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Farming For A Better Future, page ix
and land maps of existing parcels are books that list the owners. These can be used as indexes to find a particular person. Many of these records will denote if an individual is a person or color, a common practice in the early 20th century. Personal records like those pertaining to marriages, births, and deaths can reveal family histories, but often only if these life events occurred in the county in which the archives are held.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery, Alabama is a state archive with additional resources. The ADAH houses documents that might not be located at the county archives and libraries and many are digitized and available online. While not a local repository, the state archives is more likely to have information on large cities, events, and significant people. Located across the street from the state capital, the ADAH also offers the Museum of Alabama, which contains extensive exhibits encompassing the entire history of the state.
RESEARCHING ONLINE
One of the most valuable resources for studying historic communities and individuals is the U.S. federal census, a statistical snapshot of the entire country conducted every ten years. While the census is a public record, it can appear to be difficult to access. Ancestry.com has digitized the census records and while it is a paid service, most public libraries and archives have computers with subscriptions available for public use. Although the information amassed with each census changes from year to year, at the least it contains individuals' names, race, age, sex, location, and occupation. Records from 1900 to 1940 include additional information such as in which state the person and their parents were born, marital status, education level, and home or farm ownership. Ancestry. com contains more than the federal census, but also city directories, military files through Fold3.com, some of the TVA records, and more. It is also useful for understanding family relations and accessing records beyond the county or state. Another online research tool is Findagrave. com. This crowdsourced database contains entries on most cemeteries and many records on individual graves. This information can also be
linked to Ancestry.com family trees or other online files. Photographs and obituaries are often posted to Findagrave.com.
ix - FARMING FOR A BETTER FUTURE
There are several other online collections maintained by private, state, and federal institutions. The University of Alabama has a comprehensive online collection of historical maps, including those for fire insurance, and aerial photographs of Alabama and beyond. The Alabama Historical Commission (AHC) is the state historic preservation office in charge of historic preservation of buildings, cemeteries, and archaeological sites. The AHC has an interactive online database of historic places listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage. Some historic - (4513)