What Sources Should You Use for Treasure Research?
The best sources for treasure research are primary historical documents — records created at or near the time of the event you are investigating. These include land records, newspaper archives, military dispatches, court documents, maps, and personal correspondence.
Secondary sources (books, articles, websites) help you find leads. Primary sources help you verify them.
Primary Sources (High Reliability)
Land Records & Deeds
Where: County courthouses, BLM GLO Records website
Why: Verify who owned land, when, and where — the foundation of site research.
Historical Newspapers
Where: Newspapers.com, Chronicling America (LOC)
Why: Contemporary reporting of events, robberies, mining strikes, and local history.
Historical Maps
Where: Library of Congress, David Rumsey Map Collection, USGS
Why: Show terrain, roads, settlements, and infrastructure as they existed historically.
Military Records
Where: National Archives (NARA), Fold3.com
Why: Service records, dispatches, and payroll records for Civil War and frontier-era claims.
Diaries & Personal Papers
Where: University special collections, state historical societies
Why: Firsthand accounts with verifiable details (names, dates, locations).
Church & Parish Records
Where: FamilySearch.org, local churches
Why: Pre-census era records of births, marriages, deaths — essential for genealogical verification.
Court Records
Where: County courthouses, state archives
Why: Lawsuits, probate records, criminal cases — reveal conflicts over property and assets.
Shipping Manifests
Where: National Archives, port authority records
Why: Document what was transported, its value, and whether it arrived at its destination.
Secondary Sources (Research Leads)
Secondary sources are useful starting points — they point you toward primary evidence. But never base a research conclusion on secondary sources alone.
- • Treasure hunting books — Provide leads and compiled legends, but verify every claim independently
- • Academic histories — Rigorous but may not cover treasure-specific topics
- • Online forums and communities — Crowdsourced knowledge, variable quality
- • Local museum exhibits — Curated but limited in scope
Digital Databases for Remote Research
Chronicling America
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
Free digitized historical newspapers from the Library of Congress
BLM GLO Records
glorecords.blm.gov
Federal land patents and survey plats — free
FamilySearch
familysearch.org
Free genealogical records, church records, censuses
David Rumsey Map Collection
davidrumsey.com
Over 100,000 digitized historical maps — free
Fold3
fold3.com
Military records, pension files, service records (subscription)
Newspapers.com
newspapers.com
Massive searchable newspaper archive (subscription)
Get the Complete Source Directory
This article lists the major source types. The Treasure Hunter's Research Guide includes a curated directory organized by research type, step-by-step worksheets, and case studies showing how sources were used to make real discoveries.
See the Full Research Guide→Related Pages
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