The Sleuth Book for Genealogists – Strategies for More Successful Family History Research; by Emily Anne Croom; Originally printed 2000; Reprinted 2008; 290 pp; Soft Cover; ISBN: 9780806317878; Item # GPC1221

What do you do when you hit the proverbial brick wall? Try gleaning advice from literary sleuths like Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, and Hercule Poirot. That’s what expert genealogist Emily Croom helps you do in The Sleuth Book for Genealogists, which blends literary methods of deduction with genealogical expertise.

Using the sleuths’ acknowledged expertise in the deduction arts, The Sleuth Book will invigorate your genealogical research, helping you to:

• Determine your research goal
• Organize what you know
• Practice “cluster genealogy” research
• Document your research
• Decide whether you’ve answered your research questions.

Case studies and research examples throughout the book—including case studies of an Illinois Civil War Veteran, a former Mississippi slave, and a Tennessee farm wife, among others—illustrate genealogical sleuths in action, taking you step by step through the process of solving frustrating research problems. Appendixes include an introduction to genealogy fundamentals and a practical, detailed guide to citing your sources.

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• Introduction: Why the Sleuths?
• Putting a Down Payment on Success
• Focus of the Book
• What’s the Answer?
• First Things First: Getting Organized
• At Any Beginning
• Focus
• What’s the Problem?
• Planning for Research
• Part I: Developing a Plan
• Spontaneity
• Preliminary Planning
• Mapping Out a Plan
• Planning Methodically
• Talking About the Problem
• Example of a Written Plan
• Part II: Questioning as a Tool of Planning
• Categorizing Search Questions
• A Reference Section
• Broadening the Scope: Cluster Genealogy
• Why the Cluster?
• Who Is the Cluster?
• Next of Kin
• Extended Family
• Neighbors, Friends, and Associates
• People With the Same Surname
• Reconstructing the Cluster
• Cluster Genealogy in Progress
• Documenting Research
• Who Documents Their Works?
• What Does It Mean to Document Your Work?
• Why Do We Need to Document Our Work?
• Where and When Do We Cite Our Sources?
• How Do We Cite Our Sources?
• Considering Specifics
• Sources in the Family
• A Final Word
• Gathering Information: Research
• General Principles of Research
• A Word About Sources
• Suggestions for Effective Research: A Review
• Observe, Analyze, and Evaluate As You Research
• Working With Dates
• Using Public Records
• Strategies for Using Census Records
• Strategies for Using Probate Records
• Strategies for Using Land Records
• Strategies for Using Tax Records
• Mistakes We Make in Research
• Examining Evidence: The Gray Cells in Action
• Evidence
• The Smallest Chink of Light
• Evidence at Work
• the Little Cells of Gray
• Hypotheses and Theories
• Seeking the Truth (Proof)
• Research and Analysis: the Question of Rev. William Harrison’s Death Date
• Arranging Ideas: Progress Reports
• Preliminary Hearing
• Listening to What We Say
• Committing Your Work to Paper
• Progress Report on a Study of William Coleman Sr.
• Reporting: Case Solved
• Writing About the Successful Project
• Case Studies
• Introducing Chapters Nine, Ten, and Eleven
• Finding the Parent Generations: The Search for Isaac Heldreth’s Parents
• What Was Known When the Search Began
• Setting the Stage
• With Eyes and Mind Open
• Looking for Solid Evidence
• On Location
• What Is the Clue?
• The Missing Link
• Finding Slave Ancestors: The Search for the Family of Archie Davis, Sr.
• What Was Known When the Search Began
• Early Research
• Focus on Mother
• What Was Known at This Point About the Family of Archie Davis Sr.?
• Family Oral Tradition Plays a Role
• Some Examinations
• Plan B
• A Wild Possibility?
• Reviewing the Results in Clairborne County
• One More Step up the Hill
• Finding the Parent Generation: The Search for Ann (Robertson) Croom’s Parents
• What Was Known Before the Search Began
• What Was Known From the Paternal-Line Search
• Proof of Isaac Croom’s Surviving Children
• Isaac Croom’s Marriages
• Preliminary Census Check
• Reviewing the Initial Evidence
• Search for Birthplaces
• Survey Research in Louisiana
• Clues in Land Records?
• First Proof of Relationship
• Research Based on Isaac Croom Sr.’s Land Records
• Cluster of Isaac Crooms Sr.’s Associates
• The First Georgia Survey: the 1840 Census
• Texas?
• The Wake-Up Call
• Right Under My Nose
• Number One Suspect Emerges
• The Missing Link?
• One More Question Answered
• The Hypothesis
• The Critical Link
• Appendix A Preparing for Adventure: An Overview of the Basics
• At the Beginning
• Focusing the Search
• Repositories of Genealogical Information
• A Word About Sources
• Suggestions for Effective Research
• Documenting Research
• Dates in Official Record Books
• The Calendar Change
• Strategies for Effective Census Research
• For Further Discussion
• Appendix B Guide to Documentation: Examples of Style
• I. Published Books
• II. Articles in Journals
• III. Electronic and Internet Sources
• IV. Newspapers, Letters, and Interviews
• V. Public or Unpublished Documents and Records
• VI. Sources in the Family
• VII. Bibliography

• Bibliography of Sleuths
• Bibliography of Selected Works Mentioned in the Text or for Further Reference

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Anne Croom, a native Houstonian, taught high school history and worked in church music before concentrating full-time on genealogy— researching, writing, speaking, and teaching. Her other books are Unpuzzling Your Past, The Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook, The Genealogist’s Companion & Sourcebook, and, with Franklin Carter Smith, A Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your African-American Ancestors.