Resources

Links and downloads for helpful resources to use during your own family research. Check back often; we’ll be adding more!

Historical Timeline

A timeline designed by House BlackSword to identify historical events during a family member’s life. With a focus on Dayton and Miami Valley history.

File is in PDF format.

timeline-house-blacksword.pdf

Download

Sanborn Maps

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are one of the best kept secrets of genealogists. You can discover the type of home your relative lived in – was is brick or frame? One story or two? Was the kitchen a separate building and where was their outhouse?

You can also research the factories and other commerce in their neighborhood.

Click to access the maps at the Library of Congress

Click for instructions on how to read the map keys

Click for Dayton, Ohio Sanborn map of 1887

The Prairie Traveler

In 1859, Randolph P. Marcy published “The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Exhibitions” as a guide for those who had the wanderlust to move out to the untamed west.

Even if you didn’t have any ancestors who made this journey, the book is an insight into what had been considered best practices for keeping one’s family fed and alive during their historical family road trip.

This book is within public domain, and with thanks to Project Gutenberg, is available online at The Prairie Traveler.

Local History Websites

Genealogical Societies