Researching Your Roots in the BDC: ALE and Much More by Sydney Whiteside

Beaufort District Collection Research Room

The Library System's Marketing Calendar Resource Highlight for January is our subscription to the Ancestry Library Edition database. Our front-room person, Sydney Whiteside, shares information about the BDC's family history related materials and services, including access to Ancestry.com in our Research Room below. -- Grace Cordial

Please note: Access to Ancestry Library Edition is available only inside the Beaufort County Library buildings. ALE is not available to you from home.  

The Beaufort District Collection's main purpose is to acquire, preserve, maintain and make accessible a research collection of permanent value that records the history of the area of Lowcountry South Carolina known as the old historic Beaufort District. A decent percentage of our customers are interested in genealogy. We help a lot of family historians in search of their ancestors who once lived in this area - and occasionally assist family historians studying ancestors in other parts of the world as well. 

Sometimes we wish that family history television shows would better reflect the real-life research skills and universe of surviving historic records required to build a family tree. More times than not, there are many obstacles to overcome when researching one's family history, especially in our geographical area. Over time, boundaries have changed, records have been destroyed, and often it can be difficult to piece together historical context. Here at the BDC, we assist researchers of all skill levels by guiding them through the materials we have and connecting them with  cultural heritage institutions holding historical and genealogical resources. 

We can offer our best help to those who contact us in advance about their specific research challenge: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468. 

Our Genealogy Services Primer provides a more a more detailed overview of the BDC's family history related materials and outlines our genealogical operations and procedures. Do not fret, for if we do not have information on your ancestors, we will do our best to guide you in the right direction to learn more from other institutions, organizations and potential sources of genealogical records. 

Tracing ones ancestry can be quite a harrowing task. Perhaps your New Year's resolution is to finally sit down and research your roots; 'tis the season! If you have ever wondered how and where to start, or what a visit to the BDC would even look like, this is the post for you. Without further ado, let's walk through an Ancestry visit to the Beaufort District Collection! 

Entrance to the Beaufort District Collection

First things first, you will be greeted by a member of our staff at our Research Room door. As a safety precaution, each door to the collection remains locked; but we are more than happy to open our door and welcome you into our collection. 

With our main mission being to preserve and safeguard our special collection and archival materials, all patrons are required to register in order to utilize our resources. You will then be asked to read and sign our set of rules - which are pretty standard for most respected special collection libraries and archives. 

If you scheduled an appointment ahead of time: Staff will have already created a course of action and will have materials prepared prior to your arrival so you can make the most of your time in our Research Room. 

If you are walking in with no prior appointment: We will do our absolute best to accommodate you if there is adequate staffing and no scheduled appointments. 

While you are signing in, staff will conduct a quick research interview in order to curate a course of action for your visit. A search will be completed to see if our collection contains any materials on the ancestor(s) you are looking to research. We will retrieve any relevant materials and if you wish to receive a tutorial on how to navigate Ancestry Library Edition, our patron use computer will be prepared for use. 

Beaufort District Collection Ready Reference Section 

Once you are registered, staff will provide an overview of the materials they have pulled as well as an introduction to our Ready Reference section. Our Ready Reference section consists of our most commonly used materials and our general genealogical materials. Staff will be sure to point out the genealogy Ready Reference section for you to refer to during your visit. If any other topics or names appear during the course of your research, staff will be more than happy to complete another search and retrieve materials from our closed stacks.

There are quite a few helpful resources in the BDC that could assist researchers on their quest to learn more about their family history. During the course of your visit, you may see the following materials:

• Vertical Files, including Family Surname Files

• The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, 1900-

• 23 series of primary documents from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1663-1900

• Land and marriage related secondary sources, late 17th-19th centuries

• Our Online Obituary Index, an index to obituaries published in historic local newspapers, consists of over 33,000 entries. Various BDC staff and volunteers have been working for more than twenty years to create this index. 

If you are interested in utilizing Ancestry Library Edition and wish to receive an orientation to this database of databases, BDC staff will be more than happy to offer guidance on navigating the site. ALE is accessible from any device connected to the library system Wi-Fi, including a patron's laptop.  

To use the Library's subscription to ALE, you must begin by visiting the Library's website and be inside one of our buildings using the Library system's WI-FI. You will then hover over the first tab, the "Locations" tab, and select "BDC/Local History." This will bring you to the BDC home page which contains our basic information along with direct links to ALE, the Online Obituary Index, Beaufort History Moments YouTube channel, as well as our Digital Collections, Facebook page, Connections blog, and WordPress blog.

Selecting the "Ancestry.com Library Edition" tab will take you directly to ALE. The site can be quite overwhelming with all of its different sections. To start simple, you will be directed to click on the "Begin Searching" tab toward the center of the screen. 

Searches can be as specific or as broad as you would like for them to be; however, we recommend beginning with a broader search, as inputting hyper specific information may actually limit results. You are immediately met with the option to input a first/middle name, a last name, a location, and a birth year. If you can answer all of these prompts, wonderful! If you are unsure of the birth year, it is alright to begin with a name and location. Selecting "Show More Options" allows you to input even more information if you are able to, such as: life events, dates, family members, and keywords. Just remember that sometimes less if more. Each search is unique. 

You are able to yield results for all records available on ALE, but you are also able to narrow your search to certain records. Let's take a look at some of the main searchable resources Ancestry Library Edition offers and what information they can provide:

• United States Federal Census Collection

• District Maps and Descriptions

• Mortality, Slave, and Veteran Schedules

• Vital Records

• Birth, Baptism, and Christening

• Death, Burial, Cemetery, and Obituaries

• Marriage and Divorce

• Social Security

• Military Records

• Awards, Dedications, and Disciplinary Actions 

• Causalities

• Draft, Enlistment, Pension, Registration, and Service

• Histories and Photographs

• Soldier, Veteran, Prison Rolls and Lists

• Immigration and Emigration

• Citizenship and Naturalization

• Passenger Lists

As you can see, there are a great deal of searchable records available on Ancestry Library Edition. Staff will walk you through the records that your search yields and help to interpret the information they may provide. However, we are unable to say for certain that a given record belongs to one's ancestor; that is for the researcher to determine. Researchers carry knowledge from prior research that staff cannot know, oftentimes without even realizing - until something else comes up in the research process that provides context. 

You are more than welcome to take a photo or bring a flash drive to capture parts of records you wish to keep. We are also able to print copies from your ALE searches or from most of our resources for 10 cents a page. (In some cases the records may be too fragile to photocopy.) 

If you need help researching ancestors who once lived in Lowcountry South Carolina, we offer 2 hours long one-on-one Ancestry Library Edition database assistance and family history research guidance by advance appointment. We will even set up multiple appointments with you as long as we are making progress together. Contact us to learn more about what we can do to help you in your ancestral quest: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468. 

Please note: Some of the Branch Libraries have staff who guide customers with family history questions and how to use ALE for other parts of the country and world. Ask at your  branch library for assistance.   

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I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the Beaufort District Collection's genealogical services, specifically Ancestry Library Edition. Whether you are just beginning your family research journey or you have been researching your family for forty years, the Beaufort District Collection is here to help! Walk-ins are sometimes accepted; appointments are always encouraged. To make an appointment, send an email to bdc@bcgov.net or give us a call at 843-255-6468. We hope to hear from you soon!