Suggestions on how you can better preserve your family history.

 
- Purchase and use a video camcorder. Don’t just use it for vacations and birthday parties. Be sure to record interviews with 
senior members of your family. Ask them to talk about their childhood, their families, people they worked with or went to 
school with. Have questions written down before the interview. It's very easy to get off on a tangent and lose the opportunity 
to ask important questions. Don't forget to create your own autobiography on video (it’s easier than writing a book ;>)

- Get a document scanner for your PC, and scan EVERYTHING!! Make sure you scan AND IDENTIFY the people in all your old 
photographs. Do the oldest photos first.  

- Get a CD-ROM writer for your PC. This is a great way to preserve and share all those documents you’ve scanned.
 Check out the article I wrote for Rootsweb Review entitled: "How-to" create an archive CD-ROM for your data

- Purchase a digital still camera. You’ll take many more photos than with a film camera. When you take photos, think of your grand 
children. What would they like to have photos of. Think “outside the box”. Take photos of your home, inside and out. Take 
photos of your work place, fellow employees, your children’s playmates, sports team mates, the neighborhood you live in, 
favorite places you visit. Be sure to take photos of your children’s school and church.

- Save (and scan) anything that has local peoples names on it. Church attendance roles, school year books, company telephone 
directories, party invitation lists.

- Scan onto CD-ROM stories from local (especially small town and neighborhood) newspaper articles that mention people you 
know or stories which interest you. Major newspapers will probably be available on microfilm 100 years from now. Local 
newspapers probably won’t be. Don’t try to keep the whole newspaper. Even cut-out articles will more than likely get thrown 
away eventually. Scanning and saving material to CD-ROMS is fast, easy and costs almost nothing. 

- Use an audio recording device to record conversations at reunions, holiday family get-togethers, etc.. People who are self 
conscious in front of a camera will talk freely if you can discretely record what is said. Audio records are much handier to 
carry and use, and are inexpensive. The cables and software necessary to get your audio recordings onto a PC are very 
inexpensive. Recorded audio takes up relatively little space on your PC hard drive and can be archived to CD-ROM in seconds. 
Think about it. You probably have hundreds of snap shots of your family members, but what would you give to have a 
recording of their voice 20 years from now!

Contributed by John W. Grace

June 15, 2003

 
1...If you want to get more respect and help from the courthouse clerks....always dress in business attire...
carry a briefcase...and NEVER head straight for the marriage and will records....ALWAYS look at all land records first!!!!  
(Don't laugh, I tried this in three N.C.  County courthouses and the clerks about fell over one another trying to help me!) 
Months before, it was hard to get a answer from anyone while wearing jeans and sneakers. 
Must have thought I was an attorney instead of a researcher?   


2. If you are in a "burned county" check to see if any reconstructed records remain, search surrounding counties for any info. 


3. When you are reading any deeds, wills, estates, etc.....always check out at least five pages before and after your 
record for ones that were recorded the same day as your ancestors. This often shows relationship or near neighbors that came 
to the courthouse together.  


4. When checking census.....ALWAYS record at least one dozen neighbors that resided on every side of your family. 
These are the family's that your man married into!  5...If a child was bound out....it was almost always on the FATHER'S side 
of the family.....many times a illegit child. 

I received a lot of thank you notes regarding my previous post on searching for Kentucky death certificates.  
I also received a lot of questions about how and where to order these records.  Therefore, I will try to document the 
necessary information below.  


1. Consistent vital records weren't kept in KY until 1911.  However, some records are available back to the mid 1850's but
these vary from county to county.  If older records are available for your county, you will likely find them at the county 
courthouse or at the State Archives in Frankfort, KY.  There's a wonderful "handbook" available that will explain the types 
of resources available for research in each of KY's 120 counties.  You should check with your local library for the book 
listed below:  Title: Kentucky Ancestry : A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research Author: Roseann Reinemuth Hogan 
ISBN: 0916489493  You can order this item from Amazon Books at http://www.amazon.com
(Search for Kentucky Ancestry) for $19.95.  


2. The KY Office of Vital Statistics has birth and death records from Jan 1911 to present and marriage records from 
Jun 1958 to present.  You may access their Web site at  http://cfc-chs.chr.state.ky.us/vital.htm  
Birth records are $9.00 each while death, marriage and divorce records are $6.00 each.  Certificate applications are 
available in Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) or you can order records by telephone/credit card from 8 AM to 3 PM at 
(502) 564-4212. 

