In my week at the Allen County Public Library, I was struck by how great it is to be a genealogy enthusiast in the era of the Internet. We can search for our ancestors with a few keystrokes and uncover documents and clues to further our research. We have unprecedented access to digital copies of actual primary documents. We can see original handwritten marriage certificates, for example, and interpret the handwriting ourselves, rather than trusting the indexer.
I looked at many indexes in written, bound form at the library. The snippet above is from a 1937 marriage index of Hopkins County, Kentucky. My 3rd great grandparents, David Adams and Mary Ray, are listed there. I was delighted to find this documentation of the date and county of their marriage.
Many of the bound indexes I consulted were typewritten. Some dedicated person had gone to a courthouse and written down all the entries in a marriage book, for example. I picture then squinting at the handwriting, taking their best guess at the names. (We often have an advantage when we’re looking for the names of our ancestors, because we know what we’re looking for.) They probably wrote them down on a sheet of paper, took them home and typed them up. Then they published them in book form or, sometimes, in the newsletter of a genealogy society or family newsletter or elsewhere.
When the genealogist researching a family found their ancestor’s name (or a facsimile of it) in one of these indexes or newsletters, they would then write the county courthouse to ask for a copy of the record and wait for it to arrive in the mail. This is how I imagine was how genealogy was often done. It was labor intensive. It was painstaking. And it was tedious.
Now, thanks to the hard work of our predecessors and, of course, to modern technology and the great work of thousands of volunteer indexers and organizations that are digitizing these documents, most of us can sit at our computers and get a whole lot of information without leaving our homes. It’s up to us to properly document it. And, if we want, to share it.
But, as I discovered at my week in the library, it can be really important to step away from the computer and do some off-the-internet research. Go to the cemeteries and find elusive gravemarkers. Go to courthouses in the counties where your ancestors lived and see if you can find the documents you haven’t been able to find online. And, yes, go to libraries and get big clues on furthering your research.
To our older relatives who were dedicated to genealogical research in the days when it was very labor-intensive, I offer my admiration and sincere thanks.
I wouldn’t know how I would research today in the online world without getting the “old-fashion” education of microfiche, churchbooks, flipping through hand-written indices etc. It was like learning the basics and now I can use them with whatever medium. The concept stays the same, just the tool changes. And that holds true for so many things, not just genealogy. Once you understand logic behind it, it doesn’t matter what medium or platform you use.
Thanks for your great perspective, Barbara! I missed out on that era of genealogy research, but I feel I get a taste of it when I leave my computer and hit the library!
I so agree! I am in the midst of transcribing all of my grandmother’s research from her hand written (faded!) notes to my computer, so I can save it all digitally. She did all her research in the 50’s – 80’s – all by traveling, post or phone – it was really her lifelong pursuit! She trained me in the 70’s in the ways of the genealogist. Almost daily I think of how amazed she’s be (and how addicted) with the internet – I carry the torch now …..
What a wonderful connection with your grandmother! Thanks so much for your comment.
Thanks so much! What I can find today, would have taken me 4 or 5 years of ordering films and traveling. The genealogy world has gone through drastic and wonderful changes during my 41 years of being a genealogist. I remember very well, the delight of buying my long carriage IBM typewriter (long before computers were available to common folk). I have been indexing and extracting for about 30 years. We all work together to make records available.
Maria, all of us owe a debt of gratitude to those of you who have been making this information available for decades. I can imagine the changes you’ve seen and how exciting they must be!
The most exciting experience I ever had in researching was when my husband’s aunt and I visited a county courthouse in Missouri where the clerk welcomed us, showed us where the copy machine was (10 cents a copy) and then led us to the vault where “the old stuff” was stored. He just asked that we let him know when we were done and how much we owed for copies. It was heaven!
Ah yes, the old days! I remember well those mailed-in requests and the long-awaited responses. Sometimes, after months of waiting, I’d open a letter saying the record couldn’t be found. Ugh.
A favorite memory for me was sitting in the Kane County Illinois Courthouse holding a large book containing births, marriages and deaths from the 19th century. Seeing the names of my great-grandfather and his siblings written in the very book I was holding – it was surreal.
As Barbara said, those research lessons were absolutely invaluable! I’m so glad I could experience both worlds.
I was in that era! I embraced the internet the minute a connection became available in my small town! The nearest Family History Center was an hour away. The nearest good genealogy library was an hour away in the opposite direction. One of the first things I did was purchase a subscription to Ancestry and I’ve never regretted it. I also remember laboriously writing out family group sheets and then recopying when I found a new tidbit. I bought a genealogy software program as soon as I got my first PC. I’d had an Atari 800 for years, but nothing was available for it.