Tag Archive for Public Records

Book Review: Online State Resources

February 5, 2011 Craig Family History, Genealogy

Online State Resources for Genealogists by Michael Hait (e-book) (2011).

Even novice genealogists know where to find the basic documents needed for research: the census, for example, can be found on several pay services as well as on free sites like HeritageQuest. But everyone also knows that to do a sufficient job of research, one must look high and low and near and far for other resources.  The question that novices sometimes have is, what are these other resources? And more experienced researchers may ask, where do I find these other resources?

Michael Hait provides answers to both of those questions, in his new e-book, Online State Resources for Genealogists. This is a fairly thorough treatment of not only the types of other resources available, but their locations as well.  The title is somewhat less than fully descriptive.  In fact, in addition to state resources, Hait treats a host of nonstate, but publicly owned, resources. There are also some privately owned resources, such as the records of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Del., some state society sites, and Gwendolyn Midlo Hall’s Afro-Louisiana Slav e Database.   And although the title refers to “online” resources, the variety and scope of the resources he highlights will have most readers hankering to go to the brick-and-mortar locations.

Beginning researchers and even some experienced researchers sometimes will overlook the wealth of genealogical resources at State archives and state libraries.  He lays out state-by-state, the online location of state libraries and State archives.  And he also indicates the contents of the online sites.  He includes university libraries, state health departments, a number of local libraries, and County Clerk’s and County registrar’s offices.

I do a lot of research in state archives and local libraries in Texas, Missouri and Georgia in particular.  So, cyber – “ground truthing” this book was fun for me.  Michael mentions some of my favorite places such as the Texas State Library and Archives and the Portal to Texas History.  In Missouri, he describes the Kansas City Public Library ‘s Missouri Valley Special Collections Digital Gallery and the St. Louis County Public Library, also two of my favorite places. (In his next edition, I hope he will tell us about the Jackson County Government site and The Midwest Genealogy Center at the Midcontinent Public Library.).

His book is easy to use because the table of contents is linked to the specific resource that he is examining and the links to the resources are active links themselves.  He’s also given us an index by frequently used record types that indicates by state where they may be found.

This is a must-have reference for genealogists of any level of experience.  It’s well-organized and may serve as a prompt when one gets stuck.  The electronic format with active links is especially convenient for user and author alike because he intends to update the book.

The book is available for purchase at Michael Hait’s web page, http://haitfamilyresearch.com/OnlineStates.aspx

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Grand Genealogy Tour: Denver!

August 8, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy
Denver Montage

From top: 1. Downtown Denver. 2. 16th Street Mall. 3. Colorado State Capitol. 4. Denver Int'l Airport. 5. Coors Field

Editor’s Note: It doesn’t usually take nearly 30 days on Amtrak to get from Salt Lake City to Denver.  A funny thing happened on our virtual tour: real life, i.e., work, family, health.  But we expect t continue the tour, with interspersed other stuff. We’ll make it to our next stop, Kansas City, a bit quicker!

The California Zephyr  rolls into the mile-high city of Denver  at 7:18 pm on our second day out of Sacramento.

Like a number of other Western cities, Denver owes its existence to the discovery of gold.  The shiny metal was found in 1858, at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.  Soon a town sprung up, which was named after the Governor of Kansas Territory, which is where Denver was then located.  As the population of Denver exploded with every new discovery of gold, and with the admission of Kansas as as state in 1861, Colorado Territory was established.  Soon Denver became biggest city in the Rocky Mountain west. It was and is important hub for agriculture and transportation. Denver is the center of a metropolitan area of 2.5 million people.

We’ve come here on the Grand Genealogical Journey for several reasons.  First, and most importantly, we have cousins here.  My grandfather’s brother, Henry William Gines (1903-1980) and his wife Ora Wilkerson, had three children: twins Frank William Gines (1935-1999) and Henry Edward Gines (1935-1993); and a still-living daughter.  Although all the children were born in Kansas City, at some point Frank and Henry moved to Denver.   Their children and grandchildren remain there today. So we’ll spend a few days here getting to know them and learning about them.

But there are genealogical resources here also.  The Denver Public Library hosts the Western History and Genealogy collection. Additionally, the public library is the site of the Blair-Caldwell African-American Research Library named for Omar Blair, first black president of the Denver School Board, and Elvin Caldwell, Denver’s first black city council president.

