The Research Library

2026 Edition

St. Patrick's in the Peaks Research Companion

Companion to "St. Patrick's in the Peaks: Distinguishing Ulster-Scots from Irish Migration"

The green ribbons and shamrocks of St. Patrick's Day are a clue that matters deeply to Appalachian family researchers. One family tracing its roots to the mountains may be Ulster-Scots who arrived through Philadelphia and the Great Wagon Road a century before the Civil War. Another may be Gaelic Irish who came to the coalfields during the Famine era, shaped by Catholicism, company towns, and labor solidarity. These groups stood in the same mountains but did not share the same history, the same religion, or the same paper trail. Confusing one for the other sends you to the wrong archive and the wrong country. This companion gives you the tools to tell them apart. Includes a twelve-characteristic Side-by-Side Comparison, an Ancestor Identification Worksheet with an eight-clue Migration Stream Evidence Checklist, a paired Ulster-Scots and Gaelic Irish record guide with specific repositories for each, and a Migration Routes and Settlement Patterns reference covering four Ulster-Scots routes and Gaelic Irish entry points by port and industrial draw.

2026 Edition

The Seed Keeper's Companion

Companion to "Seed Saving & Family Pedigrees: Ancestral Memory in the Gardens of Appalachia"

A four-part working document for the intersection of botanical heritage and family history. Includes a Seed Saving Record and Pedigree Tracker, a Family Seed Story Interview Guide with prompts designed for sitting with elders, a Seed Saving Quick-Reference covering isolation distances and storage fundamentals, and a Seasonal Seed Calendar timed for the central Appalachian growing zone.

2026 Edition

The 1950 Census Research Companion

Companion to "The 1950 Census: 76 Years Later: How a Mid-Century Headcount Became a Twenty-First-Century Genealogical Breakthrough"

The 1950 Census captures a pivotal decade of migration, industrial labor, and family movement with a precision no earlier enumeration could match. Includes a Household Research Worksheet, a Migration Tracking Log for following a family line across census years, an Occupation and Industry Reference Guide covering major Appalachian industries of the era, and a Cross-Reference Checklist spanning federal, county, and industry-specific sources.

2026 Edition

The 1870 "New Voter" Registrations Research Companion

Companion to "The 1870 'New Voter' Registrations: How Reconstruction-Era Rolls Repair the Broken Census of the Mountain South"

If your ancestor is not in the 1870 census, this is where you look next. Includes a Voter Registration Research Worksheet for transcribing entry fields and mapping kinship clusters, an Invisible Ancestor Tracker walking through every alternative source, a Reconstruction Record-by-Record Reference Guide, and a State-by-State Availability Checklist with access information for all thirteen Appalachian states.

2026 Edition

Early Photography & Identifying the Unnamed Research Companion

Companion to "Early Photography & Identifying the Unnamed: How Context, Craft, and Comparison Help Restore Lost Mountain Identities"

Every unnamed photograph in a mountain family collection is a research problem waiting to be solved. The clues are almost always there. Includes a Photograph Analysis Worksheet, a Photographic Medium Dating Guide from daguerreotype through gelatin silver print, a Clothing and Context Reference with decade-by-decade indicators, and a Photographer's Signature Log for building a working database of studios and itinerant photographers connected to your family's counties.

2026 Edition

The State Supreme Court Research Companion

Companion to "State Supreme Court: When Mountain Land Feuds Went Legal: How Courtroom Battles Over Ridge Lines, Royalties, and Old Grants Can Rebuild Your Family Story"

When land disputes climbed past the county level to the state supreme court, they generated some of the richest genealogical records in existence. Includes a Case Research Worksheet, a guide to documents found inside a supreme court file, a Land Dispute Type Reference covering six categories most common in Appalachian appellate records, and a State-by-State Access Guide for all eleven core Appalachian states.

