Heritage Hunting - Special Societies

Many times in genealogy, we all hit the “brick wall”!  It gets frustrating and we may also hit the end of our patience!  We will be exploring many ways to overcome this, including getting into the new book my sister gave me called the Desperate Genealogist’s Idea Book:  Creative Ways to Outsmart Your Elusive Ancestors.  Doesn’t that sound fascinating?!?  Well, I haven’t gotten to read it yet, so for this week we will stick with one of my ideas – Special Societies.

There are basically two types of societies to talk about tonight – the ones that our ancestors belonged to and the ones that can help us today.

I have seen hundreds of obituaries and one of the main things that they always mention are the churches and organizations that a person was associated with.  Of course, you would check out the church mentioned.  But you can also check the organization mentioned.  Some examples might include the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), Freemasons, Grand Army of the Republic, local Granges, and so forth.  Many of these organizations were quite large and organized, complete with published member lists and short biographies.  Always Google or otherwise check this information regarding the person’s involvement.

Some links for this type research:

Cyndi’s List
Family Tree Connection - Fraternal Organizations
Freemasonry
Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF)
Grand Army of the Republic


The other type of societies that will help us with our “brick walls” are the special societies of today.  I mentioned First Families in one of the first Heritage Hunting chats and several people were unaware of the organization.  There are First Families groups at almost every level including America’s First Families.  Most states and counties also have such groups.  There are also DAR and SAR groups throughout the country recognizing the sons and daughters of the American Revolution.  There are hundreds of specialized groups such as International Black Genealogy, German Genealogy, The Federation of East European Family History Societies, Rabbinic Genealogy Special Interest Group, and many more. 

Most times, the entry requirements for these groups are very strict and thoroughly checked and rechecked by the group’s members.  There can be no assumptions and no questionable sources.  Each and every connection and fact needs to have a verifiable source that leaves no room for doubts.  Many of the organizations then publish or otherwise make available the lineage and the research associated with it.

Some links to get further information on this type group:

Cyndi’s List
America’s First Families
Daughters of the American Revolution
National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
German Genealogy


Besides the special interest groups, there are more generalized groups such as state and county genealogical societies, historical societies, local history groups, oral history projects, museums and libraries.  On the web, there are sites such as US Gen Web, Find a Grave, and other volunteer organizations.  You can usually contact these types organizations in the areas your ancestors lived or visited and obtain information for a small fee or donation.  Small groups sometimes have a lot of information and know how different families and clans intermarried and interacted within the community.  Oftentimes there are pictures, journals, family Bibles and artifacts that the local members of the family have donated to a museum or library collection. 

Links to generalized groups:

Allen County (Indiana) Public Library
Somerset County PAGenWeb
New Mexico Genealogical Society 
Allen County (Ohio) Museum


There are virtually an unlimited number of resources available with just a small amount of digging.  Many will turn up nothing at all; but one may just turn out to be the mother lode!!