CHAPTER TWO
Now begins the really exciting phase of your research: actually proving what couldn’t be proven with home sources. The local courthouse is the very first place to go. Remember the people in the courthouse are there to serve the public in many capacities, recording present records and preserving older ones. Treat them with the courtesy and respect they deserve. The author has never been denied access to any records in any courthouse without a legal reason. Most records in courthouses are public records, illegitimate births and adoptions being common exceptions. Go prepared with a short list of what is needed that day. THREE REQUESTS is reasonable. More can be a burden on the staff. Don’t show up with a big sheaf of papers, madly shuffling them around to find what is wanted. Ask for the FIRST one, when found , ask if it may been inspected. Then ask if the record is allowed to be hand copied. If not, PAY the charges. It is worth having a complete copy. Never accept short form, always ask for the long form to be copied. You are paying for it. Then and only then, unless requested by staff, you may ask for the second record. Often you will be shown how to get it for yourself. YOU HAVE ARRIVED: that part of the courthouse is now yours. Always strive to not be a pest. Follow directions and listen closely. If you do, you will be welcome anytime.
Records commonly found in courthouses of interest to genealogists are: birth, stillbirth, delayed or established birth, marriage applications and certificates, divorce, death, burial, probate packets, school censuses, land, jurors and voters lists, professional licenses, local veterans information , tax, and many other miscellaneous records. To beginners perhaps the most valuable are the VITAL STATISTIC RECORDS : birth and death. Marriages are not true Vital Statistics but are sometimes included with them as they will be here.
BIRTH RECORDS range from sketchy to detailed, but they usually give the child’s name, date of birth, father’s name, age, place of birth and residence, mother’s maiden name. age, place of birth and residence, also number of children born to mother , this child’s place among those now living. This is the ideal. Older records are less informative.
MARRIAGE RECORDS are the APPLICATION, LICENSE AND CERTIFICATE. Certificates give the actual date of marriage, principals involved, where, by whom, persons authority to perform the ceremony, and the witnesses. The Application often gives much more information, such as name, date of birth or age, where born, parents names, occupation, whether bachelor or maiden, widowed, divorced, number of marriage, and who gives permission for marriage if necessary. The License is simply that: permission by government to enter into legal contract of marriage. It must be returned to prove the contract is legally binding. When writing to distant courthouses always ask if there is an application for marriage on file also. It usually has the most information, but does not include the marriage date.
DEATH RECORDS usually list the name in full, Social Security Number after 1937, birth and death dates, places of birth and death, parents names and their places of birth, informant, cause of death, of what duration illness or accident was, when last seen by Doctor and his signature, undertaker, and place of burial. The older the record, the less information it has on it.
BURIAL RECORDS are not official Vital Statistics, but are invaluable. They were kept in many localities before Vital Statistics were legally required. That may be the only place to find a record of who is in an unmarked grave. There are also BURIAL TRANSMITTAL RECORDS. These are for people who died elsewhere but are buried within the county. A death record will not be found in the county of burial if they died out of county.
ALWAYS record BOOK, PAGE AND NUMBER OF THE RECORD so it can be found easily again. The other records in the courthouse will be dealt with in a later chapter.
Having found the records in the courthouse, what should be done next? The library is again worth a visit. The local newspapers on microfilm should be searched for OBITUARIES (obits) for the persons whose death dates were found. Obits are notoriously inaccurate, but they give a road map to follow. Often they are flowery and colorful, list date of birth, place, parents, when moved to other places, organizations to which they belonged, who married , when , where, surviving brothers and sisters, surviving children and spouses names, preceding in death persons, pallbearers, mortician, burial place and date. Sometimes even the songs sung and by whom are listed.
The persons who are being researched are now beginning to be more than names, dates and places. They were once persons with hopes, dreams, trials, sadness and triumphs just as the rest of us are. Genealogy without the stories, histories and little tidbits one can find would not be half so interesting as it is with them. Keeping your eyes wide open when searching old newspapers for other items surrounding the time and place your ancestors lived will let you know how they helped form that history.