Print and Online Sources That Answer Frequently Asked Questions

• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: U.S. Political Leadership
• Part 3: Early Immigrants to U.S.
• Part 4: Surnames
• Part 5: Heraldry (Coats of Arms)
• Part 6: Historical Words and Expressions
• Part 7: Guides to Archival Resources in Other Repositories

• Montgomery-Masingberd, Hugh, ed. Burke's Presidential Families of the United States of America. London: Burke's Peerage, 1975.
  
  
• Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents, First Authoritative Edition. Santa Clarita, CA: C. Boyers 3d, 1995.
  
  
• Zorn, Walter L. The Descendants of the Presidents of the United States of America. 2d rev. ed. Monroe, MI: W. L. Zorn, 1955.

• Internet Public Library's Presidents of the United States
  
  
• George Washington's Papers, 1741-99, at the Library of Congress.
  
  
• Thomas Jefferson Online Resources at the University of Virginia
  
  
• Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center has his letters and diaries online.
  
  
• NARA's Presidential Libraries and Projects: Presidents Hoover, F. D. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, L. B. Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush

• Bibliography of Published Sources on First Ladies
  
  
• National First Ladies Library

• Treese, Joel D., ed. Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1996. Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997.
  
  
• U.S. Congress. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-present.
  
  
• Warner, Ezra J., and W. Buck Yearns. Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1975.

• Miller, Cynthia P., ed. A Guide to Research Collections of Former Members of the United States House of Representatives, 1789-1987. Washington, DC: The Office for the Bicentennial of the United States, House of Representatives, 1988). H. Doc. 100-171.
  
  
• Jacob, Kathryn A., ed. Guide to Research Collections of Former United States Senators, 1789-1982. Washington, DC: Historical Office, United States Sentate, 1983. Sen. Doc. 97-41.
  
  
• Paul, Karen D., ed. Guide to Research Collections of Former United States Senators, 1789-1995: A Listing of Archival Repositories Housing the Papers of Former Senators, Related Collections, and Oral History Interviews. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995.
  
  
• NARA's Center for Legislative Archives

• Bicentennial Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Judges of the United States. 2d ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1983. Contains basic biographical information about Federal judges.
  
  
• Cushman, Clare, ed. The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1993. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1993.
  
  
• Friedman, Leon, and Fred L. Israel, eds. The Justices of the United States Supreme Court, 1789-1969: Their Lives and Major Opinions. 5 vols. New York: R.R. Bowker Co./Chelsea House Publishers, 1969.
  
  
• Prechtel-Kluskens, Claire. "The Lives and Careers of Judges and Other Employees in the Federal Judicial System: Some Pointers on Research." Western Legal History, Vol. 10, Nos. 1-2 (1997): 59-78.
  
  
• Wonders, Peter A., comp. Directory of Manuscript Collections Related to Federal Judges, 1789-1997. Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center, 1998.

• Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978. 4 vols. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978.
  
  
• State-by-State Listing.
  
  
  • OHIO. Ohio Historical Society's Online Biographies of Ohio Governors, 1803-1971.

• Barthelmas, Della G. The Signers of the Declaration of Independence: A Biographical and Genealogical Reference. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., Inc., 1997.
  
  
• Pyne, Frederick W. Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Vol. 1, The New England States; Vol. 2, New York; Vol. 3, New Jersey; Vol. 4, Pennsylvania. Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1997-98.

• Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, December 1620. 14 vols. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1978-1997. This series covers over half of the Mayflower Pilgrims who left progeny.

• Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. 3 vols. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996. Contains detailed information on over 900 families.

• Redmonds, George. Surnames and Genealogy: A New Approach. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997. The fundamental lesson of this work is that each use of a surname is unique, beginning with one person or family at a particular time and a particular place. Thus, dictionaries of surnames may mislead when they provide a single origin as the explanation for a surname. The book's explanation of the ways in which surnames changed over time should aid American genealogical researchers in determining likely varients of surnames in their own ancestry.

• Filby, P. William. American and British Genealogy and Heraldry: A Selected List of Books. 3d ed. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1983. Bibliography of English-language materials on heraldry relating to the entire world.
  
  
• Filby, P. William. American and British Genealogy and Heraldry: 1982-1985 Supplement. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1987. Bibliography of English-language materials on heraldry relating to the entire world.

• Drake, Paul. What Did They Mean by That? A Dictionary of Historical Terms for Genealogists. Heritage Books, 1994.
  
  
• Drake, Paul. What Did They Mean by That? Some More Words. Heritage Books, 1998.

• National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections