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The Draper Manuscript Collection

May 22, 2026

In just a few weeks, America will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This is a good time to consider delving into the history of ancestors who may have played a role in that historic time.

 

There are many good resources to help you pursue this research. Many of them can be found online on websites such as Ancestry, My Heritage and Family Search. However, there are some resources which are not as readily available. One such resource is the Draper Manuscript Collection.

 

The Draper Manuscript Collection is a huge 491-volume archive containing mostly handwritten documentation of the early American frontier between about 1740 and the War of 1812. Geographically, the records cover the trans-Allegheny west. There are records from many Eastern states. Some of the states covered are Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Ohio.

 

The collection is primarily transcriptions of interviews, documents and correspondence. Military records are a focus, particularly the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Lyman Copeland Draper amassed the collection over decades in the mid-18th century.

 

Unfortunately, the Draper Manuscripts are not digitized. They are available on microfilm. The collection is not comprehensively indexed, but there are printed indexes for some sections. The Guide to Draper Manuscripts by Josephine L. Draper is probably the most complete index. It is available at many libraries and can be ordered into local Colorado libraries through the Prospector system.

 

Check WorldCat (https://search.worldcat.org/ ) for locations of nearby libraries who have copies of the entire collection. Larger, regional libraries may have these microfilms. University libraries may also have them. For example, I found microfilms of the Joseph Brant Papers (part of the Draper Manuscript Collection) at the Coe Library at the University of Wyoming. The Family Search Library in Salt Lake City also has a complete set.

 

The Draper Manuscript Collection is large and complex. Before diving into the collection, it’s a good idea to spend some time gaining an overview of it. Family Search Research Wiki is a good starting point. The article at https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Draper_Manuscript_Collection is worth reading.

 

Another way to gain familiarity with the collection is to view one of the many videos about the manuscripts available on YouTube or other platforms. The SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) has a good video called “Using the Draper Manuscript Collection.”

 

Because of its complexity, the Draper Manuscript Collection is underutilized. If you have ancestors who were involved in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 or the settlement of the trans-Allegheny west, the collection is worth accessing. It may contain information found nowhere else.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

 

 

Another Reason to Use Public Trees

May 15, 2026

Last week I wrote about using public trees on sites such as Ancestry to share your genealogy. This week I want to point out another important way that public trees can advance your genealogy.

 

Thousands of people post their research on Ancestry. Others contribute to collaborative trees such as FamilySearch’s Family Tree. I’ve posted on both types of trees. More importantly, I’ve made major discoveries on collaborative trees and public trees.

 

These trees are useful tools to help break down genealogy brick walls. Enter an ancestor’s name, approximate birthdate and place of birth into Ancestry’s database of public trees. Because the database is so large, you are likely to find multiple trees featuring your ancestor. This is especially true for ancestors from lines that have been in the United States for multiple generations.

 

The trees you find for an ancestor are often just clones of each other since copying is rampant among folks who post them. However, occasionally, you will find someone who has done some original research and has found and posted new information. If you’re lucky, the poster has included copies of documents to help verify dates and places. As a further bonus, you may even find copies of photos you’ve never seen before.

 

Collaborative trees such as FamilySearch’s Family Tree can be even more helpful. On this tree you will almost certainly find sources. Usually, you can click to view the actual document

 

For example, I found a document on a public tree that gave me the name of my husband’s second great grandfather’s father. This was information that I’d been searching for for over twenty years. On a collaborative tree, I found photos of my English great grandparents. I’d never seen their faces before.  I’d never have found either of these tidbits without the trees.

 

The biggest issue with public and collaborative trees is that they sometimes include incorrect information. Researchers should be aware of this. I know researchers who copy entire trees stating that there are already so many errors online that any they help spread won’t matter. I strongly suggest not doing this. There are a lot of errors online, but adding another incorrect tree doesn’t help anyone.

 

I use the information I find on trees as clues for further research. Before I add any bit of data to my tree, I try to verify it with sources. If I can’t find sources, I may add the data to my offline tree with a note to continue researching. I don’t add it to my online tree.

 

Don’t forget that both public trees and collaborative trees allow you to contact the person who posted the tree. Not everyone you contact will respond. However, enough do that I think it’s worthwhile to try. You may find new cousins whose branch of the family can supply new family details.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

 

 

 

 

Public or Private Family Trees

May 8, 2026

Many people now save their genealogy on online family trees. There are lots of options on websites such as My Heritage and Find My Past, but, in my experience, Ancestry is the website most often used.

 

As anyone who has a tree on Ancestry knows, trees can be either public or private. Public trees are the default setting, but it’s easy to make them private. I’m often asked which option is best. Like almost all genealogy decisions, whether you choose a public tree or a private tree depends on your goals.

 

Beginners almost always think that they want to make their genealogy tree private. This might be because they have the idea that their family tree belongs to them. They have done a lot of research to identify their ancestors and may have spent a lot of time and money in the process. Surely, the end results ought to be private to them.

 

I remember spending months trying to find the parents of my third great grandmother. The family she married into was well-researched, but this grandmother seemingly had appeared out of the ether to marry her husband. Eventually, my research led me to Ireland, and I made a trip to Belfast to visit the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. There, I delved into parish records and eventually found records of my third great grandmother’s baptism and confirmation. Those records identified her parents.

 

I was thrilled to make this breakthrough, but I was also hesitant about sharing it online. After all, it was my hard work, time and money that had made it possible. Why should I just give away the results of my work?

 

After some reflection, I realized that my third great grandmother had had four other children besides my own second great grandfather. Each of her five children had children. Those children had their own offspring. By now, my grandmother had hundreds of descendants. Each of them had the same claim on my family line as I did. My grandmother’s story wasn’t mine to keep. It belonged to all her descendants equally.

 

I posted copies of the records I’d found in Ireland online. I won’t say that all the wrong information about my third great grandmother floating around the internet has disappeared, but if I search online trees for her, at least some of them have the correct information accompanied by scans of the documentation I found.

 

If I’d kept the information about my third great grandmother on a private tree, only I would know the details of her parents. Some people say they want to write a book about their family, but few of them do. I’ve been doing genealogy long enough to know I most likely never will either. When I’m gone, the stories I know will be gone.

 

By posting information on a public tree, at least I’m sharing some of what I’ve learned. That’s why I believe that public trees are best.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society