Sometimes I just want to give the mailman a hug!

hehe, that's a funny title. Anyhoo, today is officially "Day of Records". First, I received the will and inventory of Elias Bromagen from Greene County, OH today, and it's a great one. Pretty close to the ideal record. The only thing better is if he would have just randomly decided to tell us about his birth and parents. Not only does he list his sons, and give them each large tracts of land which is all described for later land platting, he also lists his daughters. That is not something commonly seen. Even those daughters with whom he had already settled his affairs were mentioned. Then, to top it off, he named his son Simon as his eldest and then had to amend his will at a later date because he said that Simon, whom he had appointed his executor, had died. So that narrows down the death range for Simon too. The inventory was pretty interesting also, pretty common stuff but reading about his "beloved" cows and his flock of geese was fun to read.

Moving on to the McKeevers, Pennsylvania is one of those states that requires you to make a copy of your driver's license to confirm your current address when you order copies of death records. Here's another instance where being a military family, with a driver's license that almost never matches where you're currently living, is not conducive to long-distance genealogy. So, I had to have a relative order the records for me and I got the great news today. The death record for my Great Great Great Grandmother's brother had the name of their mother, her full name including her maiden name, which I did not previously have. A search of newspaper entries a while back had given her first name as Elizabeth but now we know her name as Elizabeth Saunders. The informant for the info on the death record was a McKeever cousin who would have known this so I find it to be pretty reliable information. So now I have a new name to start going after which is always fun.

So it was a great day for records! I love days like this, whenever records come it's always a good day. Now I need to update my own records!

Happy Hunting Friday to everyone!

Heard back from Greene County, Ohio Archives already!

Just a followup on the Greene Co Archives. I heard back from the day before yesterday on the will of Elias Bromegin that I requested. The reply email was not only a confirmation that he left a will, but the location (Will Book location etc), the existence of an inventory, and all at a cost of $1.00! Woohoo! Gotta love that. I got the check out in the mail yesterday so hopefully I'll have the papers either late next week or early the week after. I think I'll scan it and post it here once it arrives since this will be my first Ohio will and inventory. Very exciting stuff!

Attention Ohio researchers...Add this one to your list

I was working on my Bromagen line tonight and came across another great local archives center to add to the list. This one may be the best that I've ever come across, maybe. The Greene County Ohio Records Center and Archives only charges a nominal fee for photocopies, their turnaround time is quoted to be about 7-10 days, they accept email inquiries and requests, and their list of holdings is really impressive. I'm going to order either a deed or a will today (they do ask that you only make one request at a time) and see how it goes but I have a few things I'd like to order from them so I'll definitely follow up and let you all know how well it goes. Here's the link if anyone is interested:

http://www.co.greene.oh.us/Archives/default.asp

Speaking of the NGSQ....KY research guide

I was just talking about how important it is to join the National Genealogical Society in a previous post and yesterday I received the newest volume of their periodical, the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, or NGSQ. The spotlight this time is Kentucky and for anyone who is interested in KY family history this is a must have. The research guide by Betty Cummings Cook, CG is a great introduction to navigating the records in Kentucky and the inclusion of two KY case studies in the same volume serves to illustrate the methods and records discussed in the guide. The combination of research guide and case studies arms even the Kentucky novice with a sense of confidence in tackling KY records and makes this volume a must-have. Just another example of how important genealogical periodicals are (especially the NGSQ) whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro.

Great site for Eastern PA research

The Delaware Co, PA Archives office has a pretty decent website with the ability to search for administration files, wills, Orphan's Court files, marriages, and naturalizations. The site is located at http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/depts/archives.html and the staff there is really helpful and will answer questions via email, which is really handy. I've ordered several copies from them with no trouble, plus the prices and wait-times are reasonable. Considering the close proximity to Philadelphia, the Delaware Co Archives may be worth checking into for those researching in Eastern PA.

Helpful websites for Illinois research

For anyone doing Illinois research, including work in Chicago, the IRAD site is one to bookmark

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/irad/iradhome.html

They have a few online databases, some by surname others by location and type of records, and tell you where you can find various records including, marriage, naturalization, coroner's inquest files from Chicago and more.

A good supplement to this site for your search for vital records in Chicago (and Cook Co in general) is the Cook County Clerk's genealogy site at http://www.cookcountygenealogy.com/. While they do not have all of their vital records digitized yet, it is possible to search the names of those whose records have been listed on the site. If you cannot find a person and/or event that should have occurred in the area you can request a manual search. They charge $15 for the first record ordered and full ordering instructions can be found on the website.

Some sites I visit often...Ok daily

I am not currently taking any official courses but I still find that there are too few hours in the day. Most of my day is spent on the computer working on whatever I feel like working on that day. It could be looking up info on a specific family group or branch or it could be researching the field in general. I look for sites that give info on educational opportunities and information about upcoming conferences that I may be able to go to, and info on how to hone my skills, and info on new databases or new transcriptions and indexes online. The BCG site, at http://www.bcgcertification.org/, is always a popular site to visit as well as that of the National Genealogy Society located at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/. Both are great to check up on because they have so much information available. The BCG site has a skillbuilding section with references to helpful articles. My favorite part of the NGS site is being able to download the articles. I didn't find out about the NGS until last year so having the ability to access articles prior to my joining NGS is really allowing me to get caught up in a way. The other site that I can pretty much count on visiting on a daily basis is http://www.ancestry.com/. I could spent hours, and sometimes do, trolling around that site checking and double checking for records. Census, passport, newspapers, oh my!
Another useful site for genealogists looking for information is http://www.familysearch.org/. From there, you are able to search for ancestors, check out the microfilms available to order from the LDS, and even view scanned images of original documents through their record search pilot located at http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start. A listing of their available records is available by clicking on the location you're interested in. The Philadelphia cemetery return records available through that site are one of my favorites!