Additional Informatio-West Virginia-Marion County Records
Sam
-----Original Message-----
From: DearMYRTLE(a)aol.com <DearMYRTLE(a)aol.com>
To: cgsnyder(a)uiuc.edu <cgsnyder(a)uiuc.edu>; scline(a)hoosierweb.org
<scline(a)hoosierweb.org>; pmullinax(a)mindspring.com
<pmullinax(a)mindspring.com>
Date: Monday, June 29, 1998 12:58 PM
Subject: Article RE: West VA Throw Outs
I did a little phone and fax research and discovered a little more on
the
subject. Here's my article on the subject...
Myrt :)
Daily Genealogy Column extra 29 June 1998
by dearmyrtle(a)aol.com
MARION COUNTY WV THROWS OUT RECORDS
DearREADERS,
Thanks to Sam Cline (scline(a)hoosierweb.org) for sending this to all
lists on
USGenWeb! And THANKS to Sam and folks like him who do NOT do as the
county
commissioners of Marion County West Virginia. I called the local
newspaper
and spoke with Theresa Haynes, Times West Virginian Staff Writer who
has done
this series of articles.
Indeed a "small number of old materials has been thrown out." Ms.
Haynes
said
that "by Saturday things had calmed down." "The County
Clerk had
been out of
town" and "when she returned, they went through the
remaining
materials, and
found that the specific records the 'people had worried about'
had
not been
thrown out." While the reporter stated no inventory existed for
the
items
disposed of, they "were things like receipts" and were
hauled off in
about "6
or 7 BFI Dumpster bin" loads.
I thanked Theresa Haynes for the interview, and she agreed to fax me
her
follow-up articles explaining this "newer information."
Either way,
the
situation is terribly upsetting to genealogists and family historians
alike.
I explained to Theresa that genealogists realize that these records
weren't
created with family history in mind, but that we're accustomed to
learning a
lot about our ancestors through clues provided in such obscure
collections as
receipt books and claims lists.
I also Let Ms. Haynes know that if she heard of any county mandate to
do away
with such records again, I personally know 7-10 genealogists, with no
ties to
WV, who would drop everything and claim these old documents to
preserve them.
I told her that is just how nuts we are, and how important it is to
preserve
old records.
From a 6/26/98 article by Ms. Haynes, "Marion County Clerk, Janice
Cosco said
her office did not throw away any permanent records from the Jacobsen
building
earlier this month when maintenance workers cleared away six BFI
dumpsters of
outdated files and papers from the historic building."
"Everything we're charged by law to keep was not thrown away." she
said. "No
permanent records that I know of were thrown away."
Cosco, who has been the county's clerk for 18 years, said she still
has
original copies of wills, birth certificartes, death certificates,
deeds,
marriage certificates, land transfers, voter registration records and
county
commission records dating back to the county's inception in 1842.
She said
her department discarded old fiscal records, pieces of paper
recording every
penny spent bat the county clerk's office."
I've had at least 140 readers wrote concerning this removal of
records without
allopw genealogists to microfilm it first. All ardently opposed such
actions
on the part of government.
According to one of the attached articles, "Commissioner Cody
Starcher said in
an interview last week that the county had received special
permission from
the state to include old juvenile records in the six BFI Dumpster
trash bins
hauled to the dump."
If its true that the state of West Virginia granted such "special
permission"
then this problem goes deeper than the local county government.
This is just the sort of thing that the joint NGS-FGS Records
Preservation and
Access Committee is ready, willing and able to handle. If you are
concerned
you may contact the Committee for help by writing, phoning, faxing or
e-
mailing the Federation of Genealogical Societies, Attention: RP&A
Committee.
USPS address: P.O. Box 830220, Richardson, TX 75083-9727; Voice and
Fax phone:
972 907-9727; email: fgs-office(a)fgs.org
Read on,
Myrt :)
From Sam Cline:
"The following is a rather long article, not for the faint of heart I
might
add, and if you have a short fuse--DON'T READ IT!
If something like this were to happen in Morgan County, Indiana, I
can assure
you that I would do all in my power as a member of the Morgan County,
Indiana,
Council, to reduce the County Commissioners Budget to Zero thus
requiring them
to request every penny that they needed to spend from the Council as
they
needed it. Including the destruction of valuable County Records.
