One of my goals for 2019 is to take another research trip to Kentucky. My people were from western Kentucky: McLean, Hopkins and Muhlenberg counties, primarily. I’m really fortunate in that Kentucky has many wonderful repositories. I had a brief visit to the Kentucky Historical Society (or was it the State Archives?) in Frankfort when I was there on a bourbon trip with my husband in 2014. Earlier that year, I visited cemeteries and a library in McLean and Daviess counties.
On both those trips, I did do some preparation but I really floundered a bit when I got to the repositories. I don’t want to repeat that feeling of not knowing what to research. I went to a talk on Kentucky resources at the NGS conference, so I have a great list of places I could visit. And I went to a talk on organizing a research trip and have lots of great logistical ideas in terms of the travel.
Here’s what I’m struggling with today: What’s a better way to go about planning what I want to find out? It seems like I have a couple of options:
- Come up with research questions and then figure out which respositories might have the answers
- Research the repositories’ holdings and then figure out what I records I need from each of the repositories
My gut tells me to do the former. Figure out my burning questions and seek out the answers that I can’t find online. But I’m not sure.
These are the places I’m thinking I’ll go:
- Kentucky State Archives (Frankfort)
- Martin F. Schmidt Research Library at the Kentucky Historical Society (Frankfort)
- Office of Vital Statistics (Frankfort)
- Filson Historical Society (Louisville) [I made a connection with a curator there when I was at NGS!]
- Kentucky Room of the Daviess County Public Library (Owensboro)
- Western Kentucky University Manuscripts and Folklife Archives (Bowling Green)
- McLean County Courthouse (Calhoun)
- Various cemeteries in McLean County
That’s kind of a daunting (but exciting!) list.
I’d love to hear comments from any of you who are familiar with Kentucky research or have advice about planning my trip, which I’m hoping to take in late June. If there’s an approach you recommend for preparing or if there are places you’d suggest I go, I’m all ears!
I would also start with the questions it is most important to have answered and plan the repositories around those questions. But within that parameter, a multi-city trip requires extra planning. Will you be staying at a central location and driving to each city – or is it more practical to stay at each location, finish there, then move on to the next. My research is typically between York and Lancaster Counties PA. Although not that far apart, I plan to stay in each city while researching there – just too much time driving around otherwise. Next check out the days and hours of ea repository. You’ll want to do cemeteries on the days nothing else is open. Plan governmental visits Mon-Fri and hopefully some of the Societies have Sat hours. And if there are one or two days with hrs til 9 pm, plan to be at that site on long days. Make sandwiches or finger food for quik meals that you can gobble on the fly – you don’t want to lose a lot of research time waiting for restaurant service. Make you big restaurant meals in the evening and try to include any social time with those meals. Then organize what you have gathered that day into your database or family tree before collapsing into sleep to regenerate for the next busy day. Have a great trip!
Thanks for all those great tips. I particularly appreciate the ones about eating–I certainly don’t want to spend my research times in restaurants! I hope to minimize the driving so will plan to stay at a single location then move on to another.
Thanks for weighing in. I appreciate that you also think starting with the questions is a good idea.
After developing your burning list of questions. I would contact the repository that may hold those documents and make friends with a staffer who could help guide you to your findings. This will make things go quicker and there are times that documents are kept in an area that is no accessible to the public, she/he might be able to pave the way. Have a fun trip!
Great advice, Maria. Thank you!
I would create research objectives for each person/couple. Analyze existing documents. If you haven’t done so yet, create locality guides for Kentucky and each country you plan to visit. Use the locality guides to determine your best repositories to answer your objectives. Don’t forget to check online first. You don’t want to waste time at repositories researching only to find out later the information was online. Discuss your objectives with repository staff for assistance. Plan your research, work your plan. Focus on your objectives. Be ware of Bright Shiny Objects and Rabbit Wholes at repositories. Make notes for future research. Yes you may need another trip sometime, but that’s ok.
Thanks, Cheri! “Work your plan.” That’s great advice. I need to remind myself that I can always come back.
Check the catalog for each location before you plan your route to be sure that it has materials that are meaningful for your research questions. Call ahead to see whether the desired materials can/should be retrieved for you in advance, possibly from off-site storage.
Thanks for that reminder that resources might be off-site. Clearly, contacting repositories ahead of time, once I know my research questions, will be important. I appreciate your comment, Marian!
I live in Virginia, but my family is from Wisconsin, so I get about 3 weeks a year in Wisconsin to do research. In an ideal situation, we should have research reports with objectives on our ancestors that spell out what we already know about them and what we want to find out. Then, figure out which repository has the best records for answering those questions. Research guides for areas are a great idea; I’ve put together ones for each of the Wisconsin counties in which I research that spell out available resources. I do most of my cemetery research on Sundays when repositories are closed. You obviously have to go to county courthouses during the week when they are open. When I plan to go to a restaurant for lunch or dinner, I try to go on the early side and beat the usual lunch/dinner hours so the restaurant is less crowded. And, don’t forget those source citations when you find something! There’s nothing more frustrating than getting home from a distant research trip and realizing that you forgot to record the source for something you copied or scanned.
