Oral History & Family History

This guide lists resources that will help you find information on conducting family history research and oral history from books, periodicals, and Internet resources.

To find books owned by Boston University Libraries, you will need to search by subject in the online Catalog, using subject headings (such as genealogy or oral history) from the Library of Congress Subject Headings volumes available in the libraries.

Reference Works.
Indexes, Abstracts, and Full Text Sources.
Circulating Books.
Internet Sources.

Reference Works.

American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. 1996.: Contains 500+ articles on American and Canadian folk culture, including genres; ethnic, immigrant, and occupational groups; individuals; holidays; arts and crafts; and music. Topics range from quilt making to Ouija, computer folklore to Friday the 13th. Mugar GR101 A54 1996.
Armenian Immigrants: Boston 1891-1901, New York 1880-1897. 1996.: "Comprehensive listing of all of the more than 7,300 Armenian immigrants who came through the ports of Boston and New York during those time periods. Information on each immigrant includes the ship, the ports of departure and arrival, date of arrival, age, sex, marital status, nationality, last residence, destination in America, and the reference to the original ship's list." Mugar E184 A7 A92 1996.

Asian American Genealogical Sourcebook. 1995.: Guide to genealogical research on East and South Asian ancestors of Asian Americans. Mugar E184 O6 A828 1995. Storage: Use Request Form.
Black Genesis. 1978.: Guide to doing genealogical work in the African American community. Mugar CS21 R57. Storage: Use Request Form.
Census Records for Latin America and the Hispanic United States. 1998.: "This is the largest and most complete survey of census records available for Latin America and the Hispanic United States. The result of exhaustive research in Hispanic archives, it contains a listing of approximately 4,000 separate censuses, each listed by country and thereunder alphabetically by locality, province, year, and reference locator." Mugar Z5313 L37 P56 1998. Storage: Use Request Form.

A Comprehensive Name Index for 'The American Slave.' 1997.: Index to 2,000 slave narratives compiled by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (1936-1938). Mugar E441 F72 Suppl. 4.
Ethnic Genealogy: A Research Guide. 1983.: Guide to tracing one's ethnic ancestors. Mugar CS49 E83 1983.
Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art. 2 vols. 1997.: Cross-cultural encyclopedia of folklore forms (ballads, legends) and methods of inquiry and analysis (linguistic approach, historic-geographic method). Entries, which include such topics as Xeroxlore, computer-mediated folklore, and vampires, include references for further reading. Mugar GR35 F63 1997.
Genealogical Historical Guide to Latin America. 1978.: Handbook on genealogical research in South and Central America. Mugar CS95 D45.
How and Where to Research Your Ethnic-American Cultural Heritage. 1978.: Guide to searching for one's ethnic roots. Mugar Ref. X CS16 R4M.
The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History. 2009. (BU-px).: "The most comprehensive and authoritative guide available to all things associated with the family and local history of the British Isles. It provides practical and contextual information for anyone enquiring into their English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh origins and for anyone working in genealogical research, or the social history of the British Isles."

Preachers, Patriots & Plain Folks: Boston Burying Ground Guide to King's Chapel, Granary, Central. 2004.: "Full listing of the tombstones, missing stones, and crypts in the King's Chapel Burying Ground, Granary Burying Ground, and Central Burying Ground." Mugar Ref X F73.25 W46 2004.

Indexes, Abstracts and Full Text Sources.

America: History and Life. 1964 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts the periodical literature and dissertations on North American history and culture from prehistoric times to the present. Topics include oral history and oral tradition.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index. 1975 - . (BU-px).: Provides author, subject and citation access to the literature in the humanities. Includes citations to articles on oral history.
Biography Resource Center. (ChRiv-px).: "Biography Resource Center contains more than 422,000 biographies on more than 335,000 people gathered from more than 940 volumes of more than 135... Thomson Gale reference sources as well as full-text articles from nearly 300 magazines specifically chosen for their renowned biographical content in a broad range of subject areas."
Ethnic NewsWatch. 1990 - . (BU-px).: A comprehensive full-text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press
HeritageQuest Online. (BPL): "HeritageQuest Online is the marriage of ProQuest's Genealogy & Local History Online, a collection of over 25,000 family and local histories, and genealogical-data content from HeritageQuest, such as the complete set of
U.S. Federal Census Records, 1790-1930." Available remotely to patrons with Boston Public Library library cards.
Historical Abstracts. 1955 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical literature and dissertations on world history (excluding the U.S. and Canada), from 1450 to the present. Look here for articles on oral history and oral tradition.
Historical Newspapers: The New York Times. 1851-2006. (BU-px).: "Offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue."
Humanities Full Text. 1983 - . (ChRiv-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical literature in the humanities, including history and oral history. Includes full text of articles from nearly 250 journals as far back as 1995. For retrospective searching (1907-1984) use Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective, which indexes nearly 1,200 periodicals as early as 1907.
JSTOR. (BU-px).: Archive of scholarly journals in electronic format, digitized from the first issue onward to a "moving wall" of two to five years ago.

