Req 4a–4b — Physical and Digital Sources

This part of Requirement 4 covers three skills that work together:

• Physical genealogical resources — records and materials you may find in person
• Digital genealogical resources — online tools and collections
• How each kind of source helps — what clues they add to your family tree

Both types of sources matter because good genealogy rarely depends on just one place or one format.

Requirement 4a: Physical Resources

Physical genealogical resources are records or materials you find in a real location instead of only on a screen. Even in the digital age, many valuable sources still live in courthouses, libraries, archives, churches, cemeteries, local museums, and family homes.

Three strong examples are:

Courthouse Records

County courthouses often hold marriage records, land records, probate files, and other legal documents. These records can prove relationships, confirm dates, and place a person in a specific county at a specific time.

Cemetery and Church Records

Gravestones may show names, dates, military service, or family connections. Church registers can include baptisms, marriages, membership lists, and burials. These are especially useful when civil records are missing or incomplete.

Family Papers and Photos

Letters, family Bibles, old photo albums, funeral cards, school programs, and certificates kept at home can be incredibly valuable. A handwritten note inside a photo album might identify several relatives at once. A Bible record may list births and marriages across generations.

The key is to explain where you would find these resources and how they help chart a family tree. They help because they connect names, dates, places, and relationships in a form you can cite and compare.

Requirement 4b: Digital Resources

Digital genealogical resources are online tools, databases, and scanned collections that let you search for family information from a computer or phone. These do not replace physical records, but they can save time and help you search across many places quickly.

Three strong examples are:

Online Census and Vital Record Databases

Many websites provide indexed census entries, birth records, marriage records, and death records. These can help you trace where a family lived, who lived in the household, and how family members were related.

Digital Newspaper Archives

Old newspapers often contain obituaries, wedding announcements, school news, legal notices, and local stories. These can add details that official forms do not include.

Library and Archive Collections

Many state archives, public libraries, and national organizations now scan records, photos, maps, yearbooks, and manuscripts. These collections can help you find evidence without traveling to every location in person.

Digital sources help chart a family tree by making records searchable, shareable, and easier to compare. But they also require caution. Indexes can contain spelling mistakes. Search results can point to the wrong person. Images may be hard to read.

Compare the Two

Physical and digital resources are strongest when used together. You might find a census index online, then use that clue to order a paper record from a courthouse. Or you might hear a family story in an interview, then confirm it with an obituary found in a digital newspaper archive.

In Req 3, you practiced collecting memories from living people. Now you are learning how records can support, clarify, or sometimes correct those memories.

You now understand where genealogists find physical and digital records and how those sources support a family tree. Next, you will practice finding a document and judging how trustworthy it really is.