In praise of the Rand McNally road atlas....

[fudge stripe cookays]

OK genealogists.

If you don't own one yet, go out today and buy yourself one of the large 11 x 17" Rand McNally road atlases.

Of all the tools I have at my disposal, this sucker is battered and beaten, because I refer to it CONSTANTLY.

Before you can really begin researching locations for your ancestors, you have to pinpoint the county(ies) where they lived, and these atlases are perfect for doing that because the counties are shown. Especially if you plan on traveling to the area for research, as the roads are there for you as well, as are details of larger cities.

That is all.
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[Cooley Hurd]

1. The American Memory section of the Library of Congress' website...

...has tons of old maps that you can view and download:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/ListSome.php?category=Maps

What's nice about vintage maps is that they show old transportation routes (like rail, canal, etc.) which can be helpful in determining migration routes.:thumbsup:

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. Yep, those are cool too!

But for a basic genealogy newbie, who begins finding information about the family, and has no idea where Mysterious Place, Indiana is, the RM is a gold mine! Easy to read, nice and large, and it shows you what county your town is in.

:hi:
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