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Yellowstone Genealogy Forum

 

Research Functions

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 (Revised Cost to research was $7.00)

Queries about persons, histories and events related to the Yellowstone County area are directed to the Yellowstone GenWeb Site, Lookup sections. Additional areas for lookups are as follows:

Mail-In or Email Queries

 Mail-in queries for anything on this page, or what else you might need from the extensive library resources in Billings, and we will attempt to respond as quickly as possible.

For email responses contact: Anita Smith.

 

 

Billings Newspapers Research Fees & Schedule

A full record listing of all of the local and specialized newspapers are available for research. Searching for specific information on microfilm copies does require a substantial amount of time, and normally a request can be completed within one to two weeks. Photocopies of the microfilm records cost $.50 each. The estimated research fee is $10.00 plus the charges for copying and mailing. The following newspapers were published in Billings, Montana unless otherwise noted. Some of the sources no longer exist or have changed ownerships and names. Not all issues are available for research, nor were all publications microfilmed.

* Out of Print or combined with other paper

Colleges and Schools

Billings has numerous grade and high schools in the area. School census records are retained in the School District #2 Superintendents office in the Court House. [Note: Access to these records is normally limited to individuals listed in the census, or their family members.] These records cover all of Yellowstone County from 1914 through the present. Years prior to 1914 for the County are retained at the Miles City County Court House. Years from 1914 through 1930, excepting for District #2 (City of Billings) are available from the YGF on a CD ROM.

The local colleges have alumni offices where additional information on their students is generally available to family researchers through purchase of their alumni books and class graduation books, published by each college. Additionally, these libraries are a source for various types genealogical information, but you must ask for the materials, as they are not normally kept on the exposed bookshelves. MSU-Billings is a good source for Native American ancestry.

 



Local Affiliations & Lodges

Billings has several societies that were founded during the early days, and some more recent. These societies normally retain records of memberships, have newsletters, and occasionally portray an individuals accomplishments and ancestral relationships. Some of the fraternal, youth & patriotic societies in Billings and nearby towns are:

 

  Obituaries 

 The Forum holds original obituaries of persons who have had them published in the various Billings Newspapers since 1977, and are completed through 2002; earlier ones are available on microfilm. To obtain copies visit the GenRoom located on the 2nd floor of the Parmly Billings Library. (Note: Additional research of the newspaper files and biographies available in the Montana Room can be made for obituaries created prior to the Forum's holdings.)

Mortuaries (Funeral Parlors, Embalmers & Undertakers)

Yellowstone County has had the following funeral parlors and related services over the years. Many of these facilities have combined or split over the years, making it difficult to locate your family records. These mortuaries can usually be identified through the obituary.

 Examples of Documents and Handwriting used in Genealogical Research

When your research takes you the early times (pre-1900) difficulties start to mount, and one needs to study the language of the times in order to be prepared for reading old texts. Of course, the further back one goes in time, the more difficult the translations become.  But that is why Genealogy is so much fun. The Old documents link provides examples of what one might run across in researching the past. This link is open to any and all who have interesting examples they wish to display. Simply e-mail them to the Webmaster.

 Materials Offered for Sale or Exchange

The Forum has books and related genealogy materials for sale or trade. The library holdings are constantly changing due to purchases and donations. The Forum also maintains CD ROMs on Funeral information and Rural Yellowstone County School Census Records.

NEW DEAL RECORDS –TIPS for FINDING YOUR RELATIVES WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM[1]
Sharon Rhodes Editor
The New Deal program was created in the 1930s by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Several federal agencies were formed as part of the New Deal that provided work for many Americans during the Great Depression.

Emergency Conservation Work was created by congress in April 1933. Congress extended this program in June 1937 and the name Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, became the official agency title. In 1939 it became part of the Federal Security Agency. The program was designed to conserve timber, soil and water and offer jobs and training to unemployed young men.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, was created in May 1933 to improve conditions in the Tennessee River Basin.

The National Industrial Recovery Act, NIRA, provided the Public Works Administration and the National Recovery Administration, NRA.

The Public Works Administration (PWA), Works Progress Administration (renamed Works Projects Administration in 1939) (WPA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and National Youth Administration (NYA) are explained below.

The Social Security Act contained the retirement fund, unemployment insurance and aid for dependent children.

For information about the records from these programs I contacted NARA Reference Specialist Eugene Morris.

Here is what he said:

"TVA records are kept at our Southeast Regional Archive in Eastpoint Georgia. http://www.archives.gov/facilities/ga/atlanta.html  Anyone looking for TVA records should just contact them straight away.

The PWA, known originally as the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works.was created in 1933. The WPA was created by the merging of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (May, 1933) and the Civil Works Administration (November 1933) by Executive Order in May of 1935. The PWA and the WPA (along with the CCC and a few others) were placed under the control of the Federal Works Agency in July of 1939. The National Youth Administration began as a WPA program in 1935. In July of 1939, it was transferred to the newly created Federal Security Agency. In September of 1942, it was transferred again to War Manpower Commission. Its functions were absorbed by that agency.

Social Security records (Record Group 47) are considered part of the Health/Human Services cluster and are not under the New Deal Era cluster.

...Indexes of locality-specific records ... would still be somewhere in the local area. Indexes of cemeteries, birth and death records, census records, court records, church archives and the WPA did many more but those indexes remained with the records they indexed. The local records were not copied and there are not copies of them at the National Archives. The bulk of the administrative files of the WPA are at the National Archives at College Park.

stillpix@nara.gov is the e-mail address for our Still Pictures unit, online photos can be found at http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/index.html or by searching the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) at http://www.archives.gov/research_room/arc/index.html

CCC, WPA, PWA, NYA, and NRA records are all part of the New Deal cluster of records and (researchers) can write to the inquire address (inquire@nara.gov) or call us at (301) 837-3480.

Personnel information for persons employed by the NYA, NRA, and PWA is non-existent. For WPA workers, at The National Personnel Records Center there is a tiny, fragmentary file listing a portion of those individuals who received employment through the United States Employment Service on WPA projects. It will list only the name of the person and the Official Project (O.P.) number of the project.  For CCC enrollees, their Discharge Certificates are on file at the National Personnel Records Center. Their address is National Personnel Records Center, Civilian Personnel Records, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis, MO 63118-4199. You'll generally have to supply the person’s name, date of birth, and there also may be privacy issues that require signed releases or proof of death and proof of relation."

Morris specializes in New Deal records and records of WWI Civilian agencies; to contact him with questions call 301-837-1993. To contact the NARA about holdings email inquire@nara.gov.

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[1] Copied from the USGenWeb NEWS archived at http://usgenweb.org/newsletter/index.shtml
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Provided by NEWSLETTER STAFF, Editor: Sharon Rhodes January 2005.