Mining the 1880 Census Mother Lode: Insanity and Idiocy
Why hire a
professional genealogy firm? There are many reasons to do so. The top reason on my
list is that I don’t live near any of the repositories where my ancestors
lived. Three of my grandparents were
born and raised in Indiana. Their family trees stretch back to the pioneer days
of the state in the early 1800s. As a child, I have fond memories of visiting
my grandparents and other extended family members during my summer vacations.
But I am not an Indiana native, nor have I ever lived there. In fact, I
currently live about as far away from Indiana as you can get, and still be in
the continental United States. This makes researching my Indiana family roots
particularly difficult.
professional genealogy firm? There are many reasons to do so. The top reason on my
list is that I don’t live near any of the repositories where my ancestors
lived. Three of my grandparents were
born and raised in Indiana. Their family trees stretch back to the pioneer days
of the state in the early 1800s. As a child, I have fond memories of visiting
my grandparents and other extended family members during my summer vacations.
But I am not an Indiana native, nor have I ever lived there. In fact, I
currently live about as far away from Indiana as you can get, and still be in
the continental United States. This makes researching my Indiana family roots
particularly difficult.
Over the years I
have developed several strategies for finding information about my ancestors.
Generally, my searches start on the Internet. Websites like Ancestry and Family
Search are a good starting point with their collections of digitized records.
However, only about 10% of records can be found online. That means about 90% of
records are inaccessible via the internet and 90% is a really big number! Some
of the larger state archives have staff members who can find records from their
published finding aids and indexes. A few local historical societies are
staffed by volunteers who can also find records. But both of these strategies
have limitations. Volunteers often work only a few hours each week so receiving
information in a timely fashion can be difficult. Last year I sent a query to a
local society and it took six months to tell me they couldn’t find the record. While
I am very grateful for the work the volunteers did searching the courthouse for
my great grandfather’s will, waiting that long for zero results was difficult. And
while the larger archives have staff members who can copy records, they
generally don’t have the time to search un-catalogued collections.
have developed several strategies for finding information about my ancestors.
Generally, my searches start on the Internet. Websites like Ancestry and Family
Search are a good starting point with their collections of digitized records.
However, only about 10% of records can be found online. That means about 90% of
records are inaccessible via the internet and 90% is a really big number! Some
of the larger state archives have staff members who can find records from their
published finding aids and indexes. A few local historical societies are
staffed by volunteers who can also find records. But both of these strategies
have limitations. Volunteers often work only a few hours each week so receiving
information in a timely fashion can be difficult. Last year I sent a query to a
local society and it took six months to tell me they couldn’t find the record. While
I am very grateful for the work the volunteers did searching the courthouse for
my great grandfather’s will, waiting that long for zero results was difficult. And
while the larger archives have staff members who can copy records, they
generally don’t have the time to search un-catalogued collections.
Hiring a
professional family history research firm with genealogists, historians, DNA experts, and university professors who possess in-depth knowledge of local repositories can seem like an
expensive prospect. Saving time and the frustration of not knowing when a
record may be retrieved makes hiring a professional firm totally worth it. The
network of genealogists and researchers at Genealogists.com have access to over 1,500 libraries and repositories around the world. Give them a try and see what
they can find in the 90% for you.
professional family history research firm with genealogists, historians, DNA experts, and university professors who possess in-depth knowledge of local repositories can seem like an
expensive prospect. Saving time and the frustration of not knowing when a
record may be retrieved makes hiring a professional firm totally worth it. The
network of genealogists and researchers at Genealogists.com have access to over 1,500 libraries and repositories around the world. Give them a try and see what
they can find in the 90% for you.
by Deborah Sweeney © 2014, Genealogists.com, All rights reserved
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