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Indiana Genealogical Periodicals and Publications

One of the most formidable challenges facing genealogists is finding all the information for a particular ancestor and a specific geographic area of interest—the challenge of comprehensive searching. So much of the success one enjoys—or the frustration one endures—is directly tied to finding and using the widest range of sources. The many different kinds of magazines and periodicals published by individuals and organizations in the field are often overlooked sources of genealogical clues.

With the many thousands of periodicals currently being published or having been published, the task of finding specific geographic and surname data may at first appear daunting. But there are numerous ways of both finding the right periodical and locating the meaningful articles for research. These ways come in the form of directories and lists as well as a wide variety to indexes providing access to the world of genealogical periodical literature.

Because of the limited amount of published materials on most Alabama counties, periodical literature is essential. There are more than thirty-five periodicals published in Alabama by local and state historical and genealogical organizations. The Genealogical Periodical Annual Index and the Periodical Source Index, 1847-1985 survey some of these publications as well as articles on Alabama from periodicals done outside the state.

• Search The PERiodical Source Index
• The Hoosier Genealogist (Indianapolis: Genealogical Section of the Indiana Historical Society) began printing Indiana genealogical information and extractions in January 1961; it is published bi-monthly. County, cemetery, church and family records from this periodical have been published by Willard Heiss in several volumes of Indiana Source Book, Genealogical Material from the Hoosier Genealogist (3 vols. and index. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1877-83).
• Indiana Magazine of History (Bloomington, Ind.: Dept. of History, Indiana University in cooperation with Indiana Historical Society), published quarterly, includes well-written and documented state history articles, listings of recent pertinent publications, and reviews of books relevant to Indiana historical research.