Update on Delaware County, PA tax lists

I received a response to a query about the Delaware County tax lists a week or so ago but I've been so backlogged lately with work that I haven't had a chance to update the info here yet. It appears that the first information I received from a reference librarian at Neumann College, which stated the tax dockets had been sent to the Delaware County Historical Society, was incorrect. A different employee at the Neumann College Library says that they were moved to the Delaware County Archives not the Historical Society. So now I will attempt to confirm this with the Archives and post yet another update here as soon as I hear something back.

Back from the conference with a ton to share...First things first

Ok, so I'm back from the NGS conference in Raleigh and have a ton of info to get on the site. First off though, I have a new site for you all to check out. It's full of great old maps that you can view for free online. Maps are known to be of vital importance to genealogists not just so that you know the location of the area your subject was living in, but also because they can show you information that will help guide you on to the next steps of your research. Maps showing the trails and wagon roads, rivers, watersheds, mountains, and any number of topographical and statistical information can all be found on maps. A site that includes maps covering all of these aspects for numerous states and countries is www.davidrumsey.com . Just go to the site, choose how you would like to view the maps on your browser and start checking out all of the wonderful maps.

Heading out to the NGS conference

Things have been busy this week primarily because the NGS conference in Raleigh started today. I'm heading down early tomorrow morning to catch the first lecture at 11am. I'll be sure to come back with full reports for the blog!

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!

Cataloging and Keeping a Wish List

So I've just started working with the Professional Genealogy study group and we are now working on our third practical assignment. This month our assignment is to catalog our home library and start a list of resources that you would like to add to your library in the future. One of the more discouraging aspects of genealogy is that you are often not living in the locale of your ancestors making it difficult to access records vital to your ability to conduct an "exhaustive" search for information. The increasing availability of records through digitizing projects, often undertaken by local genealogy groups/historical societies, etc., helps to ease this frustration a bit but there is still a long way to go. Another way to deal with the location issue is to keep a home library with references for the locations you are working with. Oftentimes you'll find that there have been published guide book and even editions of vital records for a county and these are a great help to the long-distance genealogist. Published histories shouldn't necessarily be used as primary sources, they are not a replacement for original documents, but they can be a great way to find what you need. If you see something in a published work, with a source citation, you can order a copy of the record yourself.

So now I bet you're wondering how you find out about these published sources. I've found the best way is to scour the Library of Congress catalog at http://catalog.loc.gov/ . This should not be thought of as a complete list, but it is definitely a great start. Another place to look is http://www.worldcat.org/ . Between these two sites you should be able to gather a pretty great wish list. Mine is about 4 notebook pages long! LOL!

Library of Virginia Microfilm Updates

I just received my new Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter and there was a section about how the Library is expanding their microfilmed city and county records collection. Apparently it has been a long-term project that began in alphabetical order and their latest additions include films for Rockingham Co, Russell Co, Scott Co, and Smyth Co. These films are available at the library as well as through their interlibrary loan program. You can view their full microfilm collection at www.lva.virginia.gov/whatwehave/local/local_rec/index.htm and you can learn more about the Library's interlibrary loan program by going to www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/ill/index.htm .

Thanks to the Virginia Genealogical Society for this great update! I'm planning a research trip to the LVA this weekend so I'll definitely be checking out some of those reels.

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!