Greffy
A genealogy reference finder for the books already on your shelf.
Search for a topic and find where it is discussed in industry guides. Results give the book, the entry, and the page or paragraph, so you can turn to the source yourself.
A genealogy reference finder for the books already on your shelf.
Search for a topic and find where it is discussed in industry guides. Results give the book, the entry, and the page or paragraph, so you can turn to the source yourself.
Greffy searches the indexes of these seven works. Most questions are best worked through them in the order below, and some topics call for a different one. Once you search Greffy, use the page number or other reference number to find the topic in your own copy of the book.
Second edition, 2019
Genealogy Standards defines what the field requires of research, reasoning, citation, and writing.
Board for Certification of Genealogists, Genealogy Standards, 2nd ed. (Nashville, Tenn.: Ancestry.com, 2019). Buy
Fourth edition, 2024
Evidence Explained covers how to cite a source and how to evaluate what it contains. Its citation models and its treatment of source types, information types, and evidence types answer most of the questions that come up while the work is in progress.
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 4th ed. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2024). Buy
Eighteenth edition, 2024
The Chicago Manual of Style is the general style authority for American publishing. It covers capitalization, numbers, punctuation, quotations, abbreviations, and the form of a title, along with the mechanics of manuscript preparation, editing, and indexing. Chicago is numbered by paragraph, so Greffy returns a paragraph number for this book.
The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2024). Buy
Revised fourth edition, 1968
Legal terms appear throughout the records genealogists use, and many carried a meaning in their own day that is not the meaning now. Later editions dropped much of that older vocabulary. The revised fourth edition retains it, which is why this is the edition genealogists are pointed to.
Henry Campbell Black, Black's Law Dictionary, revised 4th ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Company, 1968). Buy
These three teach a process at length. Mastering Genealogical Proof works through the Genealogical Proof Standard step by step. The two Professional Genealogy volumes cover professional practice, including research reports, writing, lecturing, editing, and the business of the work.
Second edition, 2026
Thomas W. Jones, CG, CGL, Mastering Genealogical Proof, 2nd ed. (Annapolis Junction, Md.: National Genealogical Society, 2026). Buy
Preparation, Practice & Standards, 2018
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, ed., Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2018). Buy
A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians, 2001
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, ed., Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2001). Buy
Troll Discovering his Family Tree, digital image generated with Google Gemini, 18 September 2026. © 2026 Jan Joyce, DBA, CG, CGL, AG.