New Publication from VGS

A Researcher’s Guide to Virginia’s Historical Records
by Barbara Vines Little

VGS is thrilled to share that Barbara Vines Little’s much-anticipated A Researcher’s Guide to Virginia’s Historical Records is now available in the VGS Store! At over 600 pages, this book delivers the depth of a two-week institute course between its covers. It explores Virginia’s local and state government records, probate and land laws, inheritance and women’s rights, military and ethnic sources, and substitutes for missing records—with helpful context that helps us truly understand what the records say (and what they don’t).

Read a review by Thomas W. Jones.

The book retails for $79.95, but VGS members pay only $63.96.* This new resource is the perfect way to sharpen your research skills and deepen your knowledge of Virginia genealogy.

Be sure to download the Supplemental Index to A Researcher’s Guide to Virginia’s Historical Records. An advocate of thorough indexes, Wes Pippenger, FVGS, a former president and life member of VGS, created a full index to the book’s material.

*Members, please log in to the website before purchasing either a conference ticket or publications so you’ll receive the 20%-member discount.

Genealogical Publishing Company

Searching for Sisters: A Guide to Researching Catholic Nuns ni the United States
by Sunny Jane Morton

VGS members receive 15% off—log into the VGS website and get the discount code under Membership > Partner Discounts.

Who were the Catholic nuns on your family tree or in your community? Most families know precious little about the women on their family trees who joined religious life. Historians, too, have largely overlooked the estimated 350,000 Catholic women religious (nuns and sisters) in the United States between 1790 and 1990. This despite their enormous collective contributions to the nation’s humanitarian, educational, and social services infrastructure. 

Use this book to discover more about the women who devoted their lives in this unique kind of service. This guide is illustrated with sample documents; indexed; and enriched with detailed case studies by Morton and Megan Smolenyak, Margaret M. McMahon, PhD., and Matthew Cross, MLS.