Creating a Search Checklist

To help us provide better service for requests for history of Cambridge and surrounding area residents, we are developing a checklist of our sources.  The current version is shown below so we and you can work with it.  Please let us know your experience with it and how we might improve it. 

Background:  What does the requester know about the topic already?  And what would they like to know?  Any dates, events, locations, etc.will help suggest sources to check or ignore.

Searching for individuals and/or families:

1.  Are they in our books?  The expanded table of contents for the Sesquicentennial and Schools books may help.  Also, we have begun a name index for the Sesquicentennial book.
2. Are there any Family Histories of interest?  Our Family History holding are being listed.
3. Are they a veteran?  The Sesquicentennial book lists many of the Cambridge veterans.  A Civil War Veterans working page is available.  Also see the Veterans binder.
4. Check the obituary index and the alphabetical binders.
5. Are they buried in local cemetery?  We have the 1992 listings from the Story County Genealogical Society for many of the local townships.  These each have indexes by name and readings of the gravestones at the time.
6. Check binder(s) for particular years.

Also, outside sources that may be useful include:

1. Check History of Story County Vol 1 Vol 2 (Google Books)  We have parts of these; however, by using the Google Books links you can search within the books.
2. Check Nevada Community Historical Society Family Trees.  Despite its name, many other Story County residents are included.
3. Check Roland Record.  You can search and view these papers online.  If searching for Cambridge, do not include Iowa.  Most of the entries assume Iowa for Cambridge.
4. Check Story County Genweb.  They have a variety of materials available.
5. For World War II Veterans, check the Ames Historical Society Index to WW2 Veterans.

As we update this checklist, you can see the most recent version here.