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Burned Counties Research: Difference between revisions
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The phrase "burned counties" was first used for research in Virginia where many county records were destroyed in courthouse fires, or during the Civil War.<ref>An example of relatively early use of the phrase “burned counties” is found in a regularly featured periodical article which first appeared as “Records from Burned Counties,” ''Virginia Genealogical Society Bulletin'', 4, issue 3 (July 1966) ({{ | The phrase "burned counties" was first used for research in Virginia where many county records were destroyed in courthouse fires, or during the Civil War.<ref>An example of relatively early use of the phrase “burned counties” is found in a regularly featured periodical article which first appeared as “Records from Burned Counties,” ''Virginia Genealogical Society Bulletin'', 4, issue 3 (July 1966) ({{FSC|41739|item|disp=FS Library Book 975.5 B2vs v. 4}}) ([http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61483708 WorldCat entry]).</ref> The strategies for researching places where a local courthouse or repository was wiped out by fire, tornado, war, flood, hurricane, earthquake, insects, rodents, mold, neglect, foxing, theft, tsunami, or cleaning-streak clerks are useful in similar situations all around the United States, Canada, and throughout the world.<br> | ||
"Burned counties" do not have to be end of the line research situations if you: prepare well, look for alternatives, search a variety of jurisdictions and repositories for the family, kin, and associates, and approach such research problems in innovative ways.<br><br> | "Burned counties" do not have to be end of the line research situations if you: prepare well, look for alternatives, search a variety of jurisdictions and repositories for the family, kin, and associates, and approach such research problems in innovative ways.<br><br> | ||
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*'''Write a Plan'''<ref>Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Dissecting the Research Problem” (lecture in Course 4 Advanced Methodology and Evidence, Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., 17 June 2005).</ref>: You should have a [[Decide What You Want to Learn|research goal]] formulated as it will help you determine what records to focus on and search for. | *'''Write a Plan'''<ref>Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Dissecting the Research Problem” (lecture in Course 4 Advanced Methodology and Evidence, Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., 17 June 2005).</ref>: You should have a [[Decide What You Want to Learn|research goal]] formulated as it will help you determine what records to focus on and search for. | ||
*'''Surrounding Counties:''' Search surrounding counties and those records for your ancestor and family members. You may find them listed in other records because of associating with others over the border of the county. Exhaust these records. | *'''Surrounding Counties:''' Search surrounding counties and those records for your ancestor and family members. You may find them listed in other records because of associating with others over the border of the county. Exhaust these records. | ||
*'''Search Courthouse of Record Loss:''' Search the courthouse for records AFTER the record loss. If your ancestors stayed in the area during the time period, you should look in records up to 100 years after the record loss. Records of children and grandchildren can give information about their ancestors. Search in all the court records mentioned below. | *'''Search Courthouse of Record Loss:''' Search the courthouse for records AFTER the record loss. If your ancestors and their extended family stayed in the area during the time period, you should look in records up to 100 years after the record loss. Records of children and grandchildren can give information about their ancestors. Search in all the court records mentioned below. | ||
*'''State Repositories:''' | *'''State Repositories:''' The county may have sent copies of their records to the state archive and/ state library. Search all the record types [[Burned Counties Research #Substitute Records|listed]] below at these repositories. | ||
*'''Federal Repositories:''' Some record types were copied and sent to the Federal Government and are now housed at the National Archives. Records include, military, land, immigration, naturalization, and other government programs. Search the National Archives finding aids and catalog for possible records to search. | *'''Federal Repositories:''' Some record types in a county were copied and sent to the Federal Government and are now housed at the National Archives. Records include, military, land, immigration, naturalization, and other government programs. Search the [https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy National Archives finding aids and catalog] for possible records to search. | ||
*'''Jurisdiction Alternatives''' The county records may have burned, but the town, state, or federal governments may have similar records. Do not forget to check in neighboring towns and counties too. Try an area search. Draw a circle around the home of your family and search all the jurisdictions with the circle. Slowly expand the circle searching the area farther and farther from home. | *'''Jurisdiction Alternatives''' The county records may have burned, but the town, state, or federal governments may have similar records. Do not forget to check in neighboring towns and counties too. Try an area search. Draw a circle around the home of your family and search all the jurisdictions with the circle. Slowly expand the circle searching the area farther and farther from home. | ||
*'''Search Online Trees:''' You can sometimes find clues to other researchers' work found on differnet online trees. Always look for supporting documents for claims of vital events and information. | *'''Search Online Trees:''' You can sometimes find clues to other researchers' work found on differnet online trees. Always look for supporting documents for claims of vital events and information. | ||
==Substitute Records== | ==Substitute Records== | ||
*Substitute records are essential in overcoming | *Substitute records are essential in overcoming county courthouse record loss. Some records were not kept at the courthouse and may be located at other archives and repositories in the county or state. | ||
===List of Substitute Records to Search=== | ===List of Substitute Records to Search=== | ||
Do not stop with birth, marriage, and death events when looking for information on the family.<br> | Do not stop with birth, marriage, and death events when looking for information on the family. Substitute records can include vital information and other clues about relationships.<br> | ||
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Search for the records listed below:<br> | |||
*[[United States Probate Records|Probate records]], including wills and intestate estates of surrounding counties | *[[United States Probate Records|Probate records]], including wills and intestate estates of surrounding counties | ||
*[[United States Land and Property|Land records]] of surrounding counties | *[[United States Land and Property|Land records]] of surrounding counties | ||
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*[[Cemetery Records|Cemetery]] or sexton records | *[[Cemetery Records|Cemetery]] or sexton records | ||
*[[United States Census|Census records]] | *[[United States Census|Census records]] | ||
*[[United States Newspapers|Newspapers]], containing obituaries and notices of birth, marriage, and death; in addition, search for articles mentioning your ancestor's name | *[[United States Newspapers|Newspapers]], containing obituaries and notices of birth, marriage, and death; in addition, search for newspaper articles mentioning your ancestor's name | ||
*[[United States Directories|City and County directories]] | *[[United States Directories|City and County directories]] | ||
*[[United States Church Records|Church records]] | *[[United States Church Records|Church records]] | ||
*[[United States History|Local Histories]]. In some parts of the country | *[[United States History|Local Histories]]. In some parts of the country, there are county or town histories that include biographical information about early settlers and leaders of the community. | ||
*[[United States School Records|School records]] | *[[United States School Records|School records]] | ||
*[[United States Military Records|Military records]] | *[[United States Military Records|Military records]] | ||
*[[United States Voting Records|Voter records]] | *[[United States Voting Records|Voter records]] | ||
*[[United States Naturalization and Citizenship|Naturalization]] and [[United States Emigration and Immigration|Immigration]] records, if applicable | *[[United States Naturalization and Citizenship|Naturalization]] and [[United States Emigration and Immigration|Immigration]] records, if applicable | ||
*Franternal organizations or societies that may have membership records | *Franternal organizations or societies that may have membership records of your ancestor | ||
*[[United States Business Records|Business]] and [[United States Occupations|Occupation]] Records | *[[United States Business Records|Business]] and [[United States Occupations|Occupation]] Records | ||
*For suggestions of other record types to search use the '''[[United States Record Finder|United States Record Finder]].''' | *For suggestions of other record types to search use the '''[[United States Record Finder|United States Record Finder]].''' | ||
=== Other Repositories for Researching === | === Other Repositories for Researching === | ||
Utilize these repositories for research: | |||
*Neighboring county repositories | *Neighboring county repositories | ||
*2nd courthouses (or other repository) in the same county | *2nd courthouses (or other repository) in the same county | ||