part 17

And, in earlier times, the boundaries of the counties were constantly changing.
Thus, in order for you to concentrate your research in the proper place, you need to know the geographic history of the areas you are interested in.
 
For instance, some of my ancestors lived for many years in Shenandoah County, VA. This county was created in 1772 from a portion of Frederick County, which in turn was created in 1738 from Orange and Augusta counties - both of which were carved out of other counties. And today, the land on which they lived is located in Page County, which was created from Shenandoah County in 1833.
Therefore, depending on the dates involved, you might have to search the courthouses of three or more counties to find the appropriate record for an individual.
 
Everton's "Handy Book" (mentioned earlier) can provide you with information
about the formation of counties.
 
FAMILY BIBLES
Family Bibles or information on tombstones are excellent records - but there are some things you have to be careful about. For instance, Bibles usually are accurate family records, but you should check the date the Bible was printed. If it was printed in 1850 and contains family birth, death and marriage records back into the 1700s, obviously someone wrote these records long after the fact and may not have known the facts or remembered accurately, or even could have
been told the wrong information.
 
Also, you should check the handwriting carefully. If several entries are in the
same shade of ink in almost identical handwriting, it's a good sign those
entries were made at the same time and probably not concurrent with the event.
The date of the last nearly identical record is probably closest to the recording date.
 
TOMBSTONE RECORDS
Tombstones, too, are sometimes erected many years after a person dies and therefore might contain erroneous dates. Or the stonecutter could have erred or been given the wrong information. Be careful, too, of printed compilations of cemetery records (this applies to other published material, such as marriage
records), because errors can be made in copying, indexing or publishing. A book
on one cemetery contains entry for one of my wife's ancestors, including this quote: "son of N.B." This contradicted other information and it was not until much later - when I had someone recheck the stone for me - that I learned the correct inscription was: "Erected by his son, W.B." This fit what I had
previously believed.
 
When copying cemetery inscriptions, be careful not to misread numbers or
letters. The number 4 is often carved with a light horizontal line that wears away leaving what looks like the number 1 or 7. Other numbers that are easy to misread: 3 and 8, 8 and 6, 5 and 3. Letters usually are more distinct, but C, G, D and O can be confused. Mar and May are hard to distinguish, as are Jul and Jun. When copying, place a question mark over letters or numbers you are unsure
of.
 
Be sure to record surrounding stones, for they can provide clues to family
relationships. Look for markers outlining family plots and note the names of all those buried within the plot. A woman who was a widow for a number of years, or a bride who died young, might be buried with her parents, and others with different names may be related.
 
Many cemeteries will not be well cared for and will be badly overgrown. The best time to search is the early spring or late fall when the foliage is thin and the weeds short. Helpful equipment for "tombstone hunting" includes
carpenter's chalk (for rubbing over letters to make them easier to read), a putty knife to scrape debris off fallen stones, a scrub brush to clean stones, a crowbar to turn heavy stones, perhaps an axe to clear away underbrush or a shovel to dig away from sunken stones, and a camera to record unusual stones.
 
Even if your ancestor is buried in an unmarked grave, if you know the cemetery he or she is buried in you can sometimes get information about him from cemetery records. Write a library or historical society near the cemetery to learn if such records are available. Larger city cemeteries usually have a sexton who maintains such records. If one exists for the cemetery you are interested in, that is the person to contact.
 
NEWSPAPERS
Marriage notices, obituaries and birth announcements are often found in
newspapers - if you are willing to spend the time to hunt through them. A few are indexed, but most require a page-by-page search. You'll need to know where the family lived and the approximate date of the event you are interested in.
 
Some local libraries have microfilm or other copies of early newspapers and many state libraries have extensive collections. The Library of Congress has an excellent collection of early American newspapers.
 
If you know the place and date of marriage, birth or death, you can usually get a copy of any mention of it (at least for more recent years) by writing newspapers in the area. Your library probably has a directory of newspapers in the U.S.
 
"Newspaper Indexes: A Location and Subject Guide for Researchers," 3 vols., by
Anita Cheek Milner (Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, NJ), lists newspaper indexes by
state, county and town, indicating the repositories in which they can be found.
 
CHURCH RECORDS
If you know the religious affiliation of your ancestor, you should try to find out what records are available for the churches in the area where he or she lived. Records vary widely from denomination to denomination. Some may be housed in a national or state repository; others are found on closet shelves of the current church secretary.
 
"A Survey of American Church Records," by E. Kay Kirkham (Everton Publishers, Logan, UT), is a guide to the location of church records that have been published or deposited in public archives.
 
OTHER HELP
There are countless other sources for genealogical information - literally too
many to be considered. Your local library is a good resource in discovering some of them. It will likely have several books on genealogical research, all of which will give you additional ideas. It also may subscribe to a number of
genealogical periodicals. Take time to check through a few of these. One
feature in many of them is a section with queries about "lost" ancestors. I've
received a lot of help by writing to those searching the same lines as I am. In
fact, one of the pleasant things about genealogy is the willingness of its
practitioners to share their findings with you.
 
If you get stuck on a particular line, placing a query in a genealogical publication may yield results. If you follow this route, BE SPECIFIC. Saying you will "exchange information on the Baker family" won't bring many responses
because readers won't know who it is you are looking for or if they have information that will help you.
 
Try this approach: "Need parents of James L. Baker, born OH 1812, married Sue
Allen in Bartholomew County, IN, in 1837; lived Warren County, IN, 1850 census.
Who were his parents? Hers? Was George Baker, Bartholomew County 1850 his
brother or cousin?" [NOTE: I made up all of the foregoing information, but
after this article began appearing in local newspapers, I got a response to
it!]
 
If you write others seeking information, remember your mail manners. Because
you're asking them to help you, you should make it easy for them. Ask questions
precisely. Include as much information as necessary to identify the individual
you are interested in, but don't include extraneous material. A short, to-the-
point letter will get a response. One dealing with a variety of subjects will be set aside because of the extensive work involved in answering it.
 
Be responsive to the needs of the individual you are writing and offer information you may have that could be of help. Offer to pay the cost of copies of material you request or to reimburse for out-of-pocket expenses. And it's customary when writing to seek information to include an SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) for the reply.
 
Keep a copy of the letters you send, for it may be difficult from the reply to tell what you said in your request. And it's a good idea to keep a log of in- coming and outgoing letters, including a notation as to when particular letters were answered.