Tired of your own genealogy? Puzzle along with Craig Manson at Geneablogie, as he digs through records in Latin, French, and English along the Illinois-Missouri line in search of his Micheau/Mischeaux families.

Best and worst for vital records

Check out Craig Manson's posts at Geneablogie where he lists and describes states with exceptionally good and bad policies on access to vital records. (You'll want to stay awhile for his family stories, too. Hat tip to Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings for the pointer.)

The oversimplified quick story on the Midwest is that we go to extremes: Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri are good; Iowa and Michigan are not so good; and Indiana is located in "Vital Records Access Hell." Read the whole thing for the informative details.