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| === Mental Preparation and Tools Needed for Success === | | === Tactics of Success === |
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| Before starting on burned county research, be sure you have these five tools ready and working for you.
| | *'''Verify Loss of Records:''' Every courthouse with record loss has a different story. Some lost all records, some lost only some. It's essential to determine exactly what was lost and the year those records were lost. Contact the local county genealogical society, public library, and the courthouse to verify the information no longer available. |
| | *'''[[Research Logs|Research logs]]:''' As you research in the county, keep a research log or calendar listing all the resources searched. This includes websites, online databases, books, microfilm, and onsite records at a repository like an archive or courthouse. |
| | *'''Understand the Whole Family:''' Research all members of your ancestor's family including parents, siblings, in-laws, children and their spouses, etc. The more you find out about family members, the more clues to other records you will find. |
| | *'''Friends and Associtates:''' Research the lives of all known associates including extended family member, witnesses on documents, and neighbors. Search for them in all records available - see above list. |
| | *''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. |
| | *'''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. |
| | *'''State Repositories:''' State archives and libraries can have records that the county may have sent copies of the records of the county with record loss. Search all the record types 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. |
| | *'''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. |
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| '''1. A positive "track 'em down" attitude is important.'''<ref>Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Genealogical Mindset and Principles of Scholarship" (lecture in Course 4 Advanced Methodology and Evidence, Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., 13 June 2005).</ref> Avoid discouragement or thinking that genealogical research in a "burned county" is hopeless. The first and most important step to finding ancestors who lived in a burned county is creating a relentless "track 'em down" mindset no matter how hard it is, and no matter how long it takes.
| | ==Substute Records== |
| | *Substitute records are essential in overcoming a loss of records in a courthouse. Some records were not kept at the courthouse and maybe located at other archives and repositories in the county or states. |
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| '''2. [[Research Logs|Research logs]] are a must.''' Burned county research is not easy. The more difficult or complex a research problem becomes, the more valuable good research logs are. They are a cornerstone to good research and filing systems. Research logs show what has, and (just as importantly) has not worked. Also, use logs to explain in written comments your thinking about search strategies and what you are trying to accomplish—why you turned to that set of records.<ref>G. David Dilts, "Research Logs: The Most Important Tool for Organizing Your Family History," [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2250993 ''Genealogical Journal''] 30 (2002): 10-11. [FHL Book 973 D25gj v. 30 2002].</ref>
| | ===List of Records to Search=== |
| | Do not stop with birth, marriage, and death events when looking for information on the family.<br> |
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| | Substitute records can include vital information and are listed below:<br> |
| | *Probate records including wills and intestate estates of surrounding counties |
| | *Land records of surrounding counties |
| | *Tax records of surrounding counties |
| | *Other court records that include both civil and criminal courts of surrounding counties |
| | *Cemetery or sexton records |
| | *Census records |
| | *Newspapers containing obituaries and notices of birth, marriage, and death; in addition, search for articles mentioning your ancestor's name |
| | *Local Histories - In some parts of the country have county or town histories that include early settlers and leaders of the community including biographical information. |
| | *Military records |
| | *Naturalization records, if applicable of surrounding counties |
| | *Franternal or occupation organizations or societies that may have membership records |
| | *For suggestions of other record types to search use the '''[[United States Record Finder|United States Record Finder]].''' |
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| '''3. A well-documented [[Family group record: roadmap for researchers|family group record is your research road map]].''' Get ready to research a burned county family by preparing a family group record that has source footnotes for [[Adding a Custom Event to a PAF Family Group Record|EVERY event]]. Be sure to [[Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)|cite every known source]] that mentions a member of that family. If a '''''document''''' mentions more than one event in an ancestor’s life, source footnote each '''''event'''''.
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| Don't stop with just the birth, marriage, and death events for the family. [[Adding a Custom Event to a PAF Family Group Record|'''''Add ALL events''''']] like census, land purchases and sales, military service, witnessing another person's document, or when a will was probated. A well-documented family group bristles with clues hinting where to research for more.
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| '''4. A commitment to [[Document AS YOU GO!|document AS YOU GO]]<nowiki>!</nowiki>''' <ref>Carol Harless, et. al., [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/82725149 ''PAF Documentation Guidelines''] (N.p.: Silicon Valley PAF Users Group, 1993), 1 [FHL Book 005.3 H224].</ref> This means keeping your research logs and family group record up-to-date. Fill out the purpose (person and event you want) for each search, and the source data on the research log BEFORE you look at the source. Complete the research log by filling in the results and (if you find something) file number of the photocopy. Documenting AS YOU GO means if you find a new source you do these things before you lay your head on the pillow:
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| :a. [[Copying Sources|Photocopy the new source document]].<br>
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| :b. [[Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes)|Identify the source]] (footnote information) on the front of the photocopy.<br>
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| :c. Write your own document filing number on the back of each photocopy.<br>
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| :d. Log the document number, and summarize events-people you found on all appropriate [[Research Logs|logs]].<br>
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| :e. Transfer new family data from the source to appropriate family group records.<br>
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| :f. Enter new source footnotes [[Adding a Custom Event to a PAF Family Group Record|for '''''every''''' piece of data]] on a source, even if that event already has a footnote.<br>
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| :g. Add a preliminary assessment of the data and its reliability to each source footnote.<br>
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| :h. Print the updated family group record.<br>
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| :j. File the new family group and photocopy.<br><br>
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| '''5. Write out a thoughtful master research 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> Part of the overall goal should involve sharing your research on one or more families in a cluster. Within that goal work on one family at a time. Avoid skipping to a different family until work on this main family is nearly finished.
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| *'''''Plan to research substitutes''''' for the missing records—research substitute '''''record types''''', substitute '''''jurisdictions''''', and substitute '''''repositories'''''. Look for family members in previous and subsequent (hopefully unburned) places they settled using the family group record as a guide. If you still are not finding what you need, study the relatives, and associates to determine who were most closely associated with your ancestor. Be prepared to research those people as substitute '''''kin or associates''''' to find clues about your ancestor.
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| *'''''Concentrate on documenting one event in one person's life''''' at a time (for example, Ethel's marriage). Research the easiest to find events (sources) first. Stick with that event even if you do not find it on the first few searches. Keep looking for some source that will document that event. Don't move on to another event in the family until you find it, or until all possible documents, jurisdictions, and repositories for that event have been tried.
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| *'''''Plan to share''''' your research as a way of reaching out for contacts and help.
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| *Find ways to '''''collaborate''''' with other genealogists, archivists, and librarians on solving the problem. Get help where ever you can.<br><!--{12072793477230} -->
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| === Find Alternatives ===
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| When a record goes missing, there may be some other records available with the same information.
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| ==== Record Type Alternatives ====
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| Stay focused on one person and event in that person's life, but change the record type you search to find the event. Here are some ideas to help you find good substitutes for missing burned county records. | | Stay focused on one person and event in that person's life, but change the record type you search to find the event. Here are some ideas to help you find good substitutes for missing burned county records. |