A BEGINNER S GUIDE TO MISSOURI DIGITAL HERITAGE Cass County Public Library Genealogy Branch

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1 A BEGINNER S GUIDE TO MISSOURI DIGITAL HERITAGE Cass County Public Library Genealogy Branch About Missouri Digital Heritage Missouri Digital Heritage is an ongoing collaborative project, initiated in 2007 by then Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, that brings together the digitized materials of the State Library, State Historical Society Archives, and dozens of other city and county historical repositories. Currently, MDH provides free online access to over 9 million records from these institutions and organizations. Available collections include vital records, military service records, prison records, newspapers, photographs, local histories, plat maps, and more. When using Missouri Digital Heritage, it is important to remember that the database s record collections have been contributed by various institutions each with its unique way of indexing, transcribing, and digitizing. Because of this, each collection is attributed to the providing institution. This is helpful if you are interested in tracking down the original record or are curious to see additional records. It is also important to remember this when searching the record collections: each collection has a unique search form and the link for some collections may send you to the lending institution s website. Accessing MDH The database is free to use and accessible from any location with internet access, even from home. The library website provides a convenient link to the database on our Genealogy Resources page, but you can also access the website by manually typing its address into your browser s address bar: From the Genealogy Resources page, click on the green Databases tile. Scroll down to the Common Databases section and click on blue Missouri Digital Heritage link. 1

2 Navigating the Database Navigation Bar Basic Keyword Search (searches all collections) Recently Added & Updated Collections Quick Links MDH provides Quick Links to some of its most popular record collections. These can be found at the far right of the navigation bar at the top of the page. Place your mouse over the button to reveal the drop-down list of options. Clicking on a collection title here will take you to the search forms for each collection. Birth & Death Records, Pre-1910 Prior to 1910, Missouri did not have a law that effectively mandated the recording of births and deaths occurring within the state. There were previous attempts at legislation, but they failed to be universally enforced state-wide. That is why, prior to that year, birth and death records are select in coverage and often may not exist if that area didn t consistently record these events at the time. This record collection contains over 185,000 records from 87 Missouri counties, including births, stillbirths, and deaths. The collection summary page has two separate forms, one for births and stillbirths, the other for deaths. These records, coming mostly from handwritten registers, are transcribed, but not digitized. Due to varying levels of consistency and detail, the amount of information provided by these records varies considerably. Search Tip: Both forms can be searched with partial names. Experiment with what you enter into the form to see how it affects your results. 2

3 Example 1: A birth record for Sylvy Wheeler, born 17 July 1890 near East Lynne, Cass County, Missouri. Father s name, age, occupation, and nativity is provided. Mother s name, maiden name, age, residence, and nativity is provided. Example 2: A birth record for male baby Looney, born 5 November 1891, Laclede County, Missouri. Only the father s name, occupation, and nativity is provided. Only the mother s maiden name and nativity is provided. County Histories & Plat Books These collections, both sponsored by the Missouri State Library, use the same alphabetical search form. To find digitized histories or plat books, you simply click on the downward-pointing arrow next to the section in which the county falls, click on the county s name, and then click Search. You will follow the same steps shown below when searching for digitized history books as well. Example: Select Cass County from the search form 3

4 Click on the blue link in the Title column to view this book online From here, you can download and print these images using the buttons located at the top right corner of the image window Directories This collection of city directories is relatively new and still expanding. Currently, it includes directories for Hannibal, Missouri, and the surrounding area for , and directories, gazetteers, rosters and guides for the city of St. Louis, focusing primarily on Digitized scans of these directories are available to view and print. Missouri Death Certificates, This collection is the most commonly used of all of MDH s record collections. Due to privacy law, the collection only extends from 1910 to 1967; however, each year, typically around April, another year of death certificates is added to the database. Challenges When Searching It is important to remember that information on a death certificate is contributed by an informant, typically a family member, but sometimes an institution like a hospital or even a county poor farm. Because of this, the information is not always accurate. Keep this in mind when entering information into the search form. Names were often misspelled or the handwriting misread when transcribed later. This is a common challenge when searching this database. Search Tip: Use spelling variations, try leaving certain entries blank to work around misspelled names, and try searching county-wide for a given year, if need be. If you are having trouble locating a death certificate for an ancestor, first make sure they died in Missouri and keep trying different combinations of search terms: i.e. search just a last name and a county, or extend the range of years. 4

5 Search Tip: If you are struggling due to a lack of information, it may help to do a general search and then browse through a longer list of search results [left]. The digitized death certificate is viewable as a PDF file that can be printed or saved to your computer or flash drive. Example [right]: Name: Mrs. Anna Franz; white; widowed Born: 4 May 1842; Missouri Died: 14 Jan 1922; Rolla, Phelps County, MO Cause of Death: Strangulated abdominal; hernia; rupture of the bowel externally Burial: Rolla Cemetery, Rolla, MO Father s name and place of birth provided, mother s information is unknown Browse Collections To view MDH s other record collections, either click on Browse Collections in the navigation bar or place your mouse over it to view and select a filter from the drop-down list of options. [left] If you click on Browse Collections directly without selecting a filter from the drop-down list, you will be taken to a list of all collections by title. From this page, you can still select filters to help navigate the collections by Topic, Media Type, or Institution. You also have the option of sorting collections by the first letter of the collection s title. This cuts down on the amount of scrolling needed to reach that collection on the page. 5

