Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures by Christine Rose is the step by step handbook every genealogist needs for researching court records. Rose brings her experience in researching at over 500 courthouses to bear in one complete guidebook of instructions. Eventually, every genealogist needs courthouse records. This book will prepare you to visit a courthouse in person as well as accessing court records from a distance.
Christine Rose has prepared this guide to help you locate ancestral records “in the maze of documents and learn how to utilize the tantalizing clues you uncover.” Some of the questions she help you answer include:
- Which courthouse office do you need?
- Why is the index like none you’ve encountered before?
- What do those obscure words mean?
- Do you stop when you find a will?
- What other records lie hidden on those courthouse shelves?
Throughout the book, Rose examines different record types and the information each contains. She explains unfamiliar terminology. Step by step the reader is instructed in the process of preparing, accessing, reading, and understanding courthouse records. Learning to pull tips and ideas from one record to find additional records and information is par for the course. Even if you have experience in courthouse research, this guide will help you better organize and prepare, as well as likely learn new ideas to improve your overall research process.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Preparation is the Key
Start in a County Courthouse…or?
Counties Can Have Parents Too
Counties Formed From the Initial County of Research
Does the County Still Exist?
Independent Cities
Other Considerations
Will They Be Open?
Can You Handle the Record Books?
Packing With a Purpose
What’s in Your Briefcase
Taking Files
Maps
Skills to Practice Before Leaving
Reading the Handwriting
Transcribing Faithfully
Books and Tapes will Assist
Abstracting
Other Practical Considerations
Should You Take Your Computer into the Courthouse?
Photocopying
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 2: You’re There–Now What?
Arriving at the Courthouse
Staring the Search
Expectations
Hints for Success
Differences in Indexes
Numbering of Record books
A Variety of Indexing Systems
Russell Index System
Additional Hints with the Russell System
The Campbell System and Other “First Name” Indexes
Cott Indexes
Graves Tabular Initial Indexes
Additional Indexes
Cant Find a Name in the Index?
Did the Index Err?
Did You Miss Some Entries?
What’s Missing in the Index?
Using the Index for Maximum Results
After the Index in Examined
brought Your Computer?
Legal Age
There was a Fire!
Those Other Records on the Shelves
Chapter Pints to Ponder
Chapter 3: Property Matters
Importance of Land Ownership
State-Land States vs. Federal-Land States
Surveying Differences
Land Surveys
Indexes for Land Records
Entry Book Indexes
Peculiarities of Deed Indexes in Land Records
What do Deed Indexes Include?
Indexes Prepared by Others
Types of Documents
Terminology
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 4: Searching for Property Records
The Office for Land Records
Types of Record Books
Deed Books
Survey Books and Warrants
Plat Books and Plat Maps
Powers of Attorney Books
Mortgage Books
What a Deed Tells Us
The Recording Process
Clues in the Deeds
Other Considerations
Photocopying
Sr. and Jr., Elder and Younger, 1st and 2nd
Absence of Records
Strategies for Searching Local Land Records
Connecting Families Through Their Deeds
Records Not a Part of the Local Land Records
Land Records are Crucial to Research
Chapter Points to Ponder
Deed Transcribed and Annotated
Chapter 5: Estates Galore
Which Office Handled Estates?
Was the Estate Probated?
Women and Wills
Kinds of Estates
The Probate Indexes
Terminology
Understanding the Law
Naming Children in the Will
Primogeniture or Double Portion
Daughters
Interstate Division Per Stripes or Per Capita
Heirs at Law, Sons-in-Law, and Others
Probate Court Minutes and Court Orders
The Estate Packets
But Keep in Mind
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 6: Estate Documents
Wills (Testate Proceedings)
Codicils to Wills
More Than One Kind of Will
The Probate Process
Other Documents Associated with Estates
Petition
Bond
“Letters” Issued
Inventory
Account
Accounts of Sale and Sale Bill
Petition for Sale of Real Estate
Final Settlement or Final Distribution
Renunciation
Administrations
Relinquishment in an Administration
Public Administrator or Other Public Official
Guardianship
Guardianship of Minors
Bonds for Guardians
Entailed Property in the Hands of Minors
Choosing a Guardian for a Minor
Next Friend
Guardianship for Incompetents
Committee (in Case of Incompetency)
Guardian’s Accounts
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 7: Milking Every Clue from Estates
Let’s Consider
Entails
Were There Two Wills?
