Overview
Learning about your own family's business is just one step in researching your family's history. To gain a fuller appreciation of your ancestors' experiences, it's important to understand the historical context in which they were operating. Likewise, if you not able to trace the history of your own ancestor's business, learning about the typical patterns of entrepreneurship for a particular geographic area, or for particular groups of immigrants, can help to fill the gaps of your personal history.
Books
To locate books about the history of family-owned and/or immigrant businesses in America, try browsing NYPL's online catalog with the following subject headings:
- Family-owned business enterprises -- United States.
- Family-owned business enterprises -- United States -- Case studies.
- Family-owned business enterprises -- United State -- Employees -- History.
- Couple-owned business enterprises -- United States -- History.
- Family corporations -- United States.
- Family corporations -- United States -- Case studies.
- Small business -- United States -- History.
- Small business -- United States -- History -- Case studies.
- Small business -- Social aspects -- United States
- Industries -- Social aspects -- United States -- History.
- Foreign workers -- United States -- History.
- Minority business enterprises -- United States
- Women-owned business enterprises.
Articles
NYPL offers access to over 800 databases of digitized journals and periodicals, which can be searched by keywords for articles relating to family-owned businesses, immigrant and ethnic businesses and workers, the history of a particular trade or industry, and many other business-related topics. For researchers interested in the social aspects of business history, rather than economic or financial information, the following databases may be a good place to start:
- America: History and Life with Full Text (available on-site at all NYPL locations)
- JSTOR
- 19th Century Masterfile (available on-site at NYPL research libraries)
- American History (available on-site and at home with a valid library card)
- American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection (available on-site and at home with a valid library card)