Tip: You might find an old family genealogy book of your family name being sold somewhere online.

Question

I was on Etsy (vintage, antique, and usually handmade things, and generally higher quality stuff than Ebay), just looking for Christmas gift suggestions to give to my mom later, when I found a Field family book listed as vintage, titled: 

Field Family Genealogy Book, Beatrice Bayley, Inc, 1982,

In the description, it states this:

" This genealogy book contains information available in the 1980s on the surname "Fields". In a green leather (? leather look ?) bound book, this hardcover reference book outlines the history of the Fields family names in the US at that time. As a search tool, since this was published before the internet even existed, there are lists of names from each state that people could contact to try and find family members.
There are also searching tips, abbreviations common to handwritten records, blank lists to fill out, and other references to historical and genealogical societies.
The book is in good condition. There are a few X marks next to names from the telephone listings, and the back third of the book has come loose from the binding. "
 

That got me to thinking this can't be the only genealogy book out there. After all, I once found an old family photo album in a Goodwill some years ago (I brought it to the manager, saying it shouldn't be for sale, and she agreed, removed the sticker, and put it in lost and found. I can't remember how, but they did get it back to the family somehow. Sadly, that doesn't happen every day, so some things get bought and used for craft projects or simply thrown away). So I searched in the search bar, "history family book", and lo and behold, I found another: 

Letters and Papers of The Verney Family - Down to the End of the Year 1639, by Sir Harry Verney, 1853 Antique Family History Book

This time, things got interesting. I see several family members titled as Sir. It was published for the year 1852-3 and contains entries up to the year 1639, once was owned by a library, and was stamped by the library as owning it in 1988.
It's currently in the U.K., and the Field(s) family book is currently in Kansas. Books sure do travel, more than people think. But the most mind-blowing thing of all: Your own old family book or photo album could be out there right now. All it takes is one chosen branch to inherit the family books and later lose it or get rid of it. Sad, scary, thrilling -- however you feel about it, it might be worth a shot at searching or calling around. Etsy, Ebay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, online and in-store used booksellers, Goodwill, Value Village, small thrift stores and antique stores, etc.

Just be careful online if you go down that road. Ask someone for help to take a look at a listing. Glasses don't count as another pair of eyes. For me, I'll be sticking to trusting real photos of old books and their contents.

For those of you who have more experience on WikiTree: If I find more such books, and others want to contribute to their local and online findings, is this the right place for it? Or would you suggest a team dedicated to it?
 

Links to the listings:
Field Family Genealogy Book Beatrice Bayley Inc 1982 | Etsy

Letters and Papers of the Verney Family Down to the End of | Etsy

Edit: You can also find old baby books. I just found one from 1908:
Antique Baby Book 1908 Norman Engler-strohl Handwritten | Etsy

Comments

I found one of the later volumes of the Atwater History and Genealogy, an excessed library book, on EBay for only $12.50 a year ago. Which, of course, I bought. This is my grandmother’s family.

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Wow, that's incredible! I'm so happy for you! This gives people hope. Thank you for sharing this.

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I have been in the habit of checking every now and then, and was quite surprised to find this! I immediately made the purchase, without a second thought. The book came in a few days, and was in quite good condition. I felt fortunate to find this.

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That's great! I'm glad you got to snag it before someone turned it into some "antique feel" art project.
Speaking of which, I need to look up my last name to see if anything comes up.
...Ah. A seller has a super old ledger of a Jacub Fulk from approximately 1827, but it's listed at a whopping $166.50 and is in somebody's cart.
Rare Antique Ledger of Jacub Fulk 1827 | Etsy
Well, hopefully it's somebody doing geneology research. I saved the images to my computer at least. I can't read other people's cursive, though, so hopefully there's a place on WikiTree where I could add photos to no profile in particular.

 

Answer 1

I remember when these Beatrice Bayley family books were coming out and, sadly, most amounted to nothing more than listings from phone books. If a surname was fairly rare that might have been a help  but for most names it was not a productive way to research. Here is a link to an article from back then concerning these books: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/05/04/heritage-book-scrutiny/aa459724-16ec-4a37-b6bf-2cc930ca347a/

I do agree that worthwhile family items can sometimes be found on various websites including Bibles that contain family information, family photos that would be treasures for the correct family. Just be careful!

Comments

My grandfather bought me one of these books back in the 1990s. I agree with Virginia that, in general, these books were a bit of a scam. However, my family did come from a fairly small farming community and by contacting some of the names listed in that region, I was actually able to locate a few distant relatives. Ultimately though, Virginia is right, these books are little more than phone directories. Don't expect any great family revelations.

Answer 2

My mother’s last name at birth was Field so this is really interesting. I Have some Fulks in my family too.

Comments

Oh my gosh! We're 11th cousins, and no times removed! Some individuals in the lines have uncertain confidence, but still, that's pretty cool. You're one of my closest cousins on WikiTree. Hi, cousin! ^_^/

Answer 3

8 generations of Fields here but England to Australia :)