MLA International Bibliography. 1926 - . (BU-px).: International index to journals, series, monographs, working papers, bibliographies and dissertations on modern languages, literature, linguistics and folklore. Relevant topics include folk histories, folk narrative, and oral history.
Sociological Abstracts. 1952 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical articles, conference papers, proceedings, dissertations, and book reviews in sociology and related fields. Relevant topics include oral history.
Women's Studies International. 1972 - . (BU-px).: Contains citations or citations/abstracts from ten women's studies databases. Relevant subjects include oral history and oral histories.

Circulating Books.

American Mosaic: The Immigrant Experience in the Words of Those Who Lived it. 1980.: Mugar JV6455 M67
Asian American Experiences in the United States: Oral Histories of First to Fourth Generation Americans from China, the Philippines, Japan, India, the Pacific Islands, Vietnam, and Cambodia. 1991.: Mugar E184 O6 L44 1991
Between Generations: Family Models, Myths, and Memories. 1993.: Mugar HQ518 B49 1993
Black Roots in Southeastern Connecticut, 1650-1900. 2001.: Mugar E185.93 C7 B76 2001
The Boston Recorder & Telegraph, 1825: News and Summary, Marriages and Deaths. 2004.: Mugar F73.25 F57 2004
Czechs and Slovaks in America. 2005.: Mugar E184 B67 R43 2005

Doing Oral History. 1995.: Mugar D16.14 R57 1995
East to America: Korean American Life Stories. 1996.: Mugar E184 K6 E27 1996
Envelopes of Sound: The Art of Oral History. 2nd. ed. 1991.: Mugar D16.14 G74 1991
First Generation: In the Words of 20th Century Americans. 1992.: Mugar JV6455 F56
From Memory to History: Using Oral Sources in Local Historical Research. 1981.: Mugar D16 A38
Generations: Your Family in Modern American History. 1978.: Mugar HN57 W354 1978
The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. 1995-.: Mugar F3 A53 1995 (vols 1-3)
Growing Up Jewish in America: An Oral History. 1995.: Mugar E184 J5 G764 1995
The Hood River Issei: An Oral History of Japanese Settlers in Oregon's Hood River Valley. 1993.: Mugar F882 H9 T36 1993
Interactive Oral History Interviewing. 1994.: Mugar D16.14 I55 1994
Life Stories of Undistinguished Americans. 1990.: Mugar E184 A1 L52
Lives of Promise: Studies in Biography and Family History. 1992.: Education LB1029 B55 F53 1992
Mexican Voices/American Dreams: An Oral History of Mexican Immigration to the United States. 1990.: Mugar E184 M5 D28 1990
My Confederate Kinfolk: A Twenty-first Century Freedwoman Confronts Her Roots. 2006.: Mugar E185.96 D285 2006
My Folks Don't Want Me to Talk about Slavery: Twenty-One Oral Histories of Former North Carolina Slaves. 1984.: Mugar E445 N8 M9 1984
Native American Testimony: A Chronicle of Indian-White Relations from Prophecy to the Present, 1492-1992. 1991.: Mugar E93 N3 1991
Oral History: A Guide for Teachers (and Others). 1983.: Mugar D16.14 S57 1983
Oral History: An Interdisciplinary Anthology. 1984.: Mugar D16.14 O73 1984
Oral History: An Introduction for Students. 1979.: Mugar D16.14 H66
Oral History and Public Memories. 2008.: Mugar D16.14 O735 2008

Oral History for the Local Historical Society. 1987.: Mugar D16.14 B37 1987
Oral History: From Tape to Type. 1977.: Mugar D16.14 D38
The Oral History Reader. 1998.: Mugar D16.14 O76 1998
Our Parents' Lives: Jewish Assimilation and Everyday Life. 1996.: Mugar E184 J5 C787 1996
Our Parents' Lives: The Americanization of Eastern European Jews. 1989.: Mugar E184 J5 C79 1989
South Carolina's African American Confederate Pensioners, 1923-1925. 1998.: Mugar E585 A35 H45 1998

