In the introduction, Sharon DeBartolo Carmack tells us A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors is not meant to be a definitive work but a springboard into research for those who are relatively new to genealogy. Her writing style is friendly, full of fun personal anecdotes and experiences.

Several important features make this text user friendly. First, it is a soft-back book with wide margins which makes the book easy to handle and easy to read. At the beginning of the text, there is an explanation of the icons used in the book. These icons are in the margins and draw the readers' attention to key points. Then she has two tables of contents; the first is brief while the second is very detailed with descriptions of each chapter's contents. In each chapter, Carmack uses case studies or vignet tes from other researchers to illustrate her points. Each case study is very interesting. I found myself just skimming through the chapters to read each one. In the text itself, Carmack uses bold print to emphasize her points, along with icons in the margin. She often refers to other books, websites, and libraries where readers can look for further information. By doing so, she greatly expands the usefulness of her work. Other important features were a myriad of illustrations, charts, and photos. The book also contains an appendices, a list of libraries, a list of other important addresses, a glossary, and an index.

A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors is divided into three main parts. Part One is entitled "Getting Your Genealogical Research Started" and gives an overview of research basics. Part Two, "Major Ethnic Groups in America: Historical Overviews", gives background on groups of immigrants and includes research strategies. She also lists valuable sources such as research guides, histories, societies, associations, and newsletters. Part Three is "Leaving a Legacy" and is about writing a family history.

Part One - Getting Your Genealogical Research Started
Carmack starts Chapter 1 with her story of how she became interested in genealogy. Throughout the text she uses many personal examples that make it read almost like a conversation rather than a handbook or guide. Firstly, she encourages her readers to examine home and family sources of information, especially family stories. Often these stories include helpful facts that eventually will lead to official documents and records. But the most important point she makes in the beginning of her book is that everyone has "ethnic" ancestors. Everyone is descended from immigrants with the exception of Native Americans; however, they have "ethnic" ancestors, too. For this very reason, she encourages everyone doing family history research to join an "ethnic" genealogy society and attend national and local genealogy conferences.

Chapter 2 gives a brief history of historical trends that will help researchers know where to look for records. Some of the topics she examines here are migration factors and patterns, nativism, tenement living, health, and children.

Chapter 3 teaches how to look at and evaluate published sources. Carmack uses a personal example from her search for her ancestor, Cornelius Carmack, to illustrate various points about the value and validity of certain sources. She also points out the importance here of using reliable sources and verifying information.

Chapter 4 looks at computer databases. She looks at a few reputable websites and then discusses other valuable resources such as online libraries, CD-ROMs, the LDS Family History Library (www.familysearch.org), and the Ellis Island database. However, she cautions researchers not to rely solely on the Internet for information.

Chapter 5 is all about researching records. She discusses the benefits of contemporary records, such as birth, death, and marriage records. But what is impressive about this chapter is that she includes specific examples and explains how to read and use the contained information. For example, she shows how to use a census index and explains how to figure out Soundex and Miracode. There is a picture included of an index card, using Miracode, in the 1910 census (page 59). Notations in the text show exactly how to read the card and use the code to find the census. Other examples are reproductions of a city directory, a death certificate, and a draft registration card with explanations included.

Chapter 6 continues explaining and detailing documents regarding naturalization, immigration, and emigration records. For example, she includes a declaration of intention (to become a citizen) and shows how that document gives information about birth and arrival into the U.S. (page 88). She also explains briefly at how to find information on Canadian and Mexican border crossings.

Chapter 7 is about research outside the U.S. and gives several valuable pointers based on Carmack's own experiences doing research in Italy.

Part Two - Major Ethnic Groups in America: Historical Overviews
This is my favorite part of the book because she gives very specific information and resources. Groups she looks at in detail are African Americans, American Indians, Asians, Canadians, Czechs an Slovaks, Dutch, English, French, Germanic Peoples, Greeks, Hungarians, Irish, Italians, Jews, Poles, Portuguese, Russians, Scandinavians, Scots and Scotch-Irish, Spanish-speaking Peoples, and the Welsh and Cornish. Carmack gives historical background on the localities that groups immigrated from and the periods i n which large groups came over to the U.S. For me, the information included was exciting! I found some great books and websites to help me further my personal research. Just a warning; some of the listed websites are for subscribers only and you will have to pay a fee to access the site. Also, some of the links I visited were expired or out of date. You may have to do some searching around to find the actual site.

Part Three - Leaving a Legacy
This section is not as detailed as the others. It is only 5 pages. However, Carmack emphasizes that the most important thing to do with one's research is to turn it into "a factual narrative account" (page 234). This account does not have to be published. Just compiling it all into a binder for your family members and descendents is adequate. Carmack gives some suggested topics to help one begin writing and narrows down these topics for African American and American Indian ancestors. While this section has some good pointers, a more detailed guide would probably be more beneficial once you are ready to start writing your ancestor's history.

Overall, I found this book very helpful and enjoyable. It is a basic and solid text. It would make a great gift for the beginning genealogist in your family or even for yourself. A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant & Ethnic Ancestors: How to Find and Record your Unique Heritage by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack is available at Amazon.com for as little as $1.99 used but even a new copy costs as little as $7.95

Review written by Larisa Schumann