2026 Edition

The Beyond the Plow Research Companion

Companion to "Beyond the Plow: Decoding Ancestral Occupations in the 1880 Census: Understanding the Working Lives That Shaped Appalachian Families in the Late Nineteenth Century"

Every 1880 census occupation entry is a doorway into the working landscape your ancestors moved through. Includes an Ancestor Occupation Worksheet, a 1880 Occupation Reference Guide covering 25 occupational titles found in Appalachian mountain counties, a Women's Labor Decoder built around seven categories of work hidden behind "Keeping House," and a Records by Occupation Type reference with repository guidance.

2026 Edition

The Legal Cold Shoulder Research Companion

Companion to "The Legal Cold Shoulder: Finding Ancestors in 'Warning Out' Records: How Early American Communities Documented the Arrival of Strangers and Why These Notices Matter for Appalachian Research"

Before your ancestor signed a deed or appeared in a census, a county official may have already written their name in a court minute book. Includes a Warning Out Research Worksheet, a reference guide to all six warning out record types, a Repository and Access Reference Guide covering eight Appalachian states, and a nine-row research plan with a Cluster Research Tracker for mapping families warned at the same court term.

2026 Edition

The Circuit Rider's Journal Research Companion

Companion to "The Circuit Rider's Journal: Tracing Faith, Mobility, and Community Across the Appalachian Frontier"

Circuit rider records are among the richest genealogical sources for the early mountain South, recording names, baptisms, marriages, and membership transfers during periods when civil records were sparse or nonexistent. Includes a Circuit Rider Research Worksheet, a guide to eight distinct record types, a Denomination and Archive Reference covering nine faith traditions, and a seven-step research path from conference minutes to family record.

2026 Edition

WWI Draft Cards: Physical Descriptions Research Companion

Companion to "WWI Draft Cards: Physical Descriptions: Reading Bodies on Paper in Appalachian Family History"

"Tall, slender, blue eyes, dark hair." For Appalachian families, those few words may be the closest thing we have to standing face to face with a great-grandfather who never left a photograph behind. Includes a full Draft Card Transcription and Analysis Worksheet, a Physical Description Field Reference with standardized term definitions, a Same-Name Comparison Tracker for distinguishing between men who share a name, and a Migration Tracker.

2026 Edition

Valentine's and Marriage Bonds Research Companion

Companion to "Valentine's and Marriage Bonds: Tracing Love, Law, and Family in the Appalachian Hills"

A marriage bond names the groom, the bride, the bondsman, and the witnesses in a single document, widening the circle of connection far beyond what a simple marriage entry provides. Includes a Marriage Bond Transcription Worksheet, an eight-name relationship breakdown explaining every person named on the bond, a Marriage Record Type Reference Guide for eight record types across eight Appalachian states, and a Research Timeline through both families' probate events.

2026 Edition

Guardian Bonds: The Minor's Path Research Companion

Companion to "Guardian Bonds: The Minor's Path: How Probate Promises Reveal Hidden Appalachian Children"

Guardian bonds fill the gap between a minor appearing as a name on a census line and reappearing as an adult with land or a family of their own. Includes a Guardian Bond Transcription Worksheet, a five-role relationship breakdown, a nine-document guardianship paper trail from the deceased father's will through the final estate distribution, and a Birth Year Calculation table with five methods for narrowing a ward's birth year from the documents in the file.

2026 Edition

Haint Blue and Porch Superstitions Research Companion

Companion to "Haint Blue and Porch Superstitions: Tracing the Color That Guarded Our Doorways and Followed Our Ancestors Home"

A painted porch ceiling is a visible trace of belief, migration, cultural exchange, and women's labor that formal records almost never capture. When you treat superstition as data, you gain a fuller picture of who your ancestors were and what they carried with them. Includes an Oral History and Folklore Collection Worksheet, a Folklore-to-Record Crosswalk mapping nine story details to documentary records, a cultural origin and migration reference covering seven eras from pre-1700s West Africa forward, and a Photograph and Material Culture Evidence Tracker.