Sullivan County, Missouri
... a member of The MOGenWeb Project
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A compiled list of helpful tips:
Talk to everyone in your family about what they know about the ancestors, keeping
in mind that memories can fade and that some of their information is inaccurate. (Great Grandma was a full-blooded Indian or we came over on the
Mayflower are two examples of information that is said over & over that is usually not true.) Or if someone says, there great-grandmother was an Indian princes...Indians did not have "princesses".
Write down what you've found out.
Buy or download a free genealogy program to organize your information. Brother's Keeper is shareware and can be downloaded for free. This way all of your information is organized and can be emailed to someone easily.
Explore "Resources #". In this section you will also find many links to great sites for beginners.
Use ALL types of spellings when you look for records. Many times the spelling changed (Hawley to Holley) or the person writing down the information had trouble deciphering the script. Sometimes names are spelled so "screwy" that your best bet is just to go through the pages. The "s" looks like "f" in some old script, so Smith could look like Fith to a beginning transcriber.
Use the search engine on this web and others to locate surnames.
Check census records in the county and in surrounding counties. The 1850 census records begin listing all of the family members and where each was born. Census takers might ask for the correct spelling, but remember that many people had little or no education. In the 1940 census for this county, the current County Coordinator found every single one of her cousins had their given names missed. The census taker just assumed he knew how to spell it.
Check the Cemetery records. There are quite a few on Sullivan County and there are links to other's pages that have records. Cemetery records are more accurate that those found on FindAGrave. The deceased name is taken from the tombstone. That is not always correct. The current County Coordinator's maternal grandmother has an incorrect given name.
Check the funeral home listings. Many times people did not have money to buy a tombstone, but their remains were handled by an undertaker.
Check the Sullivan County's library and/or city library to see if they have any biographical information on the family you are searching for.
Check the birth, death and marriage records. Those may list parents names, etc. Get copies of these records by ordering them from the appropriate source.
Check the court records index. If you find something of interest, try to order the record from the County Clerk. There probably be a cost per page to Xerox it. Also know they are short-staffed and may not be able to fill your request. You may have to make a trip to the court hose or hire a researcher to get the information for you.
Check old newspapers. Check the ones in surrounding counties. You may need to write one of the libraries to see if your family member's name is listed in the index. Any newspaper known to the County Coordinator that are online have been posted. A $ by the link indicates a cost for access.
If the ancestor was in the Civil War, order the records! They have a great deal of information in them! Consider a subscription to Fold3 $, a military record website.
Make note of the spelling variations of a name, both given and surname. Many of our ancestors had little education. Some could not read or write. The written name was how the scribe thought it should be. Special note from CC, L. Peach: The 1940 census for Sullivan County, Pollock has ever single one of my cousins' names misspelled.
Page Last Updated: 21 May 2026 4:40pm CDT
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