Category Archives: Family History

Education, Family History, Genealogy, ICAPGen, State resources, Websites

Mountain States Resources: Idaho

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idaho-mountains

Claire V. Brisson-Banks, BS, MLIS, AG®

When conducting research in Idaho one can’t but stop and admire the landscape wherever you go, it is breathtaking. Originally it was part of the Oregon Territory and became a state in 1890. There are 44 counties and four Indian reservations, the Coeur d’Alene, Duck Valley, Nez Perce and Fort Hall. Idaho is one of the states included in the Mountain States Region for testing.

With most of the 1890 US census destroyed in 1921 by fire, The Idaho State Historical Society reconstructed the Idaho 1890 Census. According to their website, “The Idaho State Archives holds both the only original hard-copies and copies on microfilm of the 1870 and 1880 Agricultural, Industrial, Mortality, Prison, Social Statistical and Supplemental Schedules for Idaho.” Additional collections available from the Idaho State Historical Society are Biographical Index, Civil War Veterans Index, Inmate Catalog, Naturalization Records, Mothers’ Pension Records and Old Age Pension Records.

Special Collections at BYU-Idaho contains an index of the Japanese Immigrants to Utah, Idaho and Wyoming from 1887-1924, the Western States Marriage Record Index, Idaho State Death Index 1911-1956, Eastern Idaho Death Records, Progressive Men of Southeast Idaho, and Upper Snake River Valley Histories.

The IdahoGenWeb Project also contributes with additional resources. Their Idaho Mysteries are where unsolved events, incidents, and family stories can be located, additional resources are found by the county of residence. For those Black Sheep that show up or disappear in your tree, check out blacksheepancestors.com, this site also includes those who were institutionalized for a wide variety of things.

Additional research tips and strategies can be found on the FamilySearch Research Wiki, Cyndi’s List and Facebook groups. There are many other Facebook groups listed either by the area and Family History or Genealogy, they are easy to find. Each of these groups help one another through various research problems.

Enjoy these resources as you search for your ancestors from Idaho.

Accreditation, Education, Family History, Genealogy, ICAPGen, Websites

Mountain States Resources

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Mt Nebo

by Claire V Brisson-Banks

When considering accreditation, one has to take into account many different things besides the location of the families you’ll be researching in your 4 generation report like knowing the resources available to conduct your research.

From the ICAPGen website, one can find a resource guide put together for each of the various regions available for accreditation. An individual can view the resource guide which covers the Mountain States, click here. This region covers Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

In addition to knowing the variety of resources listed, one also has to learn to recognize various documents also from these same states. No one resource guide or website could have all of the possible set of records available for a particular location.

With old records being digitized, captured, and being made available on various websites, learning of new record sets coming online is helpful to all researchers regardless of what level they are at in the accreditation process. As record sets are brought to our attention, they will be shared in this blog and also on our Facebook page in hopes of helping others with their research.

The following are additional records available to help with research in Arizona. One of the oldest cemeteries in the Phoenix area is the Double Butte Cemetery, an online burial database has been created by the Family History Society of Arizona. This cemetery is located in Tempe, Arizona and was formally started in 1897 however, plot sales appear to date back to 1892. The history of this cemetery is provided along with other links to help with research in this area. There is a Surname Index where anyone can list their surname who has an email address and a section called Arizona Queries where you can send a message for guidance on research in this area.

Anyone having family in this area would be wise to check out their website. Look for future articles on various records for the different testing regions as they are made known to us. The Family History Society of Arizona has done a fine job of helping out researchers with ancestors in Maricopa County, Arizona.