Unpublished family autobiography

Tami, if he had it printed and bound and distributed it to libraries, then it's a published book—typicallly called "self-published" or "privately printed." The publisher is your grandfather.  Turn to EE 12.8 and 12.20.

Tami, sorry I didn't see this message sooner.  By "transcribe," should we assume you mean that your father typed (or retyped) what your grandfather wrote, then added pictures, etc.? If so, it's likely that your father (as most do, in that situation) also tidied up the grammar, spelling, and punctuation, along with adding material. Even if he faithfully rendered the original version, with no alterations (which is what transcription means), the fact that he added material goes beyond transcription. It would seem appropriate to identify your father's role as "editor." You might also identify him as the publisher or, more simply, use "Privately printed" in the publisher field.

Wibbus, as you describe it ("a family history that was mimeographed and distributed to family, but not to libraries"), it would be considered an "authored manuscript."  We would use "Family Records (Non-Bible)" for, say, a handed-down sheet or two on which someone listed births, marriages, and deaths in the manner in which they would be entered into a Bible, with no attempt to write a narrative or historical account of the people.

Rob, the title page of the book is where a book is expected to identify the title, author, publisher, place of publication, and date.

When we do not use a publisher, the standard phrase to go in that position on the title page is "privately printed." EE 12.40 offers further suggestions for handling these situations—including possible placement of the author's contact information on the copyright page (backside of the title page).

I have a copy of a "printed" family genealogy book that my GG Uncle complied citing information provided by his Uncle along with other published works.

The title page lists no date or publisher, but at the time of printing, ca 1923 my GG Uncle was the publisher of a Newspaper and I am sure the printing was done at the paper. No one in the extended family is aware of any bound books, but copies were provided to the Great Grand children of the subject.  To complicate maters the work is unpaginated and I was provided a copy of the "book" by my aunt who inherited it from her mother who was one of the great grand children.

There is valuable information and great genealogy stories that I would like to reference in my genealogy records. My question is how to cite the information provided by the compilers uncle.  I have ruled out a book because there is no publisher. I have put together a draft citation using a combination of 3.29, Authored Manuscript and 3.30 family records (non-Bible) and personal artifact.  In the [annotation] field, I would provide information to locate the page with the information on it, something like:  Part IV - Hinmans in New York.

Any input would be appreciated.

Footnote: Jesse R. Hinman, compiler, A History of the Hinmans in America From 1650 to 1921: Abbreviated Record of the Direct Descendants of Sergeant Edward Hinman to the Great-grand Sons of Orin Willard Hinman (n.p. : n.p., about 1923), unpaginated, [Annotation]; citing personal history from Abner Hinman; copy provided to Ruby (Roach) Aherin, a great granddaughter of Orin Willard Hinman, during ca 1959 trip to Illinois to visit Hinman family relatives; currently contained in personal papers privately held by First Last [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] City, State, daughter of Ruby Aherin, a copy of which was provided to each of Ruby Aherin’s daughters; copy provided to First Last [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] City, State by First Last, daughter of Ruby Aherin, in October 2019.

Short Footnote: Hinman, A History of the Hinmans in America From 1650 to 1921, [Annotation]; personal papers of Ruby May (Roach) Aherin.

Bibliography: Personal papers of Ruby May (Roach) Aherin. Privately held by First Last [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] State. Photocopies privately held by First Last [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] City, State. Family history papers of Ruby Aherin were inherited by her daughter, First Last, who made copies for First Last [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] City State. Hinman, Jesse R., A History of the Hinmans in America From 1650 to 1921: Abbreviated Record of the Direct Descendants of Sergeant Edward Hinman to the Great-grand Sons of Orin Willard Hinman. N.p.: n.p., about 1923.

cwhermann28, can you provide an image of the title page (or cover page) and a sample page of text?

Preface describing source of information

Content page

All markings/under lines in the images were due to my needs for SAR application. The my master copy (not scanned) does not have these notations and/or marks.

I thought this "score card" of the players in the citation would help.

cwhermann28, based upon your original description of the work and the images you've provided, EE would treat this like a book.  It's not a manuscript, script or typed, for which only one copy exists. It was professionally typeset and distributed. Yes, it's missing the place and name of publisher, but many author-published books lack that data.

EE12.15 "Publication Facts: Details, Missing" and 12.20 "Self-published Works" show how to handle the missing elements. Given that it's a limited edition, you might then want to add a sentence or two to explain what you know about the book's provenance and distribution and identify the source from which you obtained your copy.