This is part 3 of a 5-part series on improving your search skills.
The great thing about modern genealogy is that there is an incomprehensible number of records which have been digitized and that are quickly accessible from the comfort of your own home.
The challenging thing about modern genealogy is that we can often forget that despite the impressive number of records findable online, many more exist on paper. These records are in lonely, dusty books in the corners of libraries, in manila folders in clerks' offices or the filing cabinets of local history centers, where they wait to be discovered once again.
Have you visited your local family history research library? Do you know if one exists nearby? It’s time to find out. You can search online for one, or, better yet, ask the research librarian at your local library. Did you know that research librarians love to be asked questions? It’s why they do what they do. So go make someone’s day and ask for help.
What you might find
Research rooms or family history libraries hold collections of records in books—things like tax records, census records, copies of will, court records, etc. They may have paper files that individuals have donated throughout the years filled with letters, articles, magazines, etc. related to certain families or institutions in a given place. They certainly will have lots of microfilm content that you can access for free. Typically, they will have most if not all editions of local newspapers on microfilm.
Even if you live far away from the county you are researching, if you’re in the same state, you’re likely to find something of value at your local family research library.
Be prepared
Though research librarians love to be asked questions, as we mentioned, they also like specifics. Be prepared to tell them specifically what you are looking for. Rather than saying, for example, “I want all information on the Saunders family of Wheatle County,” you could say, “I’m looking for records that state the children of George Saunders who live in Wheatle or a bordering county in 1880.”
Be open
Your research librarian may give or suggest to you books that seem outside of your typical list of go-to record sources. Instead of writing them off, take a peek and see what might surprise you.
Maybe you see a result on a map that helps you better understand where a district from a census record was located. And perhaps that helps you see that two districts were right beside one another, and you can now view your records in a different light.
You might find one of those county-level compendiums of family histories. These giant books were created by soliciting stories and histories from long-residing individuals. Though the information therein should be taken at face value, sometimes these stories can provide helpful clues to guide your research.
Make friends
What if you’re researching a place where you don’t reside? Somewhere too far for a casual trip?
Find researchers there who are willing to help you for free or for a small fee. Send an email to the research librarian at the main library in that county and ask what services they might offer to a non-resident. See if they have contacts who might be willing to lump your research into some of their own for a fee.
Try to find a genealogical society for the place in question. Often these groups exist publicly on Facebook. Send them a message and ask what options you might have for asking someone to do some in-person research for you in a local library.
If all else fails, ask Reddit. There are many kind and dedicated genealogical researchers who are active on r/genealogy. Join the forum, post a message and just ask if anyone knows of someone who would be interested in doing a bit of research for you. Offer pay or in-kind research and remember to be appreciative for any help you may get.
Feel like you're not quite ready to venture out into the world of hands-on research? Maybe you just need a plan. Our next post in this series will teach you how to create a research plan for success.
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