Thank
goodness we in Indiana have legislation that has created a Commission
On
Public Records for all 92 counties. With final destruction authority
vested
in the State Commission on Public Records. Shame on you Marion
County, West
Virginia, County Commissioners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sam Cline
Morgan County Council ~
http://www.scican.net/government/mc-gov/councilm.html
Morgan County Indiana Historian - IHB/IHS ~
http://www2.ihs1830.org/ihs1830/cohist.htm
Indiana Genealogical Society ~
http://www.indgensoc.org/
Greene County Indiana INGenWeb ~
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ingreene/greenegw.htm
Knox County Indiana INGenWeb ~
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inknox/knox.htm
Lawrence County Indiana INGenWeb ~
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inlawren/lawrengw.htm
Morgan County Indiana INGenWeb ~
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inmorgan/index.html
INGenWeb Links ~
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inmorgan/igwcclnk.html
Greene County Indiana Genealogical Society ~
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ingreene/gcgs.htm
HoosierWeb ~
http://www.hoosierweb.org
Morgan County History And Genealogy Association ~
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inmchaga/mchagai.html
The candle light will always be gleaming through the sycamores. The
latch
string is always out."
==============================================
Times West Virginian (Fairmont, WV) Sunday, June 21, 1998.
Fairmont -- Leatherbound books recording transactions between 1842 to
1880
have been important to local genealogist, but now the historical
books are
gone - buried with the five bins of trash the Marion County
Commission hauled
away from the Jacob's building last week.
Along with books were, boxes and files of papers dating back to
Marion
County's inception in 1942. There were five floors that had books,
boxes and
files to be removed.
Some of the books were Wills; others were Justice of the Peace books.
There
may have been other records, but the article didn't say what all
had
been
destoyed, because they didn't know. The article was a large
article
for the
paper. The historical and genealogical societies were NOT notified
that the
county had planned to discard the handwritten record books, files and
other
etcs.
It seems the decision was made by the county commissioners (namely,
Cody
Starcher) to clear out several floors from the Jacobs building
(scheduled for
renovation) in which these historical documents were stored. They
decided on
their own that no one would want to go through all the files to
separate out
the salvagable and so decided to not tell anyone. They then had the
local
garbage collectors come and clear out the books and
documents.
==============================================
Thursday, June 25, 1998
Dump Off limits to Historians
By Theresa Haynes
Times West Virginian Staff Writer
FAIRMONT -
Genealogists who wanted to dig through the landfill in search of the
county's
discarded pre-Civil War record books will not be allowed to excavate
the dump.
Ron Chrislip, a local historian who has researched Marion County's
past for
more than 30 years, said he and four other people were prepared to go
to the
Meadowfill Landfill in Bridgeport to search for the record books
tossed last
week.
But landfill officials halted the group's plans at the request of the
Marion
County Commission.
The day books dating back to 1842 were among several tons of outdated
files,
books and papers the commission removed from the historic Jacob's
building,
which is undergoing renovation.
Chrislip said he and other genealogists wanted to dig up the
historically
valuable record books when they learned the books had been hauled
away to the
dump, but the landfill told them there were confidential files among
the
garbage.
Commissioner Cody Starcher said in an interview last week that the
county had
received special permission from the state to include old juvenile
records in
the six BFI Dumpster trash bins hauled to the dump.
"We are allowed to throw the juvenile records away after 20 years,"
he
said.
"But they usually have to be shredded and burned."
Now local historians are concerned they will never see the priceless,
handwritten books again.
"I don't see how they will be retrieved," Chrislip said. "As a
historian I
have to be realistic. Now hopefully the county will preserve what is
left."
Chrislip said the leather-bound books were particularly valuable
because they
recorded everything from the county clerk's office.
"Record keeping then was a very different process," he said. "We were
still in
Virginia and documents like that are very, very rare."
The historian said the records gave insight into a lifestyle long
gone.
"There is no oral history from that time, no photography and very
little
written history. Through the day books we had a great deal of
information to
interpret history," he said.
Chrislip agrees with the county commission that the books had no
monetary
value, but he said the county has lost something culturally valuable.
He said
20 years ago he had searched for day books like the ones thrown away
and was
told they did not exist. Years later he learned they were in
existence, but in
"dead" storage.
The historian said he and other people interested in genealogy would
have
liked to have been given access to the books before they were
discarded.
County Commission President James Sago and Starcher were not
available for
comment Wednesday evening."
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