Genealogy
Sources to Use in Map Research
  1. Adams, James Thruslow. Atlas of American History. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1943.

    G1201 .S1 A2 1943 OVERSIZE
    Adams atlas contains maps of exploration, settlement, the early roads and canals, and battles in American history. The atlas is shelved in the Agee Room.

  2. Andriot, John L. Township Atlas of the United States. McLean, VA: Documents Index, 1987.

    G1201 .F7 A5 1987
    This atlas contains a complete collection of maps and indexes to the minor county subdivisions of the forty-eight states with a detailed explanation of the public land surveys.

  3. Atlas of the German Empire, 1892. Bountiful, UT: Thomsen's Genealogical Center, 1989.

    G1912.2 .T65 1989
    Reproductions of maps of Germany with place names index.

  4. Brown, Lloyd Arnold. Early Maps of the Ohio Valley: A Selection of Maps, Plans, and Views Made by Indians and Colonials from 1673 to 1783. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1959.

    GA444 .B7
    Composed of fifty-two maps, covering the years 1673-1783, with histories of the maps and their cartographers. Browns book is a very good source for maps of this area.

  5. Corbitt, David Leroy. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State Department of Archives and History, 1969.

    F262 .A15 N63 1969
    This book is an excellent source for studying the changing boundaries of North Carolina counties. The dates for the creation of the counties are given along with other historical data such as the origin of the county name and histories of each county.

  6. Gardiner, Samuel Rawson. School Atlas of English History. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1905.

    G1811 .S1 G3 1905
    Gardiner included maps of Europe, India, the Netherlands, England, Wales, Germany, Ireland, France, and Scotland. There is a place name index.

  7. Gardner, David E., Derek Harland and Frank Smith. A Genealogical Atlas of England and Wales. Salt Lake City, UT: Desert Book Company, 1962.

    G1815 .G3 1962
    This atlas gives names of cities, parishes, townships, hamlets, mountains, old roads, and the boundaries of counties and dioceses. There is no place name index, however the end-pages show an index to each map section.

  8. Gardner, David E., Derek Harland and Frank Smith. A Genealogical Atlas of Scotland. Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, Inc., 1962.

    G1826 .E1 G3 1962
    There is a place name index, which lists all parishes, many smaller places within the parishes, and there are references to districts, rivers and mountains.

  9. Hanson, Gerald T. and Carl H. Moneyhon. Historical Atlas of Arkansas. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.

    G1356 .S1 H36 1989
    Hansons atlas shows the development of the counties of Arkansas.

  10. Keeton, Jane. Birmingham and surrounding communities within Jefferson County, Alabama : a bibliography of maps held by the Linn-Henley Research Library. Birmingham, Ala. : Birmingham Public Library, 1979.

    F332.J4 K447 1983
    Lists Birmingham maps in the Agee Map Collection and in Archives Department. Some of the maps listed are available in the East Reading Room in the atlas cabinet. There is a drawer labeled 'Birmingham Maps'.

  11. Long, John, ed. Mississippi Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

    G1201 .F7 A8 1992
    This atlas not only gives the boundaries of the state from its inception it also gives the development of the counties with much historical data.

  12. Martin, James C. and Robert Sidney Martin. Maps of Texas and the Southwest, 1513-1900. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1984.

    G1370 .M3 1984
    This bibliography was prepared to serve as a reference and research guide to Alabama maps. The list was compiled from holdings at the University of Alabama, the Alabama Department of Archives and History and Auburn University.

    NOTE: There are photocopies and facsimiles of many of the maps listed in this bibliography in a map case in the East Reading Room of the Tutwiler Collection.

  13. Mills, Robert. Atlas of the State of South Carolina, 1825. Columbia, SC: Robert Mills, 1825; reprint, Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1980.

    G1305 .M53 1980
    This atlas is the result of a survey of each of the districts in South Carolina. The rivers, creeks, and towns are named and located in each district along with the mills, churches and individuals. Property ownership is shown. The index is at the front of the book.

  14. Mitchell, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland. Second ed. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 2002.

    G1831 .F7 M5 2002
    No place name index. Mitchells atlas should be used in conjunction with the General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland [DA9979 .G46 1984]. This book will identify the county, barony, parish and poor law union of every townland in Ireland.

  15. Morris, John W., Charles R. Goins, and Edwin C. McReynolds. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma. Third ed. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986.

    G1366 .S1 M6 1986
    Morris atlas shows the development of the counties in Oklahoma.

  16. Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America. 11 vols. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc., 1991.

    E154 .O45 1990
    These volumes provide name, location, and identification for nearly 1,500,000 populated places, structures, facilities, locales, historic places, and geographic features in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories. A superb source when searching for localities. It will give you latitude and longitude and the name of the topographic map where the place is found. There is a brief guideline for using the books at the beginning of each volume.

  17. Papenfuse, Edward C. and Joseph M. Coale, III. The Hammond-Harwood House Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland, 1608-1908. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1982.

    G1270 .P3 1982 OVERSIZE
    An excellent reference tool for researching the development of the state and counties. Arranged chronologically from the first map of the area drawn in 1608 to the determination of the western boundary by the Supreme Court.

  18. Pennsylvania. Land Office Bureau. Maps Showing the Development of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, PA: Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1920; reprint, Pittsburgh, PA: Jean Morris, 1976.