Today's Immigrants, Their Stories. 1981.: Mugar JV6455 K46
Transcribing and Editing Oral History. 1981.: Theo Open Stacks D16.14 B38 1981
Twenty Families of Color in Massachusetts: 1742-1998. 1998: Mugar F63 D67 1998
Voices from Southeast Asia: The Refugee Experience in the United States. 1991.: Mugar E184 I43 T46 1991.
Voices of the Heart: Asian American Women on Immigration, Work, and Family. 2007.: Mugar F358.2 A75 L56 2007
Where She Came From: A Daughter's Search for Her Mother's History. 1997.: Mugar DS135 C97 E67 1997

Internet Sources.

African American Genealogy Research at the National Archives.: Information on pre-Civil War, militar, and post-Civil War records on African American ancestry, and links to other resources.
American Association for State and Local History.: "(AASLH) is a not-for-profit professional organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote history. The Association, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is dedicated to the 'promotion of effort and activity in the fields of state, provincial and local history in the United States and Canada.'" It publishes books on conducting oral history and local history.
American Communities: An Oral History Approach: African American Experiences in Durham, North Carolina.: "As a part of Duke University's American Communities seminar, eight undergraduate students interviewed elders in Durham's African American Community. The students examined the history of the United States and the American South through the voices and perspectives of people who have lived, experienced, and "made" history firsthand...This special web site presents profiles of the students' interviewees and sections of the interviews."
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.: Provides information on the activities, publications, and holdings of the American Folklife Center, which was established by Congress to "preserve and present American folklife."
American Folklore Society.: "Founded in 1888, the American Folklore Society serves to stimulate interest and research in all aspects of the study of folklore and folklife. The Society exists to further the discipline of folklore studies, to improve the professional well-being of its members, and to increase the respect given to diverse cultures and their traditions."
American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940.: This site, which is part of the Library of Congress American Memory project, provides the full text of 2900 life histories written by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers' Project for the U.S. Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1940. The histories describe informants' "family education, income, occupation, political views, religion and mores, medical needs, diet, and miscellaneous observations."
Canadian Genealogy Centre, Library and Archives Canada.: "The Canadian Genealogy Centre is a single window providing electronic access to the genealogical resources of Canada. It offers genealogical content, services, advice, research tools and opportunities to work online."
Chinese Immigration and the Chinese in the United States.: Information on the available records in the National Archives documenting Chinese immigration to the U.S.
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet.: Categorized and cross-referenced directory of sites useful for genealogical research.
Ellis Island.: Database of searchable passenger lists.
FamilySearch.: Family history resources made available by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). The largest genealogical database on the Internet includes records for more than one billion names of people who have died.
Folklife and Fieldwork: A Layman's Introduction to Field Techniques. 3rd. ed. 2002.: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, guidebook to conducting folklife and folklore fieldwork. Folklife research can encompass family life, oral tradition, and material culture. Includes tips on interviewing and tape recording, and sample forms.
Genealogists/Family Historians, National Archives.: "Genealogists are no doubt the most numerous users of the Washington, DC, research rooms, and 13 regional records service facilities of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Because of the sheer size of our holdings, it will be many years before electronic access to a significant portion of our genealogical records is possible. In the interim, this area provides many of the finding aids, guides, and research tools that can prepare you for a visit to one of our facilities."
Hurricane Digital Memory Bank.: "The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the stories and digital record of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. George Mason University's Center for History and New Media and the University of New Orleans , in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and other partners, organized this project. Generously funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation , the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank contributes to the ongoing effort by historians and archivists to preserve the record of these storms by collecting first-hand accounts, on-scene images, blog postings, and podcasts."
In the First Person: An Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories, and Personal Narratives.: "In the First Person is a free, high quality, professionally published, in-depth index of close to 4,000 collections of personal narratives in English from around the world. It lets you keyword search more than 700,000 pages of full-text by more than 18,000 individuals from all walks of life. It also contains pointers to some 4,300 audio and video files and 30,000 bibliographic records. The index contains approximately 20,500 months of diary entries, 63,000 letter entries, and 17,000 oral history entries."
Information Wanted: A Database of Advertisements for Irish Immigrants Published in the Boston Pilot.: Interactive database of 31,438 records containing genealogical information on Irish-Americans who immigrated to the U.S. from the early 1800s through the early 1900s.
Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston.: "The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston (JGSGB) is a non-profit organization which develops and promotes the growth, study, and exchange of ideas among people interested in Jewish genealogical research and family history."
National Archives, New England Regional Office.: "NARA's Northeast Region (Boston) has more than 25,000 cubic feet of archival holdings dating from 1789 to the 1970s. ...The NARA facility in Waltham has extensive microfilm holdings, and some original records, of value for genealogy research, among them: Federal population censuses for all States, 1790-1920 (including indexes for 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920); Revolutionary War military service records, and pension and bounty land warrant applications; passenger arrival records for the port of Boston, 1820-74 and 1883-1936, and for other New England ports, 1820-1943; Canadian border entry records, 1895-1954; records relating to appointments of certain Federal officials; World War II draft registration records (New England states only): naturalization records (New England states only)."
National Archives of England, Wales and the United Kingdom.: The national archive of England, Wales and the United Kingdom, this site has a page on information for genealogists.
New England Historic Genealogical Society.: The oldest genealogical library in the U.S., the NEHGS is a membership organization with an excellent genealogical research library located on Newbury Street in Boston. "A large percentage of families in the United States and Canada can trace some of their American beginnings to early settlers and later immigrants who first made their homes here. In addition to resources on New England families, the Library features extensive materials from other regions of the USA, as well as Canada, Great Britain, and Europe."
One-Minute Guide to Oral Histories. 1997.: Brief guide to conducting oral history from the UC Berkeley Library.
Oral History Association.: "The Oral History Association seeks to bring together all persons interested in oral history as a way of collecting human memories. With an international membership, the OHA serves a broad and diverse audience. The OHA provides both professional guidance and collegial environment for sharing information. In addition to fostering communication among its members, the OHA encourages standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, dissemination and uses of oral testimony. To guide and advise those concerned with oral documentation, the OHA has established a set of goals, guidelines, and evaluation standards for oral history interviews."
Oral History Techniques: How to Organize and Conduct Oral History Interviews. 1998.: Indiana University Oral History Research Center introductory guide for learning how to organize and conduct an oral history interview; also contains sample deed of gift and informed consent forms.
The Polish Presence in North America: An Update for Electronic Resources.: A librarian-authored guide to electronic resources on Polish immigrants, displaced persons and refugees who settled in North America. Includes organizations, special collections, bibliographies, government, religion, genealogy, and newspapers.
Researching Your Family's History at the Massachusetts Archives.: "The Archives Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Office is the repository for Massachusetts records generated by state government. Archives holdings date from the beginning of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628 and document the settlement of lands in Maine and Massachusetts, the arrival of immigrants, and the development of state government. Public records are not in the holdings of the Archives strictly because of inherent genealogical value, but since they often include references to so many Massachusetts people, these documents are a major resource for people engaged in the study of family history. In addition to the archival records created by Massachusetts state agencies, the Archives has a limited selection of books and microforms to aid genealogists and other researchers. Access to these materials is provided through the Research Room of the Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point. It is open weekdays, 9 to 5, except on legal holidays, and on Saturdays, from 9 to 3."
Researching Your Lebanese or Syrian Ancestry.: Six-part essay on Syrian and Lebanese immigration to the U.S.
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.: The Festival of American Folklife and other Smithsonian folklife activities are featured at this Web site.
Social Security Death Index.: Searchable database of the 85 million-plus entries in the Death Master File of the U.S. Social Security Administration. Updated monthly, it contains names of individuals who have died since the early 1960s.
Tips for interviewers. 1997.: Brief list of tips for conducting oral history interviews from the UC Berkeley Library.
UCLA Center for Oral History Research.: Contains list of major oral history organizations and several how-to guides.
USGenWeb Project.: "Consisting of a group of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States, the Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free access for everyone."
Veterans History Project.: "The Veterans History Project is an initiative of the Library of Congress aimed at collecting oral history interviews, memoirs, letters, diaries, photographs, and other original materials from veterans of World Wars I and II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars. Those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also encouraged to share their personal narratives."
What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?: "An Oral History of Rhode Island Women during World War II. Written by students in the Honors English Program at South Kingstown High School."
Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting.: "Presents 470 interview excerpts and 3882 photographs from the Working in Paterson Folklife Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The four-month study of occupational culture in Paterson, New Jersey, was conducted in 1994."