findrec 3882 960314 Finding Records (An artform) +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ FINDING RECORDS +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ A JewishGen InfoFile --- FINDING RECORDS By Dr. Brian Leverich Co-moderator, soc.genealogy.methods/GENMTD-L leverich@rand.org [Reprinted with permission] Gaining access to records is an artform, and most historians and serious genealogists develop very refined skills in this area. Something you should always do when you meet resistance is offer to pay reasonable clerical costs associated with finding, copying, and mailing the information. That's only fair, too: handling a typical query does impose a cost on a small business. It's also a very good idea to offer contributions to distant libraries and historical societies when asking questions of their staff. A $10 or $20 donation often buys a lot of good will. Other suggestions might include: o Behave professionally and treat the person holding the records with respect. o Remember that the person holding the records generally is not being paid to provide distant genealogists with information. They are doing you a favor. o Some archives respond better to people who are members of historical or genealogical societies. Archives may also respond better to folks who have specific credentials (a C.G., a Ph.D., a what-have-you) or folks working on a book or other significant project. Avoid appearing pompous, though. (-8 o Avoid fishing expeditions -- ask narrowly focussed questions, especially until you know an area and the archivist you're working with. o If you can visit the archive, offer to do the search yourself. (But take no offense if you aren't allowed to conduct the search -- this is common.) If you are allowed to handle records, follow the archivist's instructions to the letter and do nothing which might damage the records. o Some archives may charge $1 per copy or more. Don't complain, even if Kinko's could do it for three cents -- you are paying for maintenance of the records and care in handling that you don't get at Kinko's. o Never fully trust archivists, especially in courthouses, to know their full extent of their collections. Most clerks have never looked at the libers from 1837 ... You can win big if you can get an archivist interested in exploring some of the materials gathering dust down in the darker corners of the cellar. o Never be too sure about where records are. They may be in any of a handful of courthouse offices, a library, a historical society, another county (happens all the time ... ), school district offices, undertaker's offices, churches, the homes of private individuals, and dozens of other places. (Karen@rand.org once found a record in a ramshackle bank that was now being used as a garage.) And archivists often don't have a clear idea of what other records are available in their own neighborhood. o If you absolutely cannot get an archivist to search for you or give you access to the material, ask if there is a local professional genealogist who can be hired to do the search for you. That's probably more than you ever wanted by way of an answer, but finding records is one of the most interesting aspects of genealogy. -------------- [14Mar96bl]bik +---------------------------------------------------------------------+