 
3. If you are looking for death records for the years of 1911-1946, I recommend an alternate route.  Death records 
during this time period are available on microfilm from  - the State Archives in Frankfort (cost = photocopy rate per page)    
This is a great method if you have a lot of certificates and can make the drive.  - some local libraries and historical 
centers (cost = photocopy rate per page)    This is another great source if you can make the drive.  Also, some libraries 
will do lookups for you as long as they are within limits. Typically, you only have to pay the photocopy fee and the cost 
of a stamp and envelope.  - Researchers on the Internet (usually $3 per certificate)  This is a wonderful way to get 
certificates when you live far away or if you only have a small number of certificates that you need.  Most Internet 
researchers charge $3 per copy which is still half price compared to the Office of Vital Statistics.  Researchers on the 
Internet that will lookup death certificates (that I know of) include:  
Pam Carey Durstock - http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/ky-dcert.html  
I have used Pam's service and found it to be wonderful!  Pam charges $3 per record.  However, she donates 1/2 of the money 
to the USGenWeb Project.  Jessie Hagan - http://kyssar.hypermart.net/kyvital.htm  
I have not used this service, but Jessie is listed on the KyGenWeb page and I have listened to folks who are satisfied with his service 
on the KYRoots Discussion List many times.  Both researchers appreciate you sending them the index information for all deaths 
between 1911 to 1946.  You can track down the index data using the tool housed at the University of Kentucky - 
http://ukcc.uky.edu/~vitalrec/  I also noticed this morning that 
Tom Crain - Aahyup@aol.com will search the Birth Index.  However, I'm unsure of his 
rates at this time.  - The Office of Vital Statistics  I only use this resource when the dates I need fall after 1946.  
If you have a lot of certificates that you need this can get costly fast!  


4. I do know that both Carter and Greenup have vital records prior to 1911.  Most of these records list an individuals 
name (middle if you're lucky), age at death, date of death or if it's a birth, month (maybe a day, maybe not) and year, 
parents names (almost always on births, sometimes not on deaths).  You can order microfilm for each counties vitals.  
Greenup County's Web site provides a listing of some research materials available from LDS on microfilm at 
http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygreenu/film.html  Some film may be 
purchased and others accessed via a local LDS Family History Center.  
I hope these tips prove to be helpful.  I also must apologize to those individuals who belong to both the Carter and 
Greenup lists as you will receive this message two times because I'm posting to both lists.  I would like to see more 
correspondence on these lists in the future. Networking and sharing ideas about what works and what fails with genealogy 
is very helpful ... at least for me :-)  I would also like to hear tips from other researchers on how to find good 
information on your ancestors.  I often fall into the "rut" of using the same resources to lookup information, when I'm 
sure a lot of different records exist that I could use to expand my database on individuals. However, I'm either unaware 
of the material or untrained on how to take advantage.  Thank you,  Darrell Smith

 The following is from a Minnesota Genealogical Newsletter: 
"In the lower left corner of most old deeds you will find two to four witnesses. The first one is always from the husband's 
side, the next two from the wife's side. That is to protect her one-half dower rights under the law.  Nothing you will ever 
use will give greater clues to maiden names." 

 	
There are various places to check for land grants and/or land patents.  A land patent or land grant was generally approved 
by the Fiscal Court of the county in which the land was located.  Records of these grants/patents were recorded in the 
County Order Books.  Even today, a land patent must be brought before the Fiscal Court, the County Judge appoints a surveyor 
to survey the land and  the survey must be approved by the Fiscal Court.  (The Fiscal Court is more often referred to as the 
County Court.  It should be noted that the County Judges and the Fiscal Court formerly had a much wider range of 
jurisdiction than they do today.) 	The second place you might check is the State Land Patton office in Frankfort.  
Talk with Candy Atchinson (I hope I've spelled Candy's last name correctly).  Candy knows more about land grants and/or 
land patent than anyone else in the state.  Her office has many of the original land grants for the Kentucky.  And I do 
mean originals, not just copies. 	Third, there are professional individuals that do mineral title certifications, that 
normally have extensive files on the original land grants and/or land patents.  For instance, Gene Daniels of Ashland, 
Kentucky performs mineral title work  for Boyd, Carter, Greenup and Elliott Counties.  Of course, these individuals would 
most likely charge you to research the particular grant and/or patent that you are trying to locate. 	Fourth, the 
individual County Clerk's offices sometimes contain plats and or the original deed for the land grant.  If you know who 
currently owns the land, by using the source of title of the current land owner, you can establish a chain of title for the 
property that will often take you back to the original deed for the grant. 	Bear in the mind the time period in which the 
grant was made.  Was the land being granted still a part of Virginia or some other state?  Was it located in a part of a 
county that later became a part of another county?  For example, the original plat of Carter County is recorded in the 
office of the Greenup County Clerk's Kentucky deed records.  Many of the deeds of Carter County can be traced back to a 
deed recorded in Greenup County.  You need to follow the historical time lines in your search. Good luck! 