Wills of Unmarried Adults
Making it Fair
Gleaning Clues from Wills
More on Packets
Varied Documents in the Estate Packet (Annotated)
Transcribing a Will
Abstracting a Will
Wills are Marvelous in More Ways Than One
Is a Search Among Estates Worth the Effort?
Don’t Be Content With One Record
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 8: Understanding the Court System
The Court System
Types of Courts
Our Legal System
Record Books
Type of Documents
Civil Court Indexes
The File Packets: Civil and Criminal
Terminology
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 9: Civil and Criminal Court
Civil Records
Finding Civil Court Records in the Courthouse
Indebtness
Judgments
Your Strategy in Becoming Acquainted with Civil Court Records
The Civil Court Process
Other Records Which Might Be Found
Changes of Name
Tax Records
How Tax Records Help You
What was Taxed
Land Books
Tax Assessor
Tax Foreclosures
Road Records
Road Commissioners
Coroner’s Records
Registrar of Voters
Naturalization
Locating the Naturalization Papers
Naturalization of Women
Formation of Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization
Divorces
Can’t Find the Divorce Proceeding?
Criminal Matters
The “Gaols”
Bail Bond
Duties of a Criminal Court Clerk
Juries
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 10: Birth, Marriage, and Death
Registrations of Vital Records
Which Courthouse Office?
Cities May Keep Their Own Records
Are the Records Open to the Public?
Register Book Indexes and Their Organization
Transcribing and Abstracting Vital Records
Birth Records
Delayed or Corrected Birth Records
Other Courthouse Documents Can Substitutes for Birth Records
Local Customs Help
Marriages
The Process by License or by Banns
Marriage Applications and the License
Marriage Bonds
Marriage Certificates
Marriage Registers
Marriage Contract
Where Did They Marry?
Substitute Marriage Records
Breach of Promise
Common-Law Marriages
Special Notes on Marriages
Deaths
Where is the Death Register and What’s In It?
When You Cannot Find the Death Record
Substitute Records Can Prove a Death
Vital Records Assistance
One Action Can Prove Birth, Marriage, and Death
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 11: The Internet, Microfilm, and Libraries
The Internet and Courthouses
Cyndi’s List is Always a Place to Start
Other Cyndi’s List Resource Items
USGenWeb
County Forums
County Sites Other Than USGenWeb
State Archives on the Internet
Federal Land Records Online
Local Land Records Online
Probate Records Online
Vital Records Online
Civil Records Online
Online Subscription Services
Microfilm for Courthouse Records
Family History Library (FHL) and Their Microfilm
Finding Family History Centers
FHL Catalog
Ordering FHL Microfilm
Microfilm Other than FHL
Microfilm Problems
Library Genealogical Collections
Family History Library Books
Other Major Library Collections
Advantage of Library Preparation
Use WorldCat OCLC
Law Libraries for Statutes
United States Statutes
Newspapers
Other Finding Aids
Using NUCMC
PERSI Index to Published Articles
County Inventories and County Guides
Work Project Administration (WPA)
Original Courthouse Records Found Elsewhere
Unusual Sites
Chapter Points to Ponder
Chapter 12: Strategies that Work
Example 1: Allow One Record to Lead to Another
Example 2: Locating the Children
Example 3: Locating Parents
Example 4: Following the Separations and Divorces
Example 5: The Will is Missing
Example 6: Widening the Search
Strategies for Letter Writing
General Rules When Writing
Stating the Request Clearly
Strategies for Finding African-American Records
Strategies for “Knowing” Our Ancestors
Keeping Us Going
The Saga of a Revolutionary Soldier
Resource References
Glossary
Index
Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures is available at Family Roots Publishing; Item #: CR0003, Price: $21.54.