Thanks, Kathy! I feel like I’m a stickler for source citations, but I have experienced coming home from a library with incomplete information about something I scanned or copied. Thanks for the reminder!!
Good luck on your Kentucky trip! We stayed near Frankfort and drove east to Pendleton Coun ty and to Cincinnati Oh in a rental car. We did a lot of driving but the countryside is so pretty. I recommend the National Archives in Frankfort, KY. The staff was very helpful and found my GG Grandfather’s naturalization document from 1856 in a file folder from Pendleton Co. It was not digitized and had been sent there from the county. Also check if the county has a historical society and where they keep their records. Pendleton County’s is very active and I found important records there. Lastly, see if there are any family homes or churches they attended to see. I treasure seeing my Great Grandfather’s home that he built in 1896. Can’t wait to return!
Thanks, Barbara! I appreciate the reminder about not getting so focused on repositories that I miss out on trying to walk in my ancestors’ shoes. Thanks so much for commenting!
Muhlenburg makes me ask are any of the ancestors that you are researching Martins or Ellisons. I’m hoping my sister can go down there and work on those some day soon. We have Hugh Martin from the 1700s there and need to pin down more details.
I’m afraid not, Virginia! I do have Ellises there, but Ellisons. But it’s always smart to ask!
Those are great tips. I spent a two day trip to Tennessee similar to your planned trip. Cemeteries are good to visit in early evening after govt offices and libraries are closed and no morning dew to contend with I might also have a tombstone cleaning kit too.
Local libraries were great. In one, I found a great vertical file for one of the families I was researching. Not sure if it was catalouged, but I’m it wouldn’t have been, since they were just in manila folders, and not labeled other than name. I forgot a thumb drive which I really wish I had with me, and cash as some small libraries have great local history but their technology isn’t always the best. I blew through my cash quickly paying for copies ($40) and had to find an ATM in a small town.
Find out the hours of the specific office you’ll want to use in the govt offices. One of the courthouses had their old records in the basement (an Archive Room) which was staffed only half time. Off course, I got there after Noon on Thursday after closed for the day (soonest I could get there) and then the office was closed on Friday, thus headed to the local library which turned to be a good second choice. Have fun!!
Thanks so much for those great suggestions, Shelley!
Don’t forget to bring your camera. It’s quicker to do a photo instead of hand writing things down. I was looking at county plat books that day and I was able to accomplish my task quickly using my camera.They had also recently changed their procedure for signing in, so when you contact the archive with questions about what is allowed, etc., it might be a good idea to ask about checking in procedures and asking if they can pull items that you know you want to look for ahead of time. I find that I am more relaxed and prepared if I have specific questions that I want to answer while I’m at the archive.
Great tips, Susan! I’ll be planning to use my phone as a camera, assuming that’s allowed where I go. Finding these things out ahead of time will definitely make my trip less stressful! Thanks for commenting.
I am heading to MD, MA, CT and PA next week – a 2 week whirlwind. I have a list of sources and documents I need to find/check. I have located some of them and emailed librarians and historical societies and several have graciously agreed to have them ‘pulled’ and ready for my research. Then I’m taking my list of questions for each resource. I’m also taking my ‘big’ camera for scenic shots, headstones, houses, people and my phone for camera and Evernote as well. I appreciate the other tips – I just made notes to include a thumb drive and to check for County historical societies. My ancestors built two homes which are still standing and one is on the National Historic registry – I have written to both addresses and heard back from one who has invited me to dinner and to see the house and land! I’m also meeting 2 DNA cousins. Cemeteries and walking on the shore on Sun/Mon – a lot of places seem to also be closed on Mondays. In my last 30×30 – I completed 310 pgs of genealogy! This trip will ‘finish’ that and I’ll add historical timelines and writings about my research process and trip. Publication 2020! fingers crossed. Thanks for your help!
That sounds like an amazing trip!!! Talk about excellent preparation. Thank you for the inspiration! And have a wonderful time.
I’ve done a ton of research in those counties since all of my paternal grandfather’s ancestors are from there. Have you poked around FamilySearch? They have amazing Kentucky records. Some are microfilm only (sadly now only available in Salt Lake City) but others are digitized online. Go to Family Search catalog section and search by the name of the Kentucky county to see what they have. (I hope this isn’t too obvious.)
Not too obvious at all! I love searching the catalog at Family Search. I’ve found a lot of great info there and I’m trying to focus my research trip efforts on the stuff that I can’t find online, of course. The availability of Kentucky records really is great and I’m excited to look at microfilm in Frankfort that isn’t digitized. I’m also hoping to dig into manuscript and vertical files that aren’t digitized.