ancestor’s illness?  The following list includes books that define medical terms, give historical background to illnesses, and describe treatment for select illnesses.

GRO Ref R462 .B75 1998. Briggs, Elizabeth and Colin. Before Modern Medicine: Diseases & Yesterday’s Remedies. Winnipeg, Manitoba:  Westgarth, 1998. A detailed work which provides an overview of historical medicine; medical terms; some illnesses include their causes, history, symptoms, treatment, and details of epidemics; Native American medical treatments; medicines and remedies sometimes with their history, use, and current status of use;  and sample death certificates.

GRO Ref R123 .J47 1995. Jerger, Dr. Jeanette L.  A Medical Miscellany for Genealogists.  Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995.

GRO Ref RA407.5 .P64 C48 1991. Chorzempa, Rosemary A. Morbus: Why and How Our Ancestor’s Died: A Genealogist’s Dictionary of Terms Found in Vital Records with Descriptions of the Diseases as They Relate to the Health of Our Ancestors. Chicago, IL: Polish Genealogical Society of America, 1991. Includes Polish, Latin, Russian, and German sections.

GRO Ref CS9 .J33 2001. Jacobson, Judy. A Field Guide for Genealogists.   Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 2001

GRO Ref PE1667 .D73 1994. Drake, Paul. What Did They Mean By That?: A Dictionary of Historical Terms for Genealogists. Bowie, MD:  Heritage Books, 1994.

GRO Ref PE1667 .D73 1994 v.2. Drake, Paul. What Did They Mean By That?: A Dictionary of Historical Terms for Genealogists: Some More Words, Volume 2. Bowie, MD:  Heritage Books, 1998.