Using Yearbooks as a Genealogy Resource

Recently, I attended a presentation on Yearbooks by Star Pelsue at the monthly meeting of GPCofMGS (Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society). Star spoke on the topic of yearbooks as being an valuable source for genealogy research. 

She discussed the history of the first yearbooks being traced back to the East Coast schools of the late 17^th century. One interesting fact for me was that the earliest yearbooks (before the invention of film) used silhouettes for the images of the students. The first formal yearbook was printed in 1806 at Yale College.

A wealth of information can be gleaned from yearbooks besides student-specific details and photographs. You can get a sense of a student’s personality from the information shown in the yearbook. For example, my Dad was on the photography staff of the Yearbook committee which was no surprise since he chose photography as his lifelong hobby and career. A few things I did not know about my Dad’s school life was that he had participated in three sports: football, tennis, and skiing; of which he carried tennis and skiing as passions into his adult life.

Source:  Westbrook HS 1943 Yearbook, Westbrook, Maine

Yearbooks provide a goldmine of data for using the FAN method of genealogical research as these books document friends and relatives who attended the school. The advertisements in the rear of yearbooks capture a review of local businesses in the surrounding community of the school. The image above shows the advertisement of my grandfather’s business called “The Men’s Shop”.

War Theme of the 1943 Deering High School Yearbook

Many yearbooks are designed around a central theme. My junior high school yearbook had the theme of the Bicentennial. The yearbook’s theme from my Dad’s freshman year (1943) at Deering High School (Portland, Maine) was “Portland at War”.

Where to Get Access to Yearbooks

Star offered these resources for finding access to the yearbooks of our ancestors: Classmates.com, Cyndi’s List, AccessGenealogy.com, and the Internet Archive.