Books on History & Genealogy
by Susan McKellar
Four types of books have been found to be very useful:
published family histories
general books on how to do genealogy
local history books, for information on specific areas and families
general history books, for contextual information on the time periods in which your ancestors lived.
The Ottawa Public Library is a good source of general books on how to do genealogy, as well as general history books. Also books can be purchased from specialized vendors (see list).
Local history books can be found in local libraries and archives in the area you are researching. Genealogy vendors also carry some. And the National Library has a good selection as well. Their staff will help you search.
Relatives are the primary source for published family histories. Note that many of these books, especially the older ones, do not note their sources of information.
Here are some comments on books read over the past few years. Recommended titles are in bold.
| Tracing Your Family History | Adolph, Anthony | British, current, useful |
| In Search of Your Canadian Roots | Baxter, Angus | Good starting book |
| In Search of Your British & Irish Roots | Baxter, Angus | good |
| Tracing Scottish Ancestors | Bigwood, Rosemary | hope to use this soon |
| Scotland in Trust | Calder, Jenni | history |
| Research at the Family History Center | Christensen, Penelope | useful but confusing |
| How Do I Prove It? | Christensen, Penelope | useful |
| Let's Get Organized | Christensen, Penelope | useful |
| You Can Write Your Family History | Cormack, Sharon DeBartolo | good |
| A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Female Ancestors | Cormack, Sharon DeBartolo | good |
| A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors | Cormack, Sharon DeBartolo | great bibliography |
| The Sleuth Book for Genealogists | Croom, Emily Anne | excellent, comprehensive |
| Plugging Into Your Past | Crume, Rick | mostly American, less useful |
| Help! I've Inherited an Attic Full of History | Douglas, Althea | useful - Protect objects from dust, light, temperature swings, in acid-free containers. Keep track of them. |
| Here be Dragons! Navigating the hazards found in Canadian family research | Douglas, Althea | lots of useful tips |
| Here be Dragons, too! More navigational hazards for the Canadian family researcher | Douglas, Althea | lots of useful tips |
| Research at the Library and Archives Canada | Douglas, Althea | good |
| Tools of the Trade for Canadian Genealogy | Douglas, Althea | |
| The Beginner's Guide to Genealogy | Dunford, Fraser | published by the Ontario Genealoqical Society |
| More Dating Old Photographs, 1840-1929 | Family Chronicle | useful - lots of examples by decade; intro by Maureen Taylor |
| More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems | Family Chronicle | interesting |
| Tracing Your Ancestors | Field, D. M. | British, basic overview and descriptions of sources |
| Genealogy Basics Online | Flinn, Cherri Melton | less useful; mostly American |
| Land Policies of Upper Canada | Gates, Lillian F. | history |
| The Unofficial Guide to Online Genealogy | Hahn, Patricia Rice | some help; American; some web sites out of date |
| Producing a Quality Family History | Hatcher, Patricia Law | detailed; look at it again when closer to writing |
| Ancestral Trails: The complete guide to British genealogy and family history | Herber, Mark | excellent, comprehensive, weighty |
