Postpone that genealogy road trip . . .

. . . and take a good long look at your target records and counties in the Family History Library catalog.

If the records you want are on films that have been digitized (those are camera icons in the right-hand "format" column), then you may get to have a genealogy staycation instead.

I just viewed the index books (also digitized) and pulled two key deeds for an ancestor in Ashtabula County, Ohio, whose property was sold to satisfy a court decree in 1844 (after he had paid the then-princely sum of $2400 for it six years earlier). Most likely he borrowed money on it and couldn't pay, but we'll see.

Actually I still need that road trip, because the underlying court records -- which hopefully will explain how he got into this fix -- were not filmed, and due to the current Microfilmpocalypse may never be. But now I can zero in on them instead. Jefferson, Ohio, is nice in the summer.

from OZinOH  per Creative Commons 2.0
www.flickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/1317676029

Salt Lake Institute early birds fly away at the end of next month

The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy was the first institute I ever attended, back in January 2009. If it hadn't been for a last-minute reminder post on an email list, I would have missed it. I've been back every year but one since then, and I'll combine being a student and a teacher this coming January.

So I recommend it to all ambitious genealogists, and am happy to pass on the news from the Utah Genealogical Association blog that early-bird discounts of more than 10% are still in effect through September and October. As of August 29, four of the eleven courses had already sold out, two others are down to single digits, and one other has filled one section and added a second.

I like the location (including the unparallelled research opportunities in the Family History Library two blocks away), and I like the variety of courses offered -- in 2014 from the US South to Eastern Europe, from hard-core methodology to social history. Check out the faculty, courses, class sessions, and remaining space here.



Harold Henderson, "Salt Lake Institute early birds fly away at the end of next month," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 1 September 2013 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : viewed [date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

Scary Evidence Evaluations I Have Known, Plus an Update

Wording tweaked, thoughts preserved, names omitted to protect the guilty...


More people have posted this than anything else.

Several people entered this, but some of the dates are different.

Go by the earliest census record.


Do you have a favorite?


In less scary news, I have updated my list of the numbers of all the Family History Library microfilms that were on indefinite loan at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center as of 13 October.



Harold Henderson, "Scary Evidence Evaluations I Have Known," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 31 October 2012 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

FHL microfilms already in the Midwest

Family History Library microfilms are not for sale, but local Family History Centers often have individual microfilms on “indefinite loan.” You can view on-line lists of such films held at Family History Centers in Wilmette, Illinois, and in Valparaiso, Indiana. The Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne also has such a collection housed in its microtext area. Over at Midwest Roots I have listed the films in the Genealogy Center by number as of 2 April 2012. Suggestions and corrections are welcome.


Harold Henderson, “FHL microfilms already in the Midwest,” Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 25 April 2012 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if prefer.]

Find FHL Films Locally

Note to northwest Indiana researchers: before you spring for $5.50 to borrow a film from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, check out this listing of FHL films on "extended loan" to the Valparaiso Family History Center. You too can cause an "extended loan" by borrowing a film three times in a row. This is a nice listing in that it fully enumerates individual items within each film.