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School Records | |
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October 2005 issue | |
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Old School
Earn an A+ in family history with our six-step primer on researching
your kin's educational records.
The descendants of Miss Frances Hollis, a 1924 graduate of Adams High School in Adams, NY, must be so proud: Their bright-eyed, fresh-faced forebear was valedictorian of her senior class. Browse the Adams High School 1924 Senior Annual www.adamsny.org/ahsannual1924.html, and you'll see Frances' portrait plus junior class and faculty photos, along with information both official (Miss Pauline Derenkowski won the Lincoln essay contest) and whimsical (trendy teacher Miss Soults was first to have her hair "shingled" in the popular flapper style).
Yearbooks, enrollment forms, report cards and other school records touch virtually every family. Schools are record-keeping institutions by nature, and most children got at least some formal education, even in rural areas. In many cases, those records are tucked away in archives, libraries and school basements—or, like the Adams High annual, they're on display for all the World Wide Web to see. That means students of genealogy can absorb all kinds of knowledge: details such as names, dates and addresses, as well as fun facts. Who knew mild-mannered Aunt Polly was a tiger on the debate team, or Great-grandpa Charlie was Springfield High's first quarterback? Even if your classmates didn't elect you Best Budding Genealogist, you can find your family's grade school and high school records. Get out your pencils—school's in session.
For an in-depth guide to school records, see the October 2005 Family Tree Magazine.
By Nick D'Alto
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