Currently serving as president of the St. Tammany Genealogical Society, Dutsch has been researching her family’s history for more than 50 years. As a young child, she heard stories about a great-great-great-grandfather who served as a French general and married a woman from Spain. As a teenager, she started asking family members about this ancestor, and learned how to find reliable historical data. On a field trip to the Louisiana Historical Society in Baton Rouge, she connected with experienced genealogists who provided information and guidance. “I knew I had to determine in what period of French history he served,” she says.

Although Dutsch discovered quite a lot about that ancestor over the years, her curiosity was not completely satisfied, because she ran into a brick wall at the year 1793. She has been much more successful with other family lines, and has amassed a fairly complete record of her family through research and documentation.

“I’ve done all of my branches, although some were more troublesome than others,” she says. An unexpected benefit has been meeting distant relatives in far off corners of the country. “Recently, my daughter and I took a trip to the Boston area where we met kinfolk who welcomed us into the fold.”

The St. Tammany Genealogical Society

Dutsch is just one of the more than 100 members of the genealogical society, which meets at the St. Tammany Parish Library in Covington. Although the society has been active since the early 1980s, only recently have the numbers swelled to such proportions. According to Dutsch, the society could easily double its membership over the next few years.

Meetings are held from September through June, with two field trips each year to other libraries and research facilities. The group also produces a quarterly 24-page newsletter full of information.

The society has several projects in the works to document local history. Members have published a book of Fielding Funeral Home obituaries, and are working on similar books for other St. Tammany funeral homes. They are also compiling a CD-ROM of historical photos, and are working with the St. Tammany Parish School Board to incorporate genealogical projects into the curriculum of parish schools.

Resources at the library

The society works closely with the library and its Electronic Resource Center in Covington to provide public access to genealogy information. Library genealogy specialist Linda Brown-Kubisch is on staff to help novice and experienced researchers. She also gives workshops for new researchers.

“Some of the other branches have genealogy materials, but there is a dedicated genealogy section in the Louisiana Room at the Covington branch with extensive materials,” Brown-Kubisch says. Some of the published items include volumes on passenger and immigration lists, including births and deaths on the Mayflower, Civil War records of the Florida Parishes, census records and a Native American genealogical sourcebook.

The entire record of the St. Tammany Farmer newspaper from 1878 to the present is on microfilm, as well as the U.S. census from 1790. Since the Louisiana Purchase did not take place until 1803, however, the census records for Louisiana begin in 1810.

“We have the census for most Louisiana parishes and are in the process of buying all of them,” Brown-Kubisch says, adding that the census was a snapshot of who lived in a particular residence at the time it was taken. Each census lists the head of the house, the wife, children and other residents, along with their place and date of birth and information such as real estate holdings and personal property.

“I have tried to focus on collecting the basic materials so local residents do not have to travel to Baton Rouge or New Orleans for those items,” she adds. “We have a great collection for people who are just starting their research.”

The ERC provides quick access to the hundreds of genealogy sites flourishing on the internet. Patrons can also utilize popular genealogy software to which the library has subscribed. Through library acquisition and STGS donations, the ERC has a large collection of CD-ROMs on family histories, Mayflower records, deeds, wills and military records.

The ERC also has AncestorsPlus, Family Tree Maker and a portion of the LDS collection originally found only at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Centers.

The Internet

Although STGS members are quick to point out that much of the research must be done in the old-fashioned hands-on method, the internet is helping to reduce the research process. Many websites allow researchers to look at historical documents on-line and order copies for their records, and also pinpoint relevant data resources.

Society member Robert Knowles recommends exploring existing published research before using time or money to duplicate the work. “The information available on the internet in terms of genealogical research is increasing all the time,” he says. “A lot of researchers get a boost by looking into previously published materials, such as those in the Genealogy Room at the library or on the internet.”

Searching for roots

When Knowles began his research, he knew very little about his family’s history. As an only child, he had little information to go on, especially since his father died in 1967, and his paternal grandfather died in 1909. He had no information on where either was born, but he soon found the research both rewarding and interesting. “I wasn’t interested in history during high school or college, but now I just eat it up,” he says. “Once you find an ancestor, you want to know the history of the period in which they lived, as well as the political and religious influences of the time.”

Knowles is moving into new territory as he attempts to clarify his family origins. “There were Knolls in England, and Noel in Scandinavia was pluralized to Noles,” he notes. Not knowing from which line he hails is a challenge. He has turned to genetics to determine whether all of the derivations of Knowles are related to a common ancestor or if there are several individual lines. Through his research, he has connected with more than 1,000 Knowles descendants and hopes to solve the mystery with DNA testing. “It’s the next big thing in genealogy research,” he says, adding that the traditional genealogy research has to be done before you get into the DNA research. “The Holy Grail for genealogists is still the primary document.”

A newspaper clipping, an obituary, birth, marriage and death certificates, anything filled out by or for the ancestor becomes an important source of information. These original documents provide vital information that allows the researcher to fill the gaps with facts that were only stories before.

Old family Bibles with names and birth and death dates provide a wealth of information on family members long departed. In many cases, family Bibles tell of early American life, since many communities were small and did not have official courthouses.

“You start with your parents, your grandparents, their birthdays and where they were born,” says Knowles. Using the census and other vital documents, you work back from that simple beginning. “If you’re a serious researcher like Martha Dutsch, you will want to prove everything with official documentation. Many people, however, enjoy the search without feeling the need to have copies of the source documents.”

Knowles adds that genealogy research is the ultimate hobby. “You never run out of ancestors to collect,” he says. Fascinated with the mathematical quantifications, he points out that we all start with two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents. “If you go back ten generations you have at least 1,024 different genealogical lines to research.”

While most Americans know a little about their family’s heritage, history comes alive when they discover in which states and counties their ancestors lived in the 19th century and from which country they originated. “If you haven’t done any research, going back three generations is a little tough. However, most people in the United States can get at least one line back ten generations if they work at it,” Knowles says.

Most people start their research with their own surname and add family lines as they become comfortable with the process. Utilizing what other researchers have previously published cuts down on research time; a dedicated researcher, however, always backs up any data with official documentation. “It brings ultimate satisfaction to know something about who you are,” says Knowles. “You can determine if your ancestors were in the Civil War or the Revolutionary War and if they were farmers or city dwellers.”

Support for beginners

STGS members are generous with their knowledge and research and welcome new researchers to rub elbows with those who have already gone through the process. Brown-Kubisch is available to offer suggestions, provide charts and to help novices get a good start. She and other library staff members can show patrons how to access the census materials and the microfilm.

Catching the genealogy bug can lead to a lifetime of discovery about your family and the chance to meet unknown relatives - and it can also serve as an incentive to travel and learn more about the world and its history.

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