Question Received:  Since you might know, here's the question: Does Carter County keep marriage records (like licenses)? 
I know that my great-grandfather and mother 
were married there in 1847 by a justice of the peace and it is recorded in a couple of lines - is there more than the 
record? Thank you and I will completely understand if you don't answer.  Answer:  The only thing available to the public 
is the minister's return that you've spoken of.  However, if you send a written request to the clerk and enclose a SASE, 
they do have some old files for the years 1838-1900 that they can look through.  These files contain the original 
handwritten bonds, some permission notes and sometimes an actual marriage certificate.  These files, as you could guess, 
are in very delicate condition and if they were open to the public they might end up lost forever, either by destruction or 
by theft.  I've been trying to convince the Clerk to copy these records and make the copies available to the public, but no 
luck yet.  I will keep trying.  Please do not walk into the Clerk's office and ask to see these records.  If you have a 
minute, send your own request to the Clerk that these records be copied and made available.  Maybe additional requests will 
help convince the Clerk that this is necessary. 	Actual marriage licenses and or bonds are available from 1875 - 
current. The clerk received a grant to continuing indexing old records and is currently going backwards and adding marriage 
records to the computer for better indexing and availability.  I believe they are back to book 73 at present. 

 As a paralegal, I spend many hours each week in 
the Courthouse.  Whenever a genealogist comes wandering in, I usually try to help point them in the right direction.  One 
document that can be especially helpful to any genealogist is an Affidavit of Descent.  Yet, very few researchers seem to 
know anything about them.  If a person owns property and that person dies intestate (without a will), it is normal to file 
an Affidavit of Descent.  This Affidavit is a sworn statement that gives the name of the deceased land owner, the date of 
death and the names of the heirs of the decedent.  Sometimes the Affidavit will also includes ages of the heirs and their 
addresses.  An Affidavit of Descent will be filed and indexed with the deed records under the name of the decedent.  
Anytime that you locate an Affidavit of Descent, you should also check out the next few recorded deeds.  Usually, if the 
person died without a will, the family doesn't get around to filing the Affidavit of Descent until they get ready to 
dispose of the real estate and some attorney informs them "by the way you need to file the Affidavit first".  If this is 
the case, the deed conveying the real estate of the decedent will not only list the names of the heirs, but also the names 
of the spouses.  Many times if the property has been held for an extended period of time or even allowed to pass through to 
the next generation, an Affidavit of Descent can give information on multiple generations.  So next time you are in the deed 
room, check the grantor indices for Affidavits of Descent. 

One other tip, if you want the staff to help you, be polite!  Just this week, a genealogist (at least that's what he 
claimed to be) came into the Carter Co. deed room and proceeded to tell the deputy clerk that she didn't know her job, 
and accused her of withholding information.  
He also cursed the deputy clerk several times.  He was trying to convince the deputy clerk, who by the way has worked in 
the deed room for nearly 16 years, that they had birth and death records.  This type of behavior is why people doing legal 
research and the clerk's staff are usually not to thrilled to see genealogist entering the deed room.  Please remember that 
although you are having the time of your life because you have just found that one link that has eluded you for years, most 
people in the deed room are trying to earn a living.  Try treating the deed room the same way you would treat a library.  
Also remember that most of the other people in the deed room are probably working, but not for the Clerk.  I have actually 
had people get mad at me because I didn't stop my work and look something up for them.  I do try to take time to help 
anyone that I can and will gladly show you how to look up records, and normally the Carter Co. staff are also willing to 
help, if they can.  Unfortunately, they can't waive a magic wand and produce records that they don't have, regardless of 
how many time you cuss them.  Good luck with your research. 

Source: An American Legion Post newsletter in Maryland
 
"The Veterans Administration has reported discovering 10 million
duplicates of 20th Century Military Records. These records were thought
to have been destroyed in a 1973 fire which wiped out most Army records
from 1912 to 1960 and most Air Force records from 1947 to 1964. If you need records that you were told were burned, you may contact:
Veterans Personnel Records,
GSA,
St. Louis, MO 63132.

"How-to" create an archive CD-ROM for your data If you have a CD-ROM writer on your PC, it's a great device for preserving/sharing your old photos and scanned documents. Here are step-by-step details on how I did it.

Send questions and comments to John Grace

Kentucky GenWeb project