    G1261 .F7 P4 1976
    There are thirteen maps in this book that show the cartographic development of Pennsylvania. This is a reprint of the 1920 edition published by the Department of Internal Affairs in Harrisburg.

  19. Sanchez-Saavedra, E.M. A Description of the Country : Virginia's Cartographers and Their Maps, 1607-1881. Richmond, VA: Virginia State Library, 1975.

    GA455 .S26 1975
    The text is accompanied by a set of nine maps showing the cartographic development of the state of Virginia. The maps are filed in the atlas case in the East Reading Room. The drawer is labeled Virginia.

  20. Shepherd, William R. Historical Atlas. 8th ed. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1956.

    G1030 .S4 1956b
    Shepherds atlas covers the history of civilization from Mycenaean Greece in 2100 B.C. to Europe in 1958 A.D. There is a place name index.

  21. Sinko, Peggy Tuck, compiler. Alabama: Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

    G1201 .F7 A8 1993
    This atlas gives the history of the creation of each county in Alabama with a map showing the county and all changes in boundaries. There is also a list of the state and federal censuses that have been taken and outline maps of the state from its creation to the present.

  22. Spence, Ruth. A List of 16th, 17th & 18th Century Material in the Rucker Agee Map Collection, Birmingham Public Library. Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Public Library, 1978.

    Z6028 .B56 1978 Ready Reference
    There are reproductions of some of the maps listed in the bibliography available in the atlas case in the East Reading Room.

  23. Thom, Alexander. General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland : Based on the Census of Ireland for the Year 1851. Dublin, Ireland: 1861; reprint, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1984.

    DA979 .G46 1984
    Thoms index should be used with the Mitchell atlas of Ireland.

  24. Thorndale, William and William Dollarhide. Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790 -1920. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987.

    G1201 .F7 T5 1987
    A useful tool when searching census records. There is a copy in the Microforms Center on the second floor of the Linn-Henley Library and a copy in the Southern History Department on the first floor.

  25. Works Progress Administration. Inventory of Publically Owned Lands for Jefferson County, Alabama. 50 vols. Montgomery, AL: Alabama State Planning Commission with the Works Progress Administration, 1940.

    HD184 .A2 OVERSIZE
    There are 50 volumes in the Agee and Southern History Collections. The counties not held by Agee or Southern are: Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Chambers, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Dale, Geneva, Mobile, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Russell, Saint Clair, and Tallapoosa. These map books are valuable as they have county highway maps at the back of each book and these maps are dated 1938 which is before many of the dams and roads were built. There are also many small maps throughout each volume. Township and range arrange the text of the books.

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Maps in Periodicals / Southern History Department
Wells, Ann Harwell.
  • "A Checklist of Tennessee Maps, 1820-1830." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 43 (Fall 1984): 209-228.

    Eight maps of Tennessee are reproduced with the bibliographic information preceding the maps. Counties are shown on some of the maps. The maps are difficult to read without a magnifying glass.

  • "Early Maps of Tennessee, 1794-1799," Tennessee Historical Quarterly 35 (Summer 1976): 123-143.

    Eight maps of Tennessee are reproduced in this article with information about each of the maps. Some of the creeks and rivers are named, but place names are few.

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Maps of States in the Reading Room

ALABAMA:
There are maps in the drawers of the map case that contain maps of Alabama from 1803 to 1998. The drawers are labeled indicating what is in the drawer.
County Road Maps of Alabama produced by the Alabama Highway Department. These maps show township, range, and section: locations of cemeteries, churches, roads, schools, etc. The maps are filed in a map case behind the desk.

ARKANSAS & FLORIDA:
There are a few maps of these states in the map case behind the desk. There are atlases of these states in the Department.

GEORGIA:
There are several maps in the flat files for Georgia. Hall's Map of Georgia that lists all the counties of Georgia with the date of their creation is in the map case.

KENTUCKY & LOUISIANA:
There are a few maps available in the flat files, but be sure to research the map books and atlases in the 'G' section and the oversized shelving.

MISSISSIPPI:
There is a facsimile set of maps in the map case behind the desk and the book on the Mississippi historical county boundaries.

NORTH & SOUTH CAROLINA:
There is an excellent set of facsimile maps on file for these states in the map case. Maps from the Mills atlas are in this drawer.

TENNESSEE & TEXAS:
There are a few maps on file. There are maps of these states in atlases and periodicals listed previously in this bibliography.

VIRGINIA:
There is a very good facsimile set of maps in the map case.

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Internet Sites for Map Research

The following sites may be useful if you are interested in buying maps or seeing what is available at various libraries and universities.

www.glorecords.blm.gov
This site is for the Government Land Office to search the land records. You can actually make a print out of the land certificate from the web site.

www.loc.gov
This is the site for the Library of Congress. You can use their catalog from this home page and also view maps they have posted. Explore all the resources of the Library of Congress.

www.mapquest.com
This is for finding current map information. You can plan a trip or look up a street in another city.

www.maptrade.org
A useful site that gives information on map copyright and other map topics.

www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/maps/csites/index.html
The sites you reach from this page are endless. It will take you to map dealers, individuals, libraries and much more.

http://geonames.usgs.gov/
The Geographic Names Information System is great for place names.

www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/land/index.htm
The Virginia State Library now has their land records available online. You can search to see if your ancestor had land in early Virginia and then order the record from the Library for a fee.

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Page Last Modified: 1/23/2014 4:23 PM