Guides: Genealogy Research: Contextual Information

AncestryLibrary Learning Center

Research Aids
If you are just getting started with your research and need some tips and tricks to get your genealogy search under way, check out these AncestryLibrary Learning Center research aids.
Maps
Maps provides additional U.S. genealogy research guides and records available by state in the AncestryLibrary Learning Center.
Chart and Forms
AncestryLibrary provides downloadable pdf charts and forms to help organize your research which includes an Ancestral Chart, Research Calendar, Research Extract, Correspondence Record, Family Group Sheet and a Source Summary.

Contextual Information

The following databases provide information that may help you understand what life was like for your ancestors living in different places and time periods.

African American Experience This link opens in a new window
Covers the black experience from its African origins to the present day. Topics include history, biography, literature, arts, music, pop culture, folklore, business, slavery, civil rights, politics, sports, education, and science & technology.
Includes hundreds of primary documents: manuscripts, speeches, court cases, quotations, advertisements, statistics, and other papers; More than 4,000 interviews with former slaves, including the WPA slave narratives from the acclaimed The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography; Sixty-seven Negro University Press texts from the late 1700s to the early 1970s classics in black scholarship. Other Features: In their Own Voices (audio clips, such as interviews with former slaves and music files). Links to vetted Web sites. Lesson plans, directly tied to associated primary source documents and images, and other classroom resources. Hundreds and hundreds of photographs, maps, and other images.
American Indian Experience This link opens in a new window
Full-text digital resource exploring the histories and contemporary cultures of the indigenous peoples of the United States. Offers access to more than 150 volumes of scholarship and reference content, hundreds of primary documents, and thousands of images.
Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century This link opens in a new window
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Archival materials including: digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, and more.
CultureGrams This link opens in a new window
Country reports that include local customs, basic economic and social data, politics and history, national flags, national anthems, etc. CultureGrams consists of three editions of country reports updated annually: World Edition, World Kids Edition, and States Edition.
Daily Life Through History This link opens in a new window
Explores ordinary life through time and across the globe. A cross-disciplinary resource for researching historical topics such as food and cooking, celebrations, clothes, romance, work, religion, housing, language, and social customs.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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A starting point for research and learning that offers unlimited access to hundreds of full text reference books on every subject. Includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations.
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
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Kanopy includes documentaries and feature films. All videos provided through the Kanopy streaming video platform have public performance rights.

Searching documents with OneSearch

This page is a step-by-step tutorial for using OneSearch. See below for instructions on searching OneSearch, and use the tabs on the left-hand side of the page to see instructions for accessing and saving sources and using your account.

What is OneSearch?

OneSearch is a "discovery tool" which searches multiple databases at the same time to help you find books, articles, music, and more. A default search in OneSearch searches content in Worldcat, Academic Search Complete, and ProQuest Research Library.

OneSearch This link opens in a new window
Filter to Stetson Library to search the collections of the duPont-Ball Library.

Genealogy Research

AncestryLibrary Learning Center

Contextual Information

Searching documents with OneSearch

Have a question? Ask a librarian! Email libref@stetson.edu. Call or text 386-747-9028.