Part II: Overcoming Roadblocks: Burned County Records
While researching family records, there is nothing more frustrating than coming to a roadblock in our work. We often can become stumped in our progress when records we need just can't seem to be found. One tragic roadblock occurs when a county has suffered record loss due to fire or other natural disasters, careless record keepers, lack of space, or war. What can we do when a county suffered record loss? These record losses are a large hurdle for genealogists, but with an understanding of substitute records, alternative information can be found to document our families. Part I will focus on alternative information, and Part II will focus more on substitute records.
Here are a few ideas!
“Plan to research substitutes for the missing records – research:
substitute record types
substitute jurisdictions
and substitute repositories.”
-FamilySearch Wiki “Burned Counties Research”
Substitute Records to Use
Vital records
Town or state vital records, church records, newspaper announcements, Bible records, tombstone inscriptions and other cemetery records can give birth and death information and can say “wife of” or “daughter of.”
Census records – Check both federal and state censuses.
Use special census schedules: mortality, slave, veterans, non-population schedules, etc.
Tax records often were recorded by the county, but the state may have a duplicate copy.
They can show residence for a specific year and indicate land ownership and when it was acquired. Indirectly it can show age, relationship, move to a new location, or death. Widows are often listed on tax rolls.
Land Records - Federal or state land records for original grants and patents
Remember that land records were often recreated in the county after record loss.
Probate Records - Check legal notices in newspapers.
Court Records - Check chancery, district, superior, or appeals court records.
WPA inventories for ideas of other records available in a county.
Use the United States Record Selection Table on the FamilySearch Wiki to identify what other records can be used to find specific information.
Substitute Jurisdictions to Consider
What happens when county records we need are simply not available? We can shift our focus on records that were created by other jurisdictions such as federal and state agencies or private records. Understand the court jurisdictions for your location and time period. Who handled divorces, guardianship, etc.?
Federal
Federal census
Military records - pension records, bounty land, etc.
Land records – original land patents and grants for federal land states
Records in the National Archives – What’s digitized on Ancestry, FamilySearch and Fold3
Immigration and naturalizations
Southern Claims Commission records
State
State census
Land records – original land patents and grants for state land states
Military records - pension records, bounty land, etc.
Tax or other financial records could have been duplicated and sent to the state
Legislative Papers – can include divorce records
Petitions
Colonial Papers – earlier records often mention regular citizens
Town
School records
Militia records
Marriage returns or banns
Cemetery records
Road taxes or assignments
Town histories
Poor records
Private Records
Home sources and records from other living family members
Church records
Newspapers - for birth, marriage, death, legal notices, local articles, ads
Cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions
Local and county histories
Business records, professional directories, volunteer organizations, merchant accounts, etc.
Societies, schools, and other groups
Manuscript collections, especially at major libraries or universities
Use the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC), ArchiveGrid, and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Manuscripts can be located in states other than where your ancestor lived.
Substitute Repositories to Check
A second courthouse (or other storage location)
Neighboring court houses, especially if your ancestor lived near the county boundary
Parent county courthouse if the county boundaries changed during your ancestor’s lifetime
County and local libraries
can have manuscripts, family records or Bibles, cemetery records, unpublished histories
Sometimes local librarians know where records in the county are located
State or county historical society or genealogical society
The state archives or library
Regional Libraries: Allen County Public Library, Mid-Continent, DAR, Newberry Library
See collections: https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Archives_and_Libraries
University libraries
