Ancestry Magazine

Consider searching for the documents your ancestor left behind with his or her alma mater.

A black and white photo filled my computer screen. Even though it was sixty years old with no caption, I immediately recognized the young woman in the photograph as my mother. An e-mail to my mom confirmed my hunch, although she only vaguely remembered the circumstances and had never seen the picture. The photo is part of an online exhibit of her alma mater.

I happened upon the image while making what I thought was a vain attempt to find anything relating to my mother’s years at a school that was later absorbed by a larger university. It brought home to me the remarkable value of college records as they relate to family history research. Other college-related discoveries I’ve made includ e meeting a relative after finding her father in an academic catalog and following his path to her current location, unearthing a dissertation in a medical school’s archives penned by my great-great-great-grandfather nearly 200 years ago, and confirming a birthplace and parentage for another ancestor within his university biographical file.

A lifelong partnership exists between a school and its graduates, creating bonds of communication that are a boon to genealogists looking for those extra details to color a life story. Academic institutions generally keep thorough records of their students. Records retained in a school’s archives include diverse resources that you will find useful, providing clues that help piece together lives and connect you more fully to a family.

In addition to class lists, yearbooks, and academic files, there are alumni records documenting post-graduate lives, photographs, correspondence, dissertations, and curriculum vitae. If your ancestor was a professor, you will find research work and academic papers. You may even discover an archival motherlode such as diaries, letters, and personal effects bequeathed by an ancestor to his or her alma mater.

Researching within academic archives is best done through a campus visit or via written correspondence. You may chance upon a photo, name, or digitized record of a relative on an academic website, but the greatest potential for online information lies within library catalogs, links to historical data, and guidelines for research as you prepare to visit the school or as you craft a request for more information.

Where to Look
Before you visit or request records from a college, make sure your ancestor actually attended the school. If you are unsure, send an e-mail or letter to a reference librarian or the alumni office with your ancestor’s name and approximate graduation year. Then spend some time on the school website to learn what kind of information is available to genealogists. You may be pleasantly surprised to discover that information you are seeking is already online.

Alumni offices tend to focus on living alumni, but staff members will usually be able to point you in the right direction for more information. Many college websites are set up with obvious links to libraries, archives, historical data, and special collections.

Start with a school’s main library page and look for a link to special collections or archives. There you’ll learn the scope of its collection, whether the archivists allow visitors other than students and scholars, hours and school vacation closings, as well as a list of policies. These are all important to know before you visit or request information. Some school archivists ask that you make an appointment, other schools limit or prohibit visits by non-academics.

When you go to an academic library, be prepared so you can maximize your research time. Most academic archives have the same stringent requirements as historical and museum special collections libraries. You’ll be asked to fill out a research form, you’ll only be permitted to bring in a pencil and minimal personal reference materials, and likely you’ll only be allowed to look at one document at a time. You probably won’t be able to make photocopies, except by permission of the librarian on duty. Depending upon the age and condition of the document, you may be asked to wear gloves or use a book cradle.

Items You’ll Find
Academic collections are diverse, and while much of the record groups are predictable, the information within them may be treasures. A few examples from my own research illustrate the range of resources awaiting genealogists in academic archives.

Dissertations and theses. The academic work of students is often available for scholarly and personal research. At first, I found the topic uninviting, but viewing twelve pages of my ancestor’s handwritten dissertation quickened my pulse. As a doctoral requirement at Dartmouth Medical School in 1816, Solomon Cummings presented his “Dissertation on Chronic Splenitis, with two Cases.” The medical philosophy of his day is reflected in his words and the thoroughness of his theories. At the end he wrote, “Copy of a Dissertation read before the Faculty of Dartmouth, August 26th 1816,” followed by his signature, which placed his work in context and personalized a link to my family’s past.

Directories. Universities and colleges typically publish alumni directories and maintain files of their graduates. The directories are available to the public and can be found not only in academic libraries, but in historical societies and regional public libraries, not to mention private collections of individuals who have attended those institutions.

Alumni directories generally list the graduate’s parents; places and dates of birth, marriage, and death; educational background; professional history; and other information supplied by the graduate or his or her family.

