Courthouse Research for Family Historians [Paperback]

Rose is a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists and a well-known speaker at national conferences. She's also an admitted courthouse junky. There are some 3,140 courthouses in the United States and she's poked around in more than 500 of them -- and she would be the first to tell you that every one is different, even in neighboring counties formed at the same time. (I've spent considerable time rummaging in courthouses myself, though not as many as Christine. . . .) Which county office has custody of which types of records varies from state to state, as do the names of the departments themselves. Big city courthouses are very different from small rural ones. Courthouses in poorer areas of a state do things differently, by necessity, than courthouses in comparatively wealthy counties. And that's not to mention the wide variation in personalities among county clerks and their minions, not only from place to place but even from year to year. (Every experienced researcher has run across courthouse workers who have no tolerance whatever for genealogists.) Rose approaches her topic methodically, from figuring out which county ought to have the records you're seeking (counties often have parents and offspring, too) and where to start when you arrive (with the indexes, the use of which may sometimes be arcane), to dealing with all sorts of records: Deeds, vital records, estates, civil and criminal court books, and all the rest. She goes on to discuss what's available on microfilm when your travel budget is tight, and the "strategies for success" that have worked for her. Courthouse research is a very difficult subject to generalize about, but this volume does an excellent job.

Family historians often resist researching courthouse records because they either don't understand the records and their content or haven't read this instructive book by Ms. Rose. Case studies are used to illustrate how much information can be gleaned from exploring the courthouse where your ancestors lived or taking a look at the Family History Library films of the records if one can't visit the area of interest. This step by step guide will help the researcher glean every ounce of information from records, and then know how to intrepret and use that for furthering an understanding of his ancestors life. The helpful leads in the local courthouse no longer need to intimidate and confuse. Using this guide will help you enter into the treasure hunt for information with confidence and clarity.

Everything a family historian needs to fully utilize records available at the courthouse. Excellent organization and packed with clear and complete explanations of how to find the many different resources hiding in the different departments. Anyone who has ever been intimidated by a courthouse will appreciate this book.