Lineage research

Sample lineage report

What a finished Lineage Report looks like, shortened to the key sections.

Illustrative sample. The family, names and register entries below are invented to show the format. They aren’t a real client’s case. The archives and record types are the kind a real report uses.

1. Summary

Question: trace the client’s line back to their great-grandfather, Josef Novák, said in the family to have come from “near Kolín” in Bohemia, and find his baptism record.

Result: the line is documented through four generations. Josef Novák was baptized in Lhota parish in June 1884; his baptism names his parents, Jan Novák and Marie Dvořáková, whose 1879 marriage is also recorded. One question is still open (section 4).

2. The line

Gen.PersonKey factsEvidenceConfidence
1–2The client and their parentLiving. Documented by the client’s own birth certificates.Client’s documents (not reproduced)Proven
3Frank J. NovakBorn 3 March 1912, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Died 1987.Iowa birth certificate; 1920 US census, Cedar RapidsProven
4Josef NovákBorn 14 June 1884, Lhota, Bohemia. Emigrated 1905. Died 1951, Iowa.Baptism, Lhota parish register; 1905 passenger list; Frank’s birth certificate names him as fatherProven
5Jan Novák and Marie DvořákováMarried 1879, Lhota.Josef’s baptism names both parents; marriage, Lhota parish registerProven

3. Record evidence (one example)

Each link in a real report gets an entry like this.

Record 4.1 · Baptism of Josef Novák

Citation
State Regional Archive (example), collection of parish registers, Lhota parish, births 1880–1890, page 47, entry 12. Permalink to the image on the archive’s site.
Language
Czech, printed column form, handwritten entries
Transcription
14. června 1884 · pokřtěn 15. června · Lhota č. 23 · Josef · katol. · manželský · otec: Jan Novák, domkář v Lhotě č. 23, syn Václava Nováka … · matka: Marie, dcera Františka Dvořáka …
Translation
Born 14 June 1884, baptized 15 June, Lhota house no. 23: Josef, Catholic, legitimate. Father: Jan Novák, cottager in Lhota no. 23, son of Václav Novák. Mother: Marie, daughter of František Dvořák.
Why it’s him
Same name and birth date as on his 1905 passenger list (age 20, last residence Lhota) and in his Iowa death record. No other Josef was born in the parish within five years.
Confidence
Proven

4. Open questions

Josef’s naturalization: no naturalization record was found in the county court indexes searched (listed in the appendix). The 1930 census marks him as an alien; the 1940 census leaves the column blank. Ask the authority handling your application whether and how this point needs documenting.

5. How to order your certified copies

For each document the application is likely to need, the report gives the office and the steps. For example:

  • Josef’s baptism (1884): held by the state regional archive. Email a request for a certified copy quoting the citation in record 4.1. The archive charges by its published price list; allow several weeks.
  • Frank’s birth certificate (1912): Iowa vital records office. Order a certified copy as a direct descendant; an apostille comes from the Iowa Secretary of State.

The real report covers every generation in the line, with the request form, where to send it, fees and typical waits for each office, and whether an apostille or translation is usually needed.

Appendix: what was searched

A full list of the registers, indexes and years searched, including the ones that turned up nothing, so the work never has to be repeated.

This sample shows the research format only. It isn’t legal advice and doesn’t say whether anyone qualifies for citizenship. Back to lineage research · Request a Records Check