6 [right] If you click on the Topic filter, you can then select Genealogy to view only the record collections relevant to genealogical research. [below] If you click on the Media Type filter, you can view collections based on format. This is particularly helpful when looking for the list of digitized newspaper collections. [below] If you click on the Institution filter, you can then select a specific lending institution or repository to view only the record collections they have contributed to the database. This list can be further sorted by selecting an institution type. Example: Iron County Historical Society has one collection on MDH, a collection of funeral home records from Notable Collections on Missouri Digital Heritage Missouri Digital Heritage has a wealth of resources that casual users may not be aware of. Beyond the record collections highlighted by the Quick Links feature on the navigation bar, there are military records, prison records, digitized newspapers, coroner and funeral home records, and plenty of additional city, county, and state-level records. 6

7 Digitized Newspapers These collections are most easily accessed by using the Media Type filter under Browse Collections on the navigation bar (as shown on the previous page of this guide). While not comprehensive, MDH s collection of digital newspapers, contributed, in large part, by the Missouri State Historical Society, is an excellent resource for researchers. These papers can be viewed online and downloaded or printed for free. Click on the View Collection button to view the digitized newspaper. The icon next to the button means that you will be taken to a third party s website, in this case the State Historical Society. Keyword Search: to locate keywords and names in the text of the newspaper. Search by Date: to search for specific issues of the newspaper i.e. helpful when searching for obituaries. Search the text for keywords View the automated transcription View in book format View transcription and image side-by-side Save to computer or flash drive Click to view next page Print Zoom Full screen view Rotate the image View the entire page Click & drag to elongate or shorten the viewing window Click on additional pages to view 7

8 You might also be interested in checking the Index to Selected Missouri Newspapers collection for article citations from papers that aren t available online, but are searchable by keyword and name here: Missouri Soldier s Database, War of 1812 World War I The Name search acts as a keyword search: you can enter partial names i.e. either the first or last name, and/or the first few letters of a name Search Tip: You can combine as many or as few points of information in the search form as you desire. It might help to start with a general search just a name and conflict and then browse through the search results. Example: The partial name search Parker provided results for individuals with Parker as a last name and a first name. Requesting Copies of Service Records The original service record may provide further information including the individual s name, race, residence, place and date of enlistment, place of birth/age or date of birth, rank, wounds or other injuries, dates of service, and date of discharge. A copy can be requested from the Missouri State Archives by visiting their website: 8

9 Missouri State Penitentiary, This collection is comprised of two record collections: the Register of Inmates Received and the Register of Military Prisoners, The Register of Inmates Received provides information about the prisoners, their crimes and sentences, as well as when they entered and were released. Both male and female inmates are included in these records. Search Tip: A Name search will include matches for the names of offenders, parents, and spouses in the results. Example: basic search Last name: Johnson; Location of Court: Douglas County [right] The search results page provides a basic summary of the record s information including the name of the offender (and parents and spouse s names, if available), any known aliases, sex, age, birth year, race, location of court, offense, date recorded, and date discharged. 9

10 Clicking the View Record Detail button on the search results page [shown above] will take you to the record summary page [left]. This page provides more detailed information provided by the record including relative s addresses, occupation, sentencing, discharge notes, and a link to view a digitized image of the original register. Click here to view the original register as a PDF document. This will require Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewing software. As a PDF, a copy of this document can be saved to your computer or flash drive and/or printed. To find a penitentiary record outside of the time frame covered by this collection ( ), submit a research request via to archref@sos.mo.gov. Include the inmate s name and approximate date of entry into the penitentiary in your request. Other identifying information, such as a year of birth, county of crime or parents names is helpful but not required. Civil War Resources This page can be reached by clicking on Civil War in the navigation bar. The two resources of most use to genealogists here are the Collections and Research Guides sections. Clicking on Collections provides you with a list of record collections relevant to Missouri Civil War research, both historical and genealogical in nature. These include Union Provost Marshall Records, the State Historical Society s Civil War Manuscripts collection, the St. Louis Area Civil War Digitization Project resources, and many more. 10

11 These collections of letters, photos, and more, all relate specifically to the Civil War in Missouri, some focusing on local history. They can be sorted by selecting the links on the left side of the page. Clicking on the Research Guides section will take you to a selection of guides created by the Missouri State Archives regarding the Civil War resources in their collections. You can reach this page directly, at: civilwar Example: [below] letter from J. R. Wine, Townsend, Montana, to Frank H. Sosey; March 20, 1901; recounts the events of the Palmyra Massacre (from the Palmyra Massacre Collection) Example: [above] letter from Lizzie E. Brannock to brother Edwin from Chapel Hill, MO, January 13, 1864; recounts her husband s imprisonment by the Union army and the desolate conditions (from the Civil War Manuscripts, State Historical Society Collection) The Missouri State Archive s finding and research guide for their Civil War resources can be found directly at: civilwar Visit the library s locations page ( for CCPL Genealogy s location, contact information, and hours of operation. Information regarding our digital collections, access to online databases, submitting inquiries, and more, can be found on Cass County Public Library s Genealogy Resources page, located here: Chelsea Clarke, Branch Manager askgenealogy@gmail.com Cass County Public Library Genealogy Branch 400 E. Mechanic St. Harrisonville, MO