How to Compare Town Records With Family Stories
A practical method for comparing oral history with town records while preserving clues, context, uncertainty, and competing explanations.
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Educational Blog
Educational Blog
Explore rhode island history, family research, archive care through practical explanations and ideas for everyday use.
How to Create a Digital Index of Family Documents
A digital index turns scattered family papers into a searchable map, helping you find photographs, certificates, letters, deeds, and stories without repeatedly opening every file.
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How to Create a Timeline of a Historic Property
A practical guide to building a reliable historic-property timeline from deeds, maps, newspapers, photographs, oral histories, and architectural evidence.
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How to Create Backups for Digitized Historical Records
Protect digitized historical records with organized files, multiple backup copies, verified storage, and a simple maintenance schedule.
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How to Date an Old Photograph Using Visual Clues
A practical guide to dating unidentified photographs with visual evidence, comparison sources, careful estimates, and strategies for resolving conflicting clues.
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How to Document the Story of an Inherited Keepsake
A practical guide to documenting an inherited keepsake through careful observation, family interviews, source checking, photography, preservation, and organized storytelling.
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How to Find Historical Census Records for a Family Project
A practical guide to finding historical census records, overcoming access problems, interpreting household details, and documenting sources for your family project.
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How to Find Historical Maps of a Rhode Island Town
A practical guide to finding historical maps of any Rhode Island town, from online collections and libraries to town records, archives, and courthouse research.
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How to Find Newspaper Archives for a Town History Project
A practical guide to finding local newspaper archives, searching difficult scans, verifying dates and names, and building well-documented town history research.
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How to Keep Research Questions Separate From Confirmed Facts
A clear research process distinguishes what you want to discover from what reliable evidence has already established.
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How to Organize a Neighborhood History Walking Route
Turn local stories, buildings, streets, and landscapes into a memorable self-guided history walk using a clear research and route-planning process.
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How to Organize Photographs from a Local History Project
Build a reliable photograph archive with clear labels, consistent files, preservation-safe storage, and research notes that keep local stories connected to their images.
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How to Prepare for a Visit to a Local Historical Society
A thoughtful visit to a local historical society can turn scattered family stories into documented evidence. Use this practical preparation guide to make the most of your time.
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How to Read an Old Handwritten Letter: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide
Reading an old handwritten letter takes patience, context, and a repeatable method. Learn how to prepare the document, recognize historical writing styles, solve difficult words, and create a reliable transcription.
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How to Record an Interview With a Longtime Resident
A practical guide to preparing questions, choosing equipment, recording good audio, building trust, and preserving a longtime resident’s story.
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How to Research a Rhode Island Family History
A practical Rhode Island genealogy guide covering research planning, local records, online databases, courthouse sources, conflicting evidence, and next steps.
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How to Research a South County Rhode Island Landmark
A practical guide to uncovering the history, changes, stories, and significance of landmarks across South County, Rhode Island.
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How to Research Historic Place Names in Rhode Island
A practical guide to tracing Rhode Island place names through maps, deeds, town histories, newspapers, archives, and genealogical records.
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How to Scan Old Postcards for a Family Collection
A practical guide to scanning old postcards at home, from choosing settings and handling fragile cards to naming files, correcting images, and preserving the originals.
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How to Share Family History With Relatives in a Booklet
Learn how to gather stories, organize photographs, design pages, choose printing options, and share a family-history booklet with relatives.
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How to Start a Local History Research Notebook
A local history notebook turns scattered names, dates, maps, and memories into an organized research project you can revisit and share.
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How to Store Fragile Family Papers at Home
A practical home-archiving guide for stabilizing, organizing, housing, and safely handling fragile family papers.
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How to Use Cemetery Records in Family Research
Cemetery records can reveal more than burial dates. Use grave visits, online databases, obituaries, maps, and local archives together to build reliable family connections.
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How to Write a Source Citation for an Archival Document
A practical guide to citing archival documents when you need to document where a historical source came from and help readers find it again.
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How to Write an Object Label for a Local History Display
A practical guide to writing concise, accurate object labels that help visitors understand why a local historical artifact matters.
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