Unearth Genealogy Treasures With PERSI: Part 2

references & resources tools & technology Feb 02, 2022

Welcome to Part 2 of this 3-part series about the PERiodical Source Index (or PERSI for short). If you read (or watched) Part 1, you already learned that PERSI is a subject index to all sorts of goodies in genealogical and historical society periodicals. I shared seven different types of articles that you could find that can help you with your research, whether it’s an article about an ancestral line or a how-to article on using a particular research method. In this part, I’ll show you how to perform searches in PERSI using the new version available through the Allen County Public Library.

Psst...if you haven’t checked out Part 1 yet, I recommend that you take a peek before diving into Part 2.

If you're ready for the demo, you can watch it below.

 ⏱ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Intro
01:42 - Demo PERSI Search
27:07 - Demo Tracking Spreadsheet + Part 3 Teaser
29:18 - Take Action
30:06 - Wrap-up

 Here's the link to the spreadsheet template I mentioned: PERSI Spreadsheet Template (Excel)

Remember that action item from Part 1, where I had you make a list of places, topics, and surnames related to the project you’re currently working on? Well, it’s time to put that list to work. Now that you know some search strategies, take out your list and conduct searches on what you wrote down. When you find something of interest, jot down the details I showed you in the video. Also, if you’d like to track your findings using the spreadsheet I showed, here’s a link to download my Excel template. Once you complete your searches, you’ll be all set for Part 3, where I’ll show you various ways you can get copies of the articles you found.


I hope you enjoyed this article and that you’re ready to jump in and do some searches in PERSI. If you found this article helpful, be sure to add the Genealogy In Action blog to your favorite RSS reader.


© Julie Tarr. This article was first published at Genealogy In Action; appearance of this article elsewhere, without my permission, violates copyright.