The Advanced Genealogy Class

Let's start at the UC Berkeley Law Library. You're investigating early Maryland divorce procedures in the hope of resolving some conflicts in your family research. Does the library hold any law reports that might cover cases in the 1820s and 1830s?

• Start at the UC Berkeley Law Library.
• Next, select LawCat - Law Library Online Catalog. I usually get good results with a Subject Search that includes the topic (Law) and the location (Maryland). Don't forget to repeat the search in the reverse order (Maryland law. Did you find anything relevant?
• Sometimes, you need a little extra information to be successful. Remember, equity courts, or chancery courts, usually handled cases involving women. Try a Keyword Search including the keywords Maryland and Court of Chancery. Is that better?
• The library holds three volumes that reference our time period: Reports of cases decided in the High Court of Chancery of Maryland, by Theodorick Bland. What is the call number, and where are these volumes located?

In any library catalog search, always note new subject terms, authors, and titles. They may help you in future searches.

At the UC Berkeley Law Library, you will have access to several subscription databases. Although you can't access them from home, visiting their respective home pages will give you an idea of search procedures and contents.

• Lexis-Nexis Academic
• The Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800 - 1926
• Law Library Microform Consortium (LLMC Digital)
  Let's visit LLMC Digital for our next question. We want to check out other possible Maryland case reporters before trekking to Berkeley. I'll help you out on this search.
• First, check the "Search Holdings" menu and choose "View All Holdings."
• We can view LLMC's "U.S. States" holdings and see what might be available for Maryland. Voila! Bland's Chancery Reports are available online. Remember, these online reports have every word search capability!
• Next, look at the "Microfiche Program" menu option and choose "Finding a Title." There's a section titled "U.S. States Collection." Let's look at the Maryland holdings.
• What is the earliest volume date in this collection?
• If I said you could find an interesting case report in 2 Bland 544, where would you look?
  There are many online sources that will help with legal citation. As its title suggests, Basic Legal Citation Starting Points will get you started.

I don't want to head to Berkeley if I can find something interesting online. I have a title, Reports of cases decided in the High Court of Chancery of Maryland, an author, Theodorick Bland, and a variety of subject and keyword possibilities. Let's see if Google can help me.

• Start with Google's Advanced Book Search.
• We have the exact title, so enter that in the Title field, and check "Full view only." What do you get?
• Do you see the link for "More editions"? Select that. Hurray! All three volumes have been scanned. Let's search the second volume (2 Bland).
• The navigation frame on the right has several sections, including a "Search in this book" box. We're looking for divorce laws and cases, so enter divorce. Are there any results?
• What is the title of the case that the reference 2 Bland 544 cites?
• What was Anna Gebetha Margaretta Wandelohr's maiden name?

GoogleBooks is not your only option when searching for online scanned documents. These have also proved helpful in my legal research.

• Internet Archive
• Making of America (UM)

If you want additional possibilities for subject searches, use this database:
• Library of Congress Authorities

Strange legal terms always come up during legal research. Use the Bouvier Law Dictionary (1856) to answer this question.

• What is the difference between divorce a vinculo matrimonii and divorce a mensa et thoro?