Hello, David. Here's my 2 cents worth:
On Sunday, Elizabeth wrote:
Subject: Re: [INHANCOC] Hancock County Research Advice Sought
<What I would do in this situation would be to forego looking at Censuses
while there,>...[i agree, except I might be tempted to look at the 1870
Hancock Co. census if they have it]
She also wrote: <Additionally, if you are interested in just cemetery
records, purchase the book Hancock County, Indiana Tombstone Inscriptions:
One Hundred Years,1833-1933 by Sue Baker, Heritage Books, Inc. (1993). This
you can do from home.> [I agree. If you have many HC ancestors, it is a
must have]
<She further said, as to the Newspaper microfilms: I suggest
going before 2 pm, because the sun comes in the windows of the library in
the afternoon, causing quite a glare on the microfilm machines.> [This is
an understatement-you can go blind and see nearly nothing on the machine
screens. I would suggest requesting look-ups of your obituaries on the
Hancock County message Boards or mailing list.]
Also, she wrote <The County Building ....hours for these offices are from
9-4p.m., but you may want to call to make
sure.> [I can tell you right now that effective I believe July 1, they have
gone to shorter hours-closing around 3:00 because of the heat and air
conditioning. Spend alot of your time here. The death records are pretty
complete, showing many times who the funeral director was, where the burial
was, and the parents and parents' birthplaces in some instances.]
In closing, she wrote: <book and page number information from indices for
marriages, births, and deaths before you go, you will save yourself a lot of
time. Then you can go directly and obtain the original records without
having to spend time in the County offices looking them up first. The Works
Progress Administration (WPA) published indices in the 1930s. They are
available from the LDS, or online at
http://www.genealogylibrary.com/. I
believe this web site requires
a subscription, but it's well worth it when preparing for a trip like this.>
[This is absolutely true and you can get info on the WPA indexes and the
Census. You can view the 1850 actual census records and you can search the
indexes of many other years to get the book and page. It is worth the
subscription. Also, I would suggest checking out the Hancock County
InGenWeb Project site online. They have the Death Indexes and a portion of
the Birth Indexes (WPA) on site for free. Also, there is a place to ask for
lookups, and other useful information. Go to:
http://www.rootsquest.com/~indiana/hancock/
And I too, wish you good luck with your research, and I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Sandy Hennis
Madison County InGenWeb Co. Coord.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inmadiso/index.htm
Madison County Mailing List Administrator
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/IN/madison.html
Madison County Message Boards Administrator
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.nor...
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