by Sue Ziemski 

Walking with Your Ancestors: A Genealogist’s Guide to Using Maps and Geography ( Family Tree Books, 2005) is the title of a recent donation to the NVGS Library. This very interesting book covers all aspects of analyzing and researching maps as well as the history and development of various types of maps. The first chapters give a comprehensive overview of using maps for genealogical research and finding places in your family history. For an example of one piece of valuable information there is a section on using metes and bounds in older maps to plot out the actual dimensions and configuration of the property described. This section includes a chart for converting older measurements to modern terms:

There are chapters on topographic maps, land divisions and county maps and atlases, migration trails, military maps, urban maps such as fire insurance maps and a chapter on using GPS. (See NGS Magazine article below that offers more detailed instructions.) The volume has numerous resources listed throughout as well as an index of map collections listed by state. This list also indicates those sites that include extensive collections of fire insurance maps.

This book is available in the map section of the library where NVGS has a collection of atlases and map books as well as flat maps. Also in this area is another volume that is much older (1964) but also interesting in what it offers beyond just maps. The Europa Shell Atlas of Europe has fold-out maps of the European countries; but the valuable information is the extensive index of place names as they were in 1964.

Find more great resources using our Library's online catalog.

recommended by our Librarians:

Ordnance Survey Maps of Great Britain & Ireland

From 1805 to 1844, Great Britain began a project of detailed surveys of the entire country. These maps are known as Ordnance Surveys. The goal was to be prepared for an invasion by Napoleon by understanding all resources available especially military needs for transportation of supplies and troops. Every road and pathway are noted, all villages and other residences and buildings, the topography and every waterway. All of these maps have been digitized and can be purchased or researched online. There were many series completed over the years. Wikipedia has an article on these surveys and complete sets of the various series.

Survey maps of Ireland are available from Ordnance Survey of Ireland (OSI) which provides public viewing of the maps on its website. In addition, there is a series of 40 volumes entitled Memoirs of Ireland. While doing the survey during the 1830’s, the engineers and surveyors conducted detailed interviews of residents of Ireland and noted details of the buildings and residences. Because this information was recorded before the Great Famine it includes valuable facts about Ireland prior to this major change. Many of the interviews include family histories and other personal information. These volumes were not published until the 1990’s but are now available on various websites.

Our National Archives

The National Archives in Washington, D.C. encompasses over one million square feet of documents and artifacts. All of this information has been digitized and is on microfiche. The Napa Valley Genealogy Library has numerous books that provide a guide to researching this collection (Call No. 027.5). There are guides to military information, a guide to slavery information, a guide to documents about the War of 1812 and much, much more.

After researching the guides to the collection, there are several ways to access the information. It can be ordered or viewed at a Regional Center. All of this process is discussed in the books in this section. In California there is a Regional Center in San Bruno where the microfiche can be viewed.