Getting to the Roots of Your Family - RootsWeb - Ancestry.com

http://wiki.familyserach.org – Research Tools listed on main State Page will give you links to sites that
will help in your search.
Burned Counties
Burned Counties - https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Burned_Counties_Research
� 1. A positive "track 'em down" attitude is important.
� 2. Research logs are a must.
� 3. A well-documented family group record is your research road map.
� 4. A commitment to document AS YOU GO!
� 5. Write out a thoughtful master research plan
Strategies – Burned County
#1 Background Information
• When did the courthouse burn?
• How much of the courthouse burned?
• What records were lost?
• Was there more than one courthouse for the county?
#2 Inventory of Courthouse records
• Check for published inventories of holdings
• WPA inventoried many courthouses
• Historical, Genealogical Societies or Other groups may have done an inventory of
courthouse records
**Most jurisdictions reconstructed or re-recorded many records. Deeds handed down in the
family may not have been recorded for years after a transfer.
#3 Substitute Records
• Newspapers
• Cemetery Records/Funeral Home Records
• City Directories
• Religious Records
• Title and Abstract Companies
• School Records
• Published Records
� County, Town & City Histories
#4 Check Other Courthouses
• Neighboring counties for deeds, probate & tax records and marriage records.
• Look in parent or progeny county might have the records you seek.
• Consult the courthouse in the county of their previous residence and the county they
lived in after the “burned county”.
#5 Check Other Record Repositories in the County
• Local Libraries
• Private Libraries
• Local Historical Societies & Archives
• Museums
• Township Library