MAPS IN FAMILY HISTORY
©2019 by Donald R. Snow
This page was last updated 2019-11-03.
Go to the Utah Valley Technology and
Genealogy Group Home Page or Don's
Class Listings Page .
ABSTRACT: There are many kinds of maps that are helpful
in genealogy, e.g. road maps, physical maps, historic maps,
topographical maps, county maps, land and property maps,
migration maps, cemetery maps, fire insurance maps, surname distribution
maps, and others. Many major
collections of current and historic maps are online and can be
downloaded and used for free. Gazetteers, books or websites that describe geographical items in words, are also helpful. This class
will discuss such information with the
links, so you can find what you need. The notes for this
class and related articles, all with active Internet
links, are posted on my website
http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO CLASS
- Instructor is Donald R. Snow
( snowd@math.byu.edu .
) of Provo and St. George, Utah.
- The notes with active URLs and additional information in other notes
and articles is posted at
http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html .
- Tips: (1) To put an icon on your desktop for these notes,
or any webpage, just drag the icon from in front of the address
in your browser onto your desktop.
(2) To open a link, but keep your place in these notes, hold
down the Control key while clicking the link.
- The problem for today: Finding and using online maps for
family history.
ABOUT MAPS AND GAZETTEERS
- Maps give a visual representation of information in compact form, e.g. locations, distances, relationships of places,
geographical features
- Kinds of maps -- teaching, road, topological (contours or level lines close together = steep, further apart = flatter), land and property,
railroad, fire insurance, migration, historical, boundary changes, cemetery, surname distribution,
relief maps (3D models in plastic, etc.), aerial, and
"bird's eye view" (aerial at a slant)
- GPS -- helpful in family history for locations; many cameras have them now, so metadata shows exactly where the photo was taken
- Gazetteers are books or websites describing in words the
geographic locations and features and their history.
MAJOR MAP AND GAZETTEER WEBSITES
- Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names Online --
http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/
-- extremely helpful world gazetteer;
as an example, search for Ragtown and read about the first one you find in Nevada
- David Rumsey Map Collection -- http://www.davidrumsey.com
-- large collection of historical maps, now at Stanford University; are constantly adding new maps
- Perry-Castaneda Map Collection at U of Texas -- http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/
and http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/hist_sites.html
- New York Public Library Digital Collection -- http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?keyword=maps
- Library of Congress Map Collection -- https://www.loc.gov/maps/collections/
- National Geographic Maps -- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps/
UNITED STATES MAPS
- See lists by state in
http://linkpendium.com -- see Maps and Gazetteers in Statewide Resources and for the counties
- US Geological Survey (USGS) -- https://www.usgs.gov/products/maps/overview
- US National Map by USGS -- https://nationalmap.gov/
-- a major website with many helps and links, includes
topos, historic, and aerial views
- National Atlas by the Library of Congress-- https://www.loc.gov/item/79654043/ -- many printable maps
- US historical
- Growth of the US - 11-minute online video --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAXuDSPcCr8
-- 1-minute quick video of U.S. growth --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_AxIZO8ifU
- US county boundary changes over time - interactive -- http://www.familyhistory101.com/maps.html
-- based on old Animap program
- US state and county boundary changes over time - interactive -- http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/ -- can download the maps with instructions on overlaying them on Google Earth
- Early US Maps -- http://www.maphistory.info/imageus.html
- Historical Map and Chart Collection -- http://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/search
-- Office of Coast Survey (NOAA)
- Historic Land Ownership and Reference Atlases ($$$, but free
at FHCs) -- https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?htx=List&dbid=1205
- MyTopo map collection -- http://historical.mytopo.com/
-- Historic USGS topo maps
- Historic and bird's eye view maps, primarily New England
($$$, some free) -- http://www.old-maps.com/
- Sanborn Fire Insurance maps
- Search Linkpendium (see above) for Sanborn maps
- Finding free Sanborn Maps online --
http://www.genealogycenter.org/Community/Blog/acpl-genealogy-blog/2017/12/27/finding-free-sanborn-fire-insurance-maps-online---january-10-2018
- Union List of Sanborn Maps, UC Berkeley --
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/sanborn_union_list
- Sanborn Fire Insurance maps in Library of Congress --
http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/sanborn/
MISCELLANEOUS ON MAPS
- Links to map collections, many at colleges and universities --
http://www.libraryspot.com/maps/
- Steve Morse's One-Step Road And Aerial Views by address
or lat/long --
https://stevemorse.org/jcal/map.html
- Map Your Ancestors - FamilySearch -- https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/whats-map-ancestors/
- Visualize Your Ancestors With RootsMapper -- https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/visualize-family-heritage-rootsmapper/
- England and Wales 1851 Jurisdictions maps -- http://maps.familysearch.org/ -- shows parishes, locations, information, probate courts, links;
interactive and can be used like a gazetteer
- Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary (Gazetteer) of England of
1848 (4 vols) -- http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england
- Old Maps Online -- http://www.oldmapsonline.org/
- Surname distribution maps
- FamilySearch --
https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/map-surname/ and https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Surname_Distribution_Maps
- http://www.pricegen.com/localize-your-surname-with-distribution-maps/
- GenealogyBlog -- http://www.genealogyblog.com/?p=5566
- LDS Church: Bible Maps --
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps?lang=eng , Church History Maps -- https://www.lds.org/scriptures/history-maps?lang=eng
- Map that Don made around the London England Hyde Park Chapel -
Click Here
HELPS AND SOURCES
- FamilySearch Research Wiki for maps of a country -- https://www.familysearch.org/ > Search > Research Wiki > Country > Maps
- FamilySearch Wiki article about U.S. gazetteers --
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Gazetteers
- 8-minute video on using maps - Ancestry -- The Sayre's --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ3Z0pGNjgQ&feature=youtu.be
- Helps with maps --
https://www.thoughtco.com/maps-4133027
CONCLUSIONS
- There is a wealth of maps and information online and more
being added all the time and these notes will give you a place
to start to find what you need.
- Another class will discuss how to make your own maps using
Google's "My Maps" for migrations, where you have lived, where
your ancestors are from, etc.
Go to the Utah
Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page or Don's
Class Listings Page .