Student files. These often include newspaper clippings, biographies, correspondence, and photographs. My great-great-grandfather, Alonzo Paige Peeke, graduated from Rutgers in 1859. A visit to the special collections department at Rutgers helped me round out his biographical portrait. In addition to confirming dates and family information, I found a photo and a letter from his son. My greatest discovery was a newspaper clipping elaborating on the circumstances of his death “clasped in the arms of his devoted wife” on a train journey home from a sanitarium. This account was followed by heartfelt sentiments of friends and family, which are especially poignant since they were recorded near the time of the event.

Newspaper clippings and correspondence yield clues to military backgrounds and membership in academic and social organizations. A refer ence to Phi Betta Kappa, a fraternity, or professional association will lead you to other resources. Viewing photos of my Peeke ancestor, the reserved family patriarch, I would never have believed that he was a member of The Delta Upsilon fraternity. Certainly fraternities had better reputations in those days, but the frat-boy image still lingers in my mind. Another note in his biographical file says he enjoyed gardening and fishing. The information I discovered in one visit to his alma mater endowed him with a personality.

Keep in mind that information contained within a graduate’s file is limited and unavailable to others until he or she is deceased. Even then, access depends upon the school’s policy.

Yearbooks. It goes almost without saying that since yearbooks were first popularized, they have become an essential reference for interesting information on relatives. The pictures alone are must-haves. My grandmother’s classmates in the 1905 Erie (Pennsylvania) High School yearbook thought her “hair and complexion wonderfully fair.” Her chosen quote was, “I blush to say I’ve winked at him, and he has winked at me.” Nothing I’d expect from my grandmother! Her husband’s 1909 Dartmouth College yearbook addresses him as “Fat,” an unlikely nickname for a thin man. And his quote? “Look you, I myself am nearest to myself.” Another insight into ancestral thoughts.

Estate papers and research work. The greatest treasure trove is discovering diaries and personal effects left to universities by their graduates. Dr. B.C. Brett, also a Dartmouth graduate, donated personal materials in 1925 “to have something on file at Hanover, … in case, after my demise, it should be asked for, which is likely not to be the case.” It was the case! Even if your ancestor left little in his file, it’s possible he had a classmate who was a great diarist or recordkeeper. You may find mention of your kin w ithin another student’s collection.

Community information. Colleges and universities are also community repositories and therefore collect information and resources of genealogical value. The W.B. Nickerson Memorial Room at Cape Cod Community College (W. Barnstable, Massachusetts) is well-known as a center for documents relating to Cape Cod life, including newspapers, books, magazines, manuscripts, and genealogies. The Cuban Collection at the Otto G. Richter Library at the University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida) has a large collection of Cuban and Spanish genealogical resources amassed through the interests of expatriots working there and donations from the Cuban community.

It is not unusual for college libraries to house the full collections of regional historical societies. The Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois archives are at the John A. Logan College Library (Carterville, Illinois). And Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey) houses the collections of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey and the New Jersey State Society of the DAR. These are only a few examples of the many academic repositories that host collections of interest to genealogists.

Internet Options
In addition to finding information on specific college websites, other sites have materials pertaining to college records. Ancestry.com has databases relating to college records, most particularly the 1922 classes at Cornell and Princeton, and the 1913 Harvard University Alumni Directory. It also has a Cambridge University database. Amherst College in Massachusetts has a link to biographies of its 1821—1921 graduates at Amherst College Biographical Record.

A simple search on the Library of Congress website, using keywords “alumni directory,” will bring over 2,000 choices. Once you find the right book, you can request it through interlibrary loan. Pers onal webpages offer more resources if you do a search on a school name and some pertinent keywords.

Academic archives are often overlooked as valuable sources of genealogical data. Researching within the hallowed halls of a prestigious institution can be intimidating to some people, and not knowing where to start can stall others. But once you get your first glimpse into those memorable college days of your ancestor, you’ll be astonished at the personal insights they bring.

Laura Prescott Duffy is the educational services coordinator for the New England Historic Genealogical Society.