I was interested in the Civil War Paymaster's book that was brought to Leslie
Hindman's Appraisal Fair on HGTV today (Episode AFA-338).
With closeups of the pages and with the appraiser's critique, it seems that
the service involved had to do with Kentucky. There was MORE than just mere
pay records, there were details and genealogies of the soldiers,
questionnaires filled out, etc. The man who brought the book said he found it
in his mother's basement, but
I do know from reading, research, and contact with archivists, that many
important books of this nature simply walked out of low security court houses
and archives over the years. Even today people will try to rip pages out of
records, thus all the security.
In some facilities people still take the books home to work on, no wonder
some of them never make it back to the courthouse.
I was very sad this man was not encouraged to donate the book to the Kentucky
Archives. The book was worth $300-$500. If I had extra cash I'd buy the book
and donate it. I have actually contacted Salvage One in Chicago, owned by
Leslie Hindman who runs "Appraisal Fair."
If you ever see a family bible or old book in any shop for sale, it's always
worth it to write down the information. I would be happy to find the
descendents and let them know it is available. I have been doing this for
quite awhile on e-bay and in local shops in Los Angeles with much success.
Maybe someday a Chamblee, Chamlee, Shamley, Chambley, etc bible, ledger,
hymnal, old photo or any such artifact may surface on e-bay or some store and
we can claim it! (A wishful dream!)