Separate from the library, there is the Black American West Museum, “dedicated to collecting,preserving, and disseminating  the contributions of Blacks in the Old West.”

Denver is also home to the Colorado State Archives, located at 1313 Sherman Street.  The Archives contain a number of valuable records; some are available online.  The one quarrel I have with the Colorado Archives is that they advertise that they have an index marriage records from 1975 to the present, but this no longer true. The state has put extreme restrictions on public access to birth, marriage and death records. If you click on the link for marriage records on the Family History page, you end up at the site for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.  And there you find Colorado’s silly restrictions on vital records. At the time the new regulations were put into place, I called it a “stupid” move.

Now if the state’s website is correct, it’s even dumber than I first thought. Look for example for who’s eligible to receive a certified copy of a death certificate.  There’s a lengthy list, but each category has particular restrictions.  A genealogist must submit a notarized release from an “immediate family member” as well as proof of that family member’s relationship.  There is no time when the record becomes open to the public, so eventually, when there are no more “immediate family members,” the records become inaccessible.   But, wait  . . . !  Just beneath “Genealogists” is the category for “Inlaws/aunts/uncles/nephews/nieces/cousins.” A person in that category must present proof of a “direct and tangible interest” whatever that is, if the death certificate is less than 25 years old. But, if the death occurred more than 25 years ago, an inlaw/aunt/uncle/etc., may receive a certified copy by showing proof of the relationship. Incredibly, the table parenthetically states that “a family tree would be acceptable” proof! For a state that’s worried about identity theft, Colorado clearly has not done its homework. A “family tree” as acceptable proof for a distant relative to prove a relationship, while close relatives like children must produce a birth certificate!

I don’t mean to spend most of our time here in Denver bashing the state government over public records access (as important as that is).

We need to head out to Fort Logan National Cemetery, where the twin cousins Frank and Henry Gines are buried.

The cemetery is in the at 4400 West Kenyon Avenue, in the western portion of the Denver urban area, completely surrounded by development.  The cemetery was originally the post cemetery of Fort Logan, the history of which begins in 1887, when General Sheridan selected the site for a garrison. In 1889, the site was named for Sheridan’s Civil War colleague, General John A. Logan.  Logan, a lawyer, had been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives  when the Civil War  broke out.  He resigned his seat in Congress to command a volunteer unit from his home state of Illinois.  An extremely effective commander. Logan was  eventually made a Federal general and commanded, among other units, the Army of the Tennessee, and served as military governor at Vicksburg.  After the war, he returned to Congress, eventually winning a seat in the Senate.

Dwight Eisenhower served at Fort Logan from 1924 to 1925.  Fort Logan was an active military post until about 1946.  Its hospital was then used by the Veterans Administration  from 1950 to 1960 as a new VA hospital was constructed in Denver.  In 1960, the Army gave most of the post to the State of Colorado.  It is now one of the campuses of the Colorado Mental Health Institute.

We’ll find the Rev. Frank Gines at rest in section 6, site 530.  He served in the Army as a paratrooper and then worked for the federal government as a civilian. He also served in the security office of the Colorado Rockies major league baseball team.  Like his father, Henry William Gines, Frank was a Baptist preacher.Frank W. Gines gravesite

Frank’s twin brother, Henry Edward Gines lies in repose in section 10, site 587.  He had a lengthy Army career, serving in Vietnam and eventually reaching the rank of Sergeant Major.

Henry Gines grave

And on that solemn note, our visit to Denver ends.  Denver also marks the end of our trip on the California Zephyr.  The train itself goes on to Galesburg, Illinois, through Nebraska and Iowa  bypassing our next stop, which is Kansas City.  So after a good night’s rest, it’s off to Denver International Airport to board a comfortable 90 minute flight to Kansas City.

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Halloween Census Whacking

October 31, 2009 Craig Family History, Genealogy, Oklahoma, United Kingdom

With the crisis of my father’s recent illness and the minor drama of my own, I feel like I’ve been way out of touch the last two weeks.  It’s time get back into the flow of things.   I thought  little census whacking for Halloween would ease my way back into writing.  So I went hunting for Vampires, Zombies, Ghosts, Ghouls, Goblins, Witches and Pumpkins.

Vampires

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the incidence of Vampires is extremely low in the United States.  In 1880,  four Vampires: Otto; Jean; Julianne; and Mary, all in their twenties, were living in Cheyenne,  Wyoming.  They claimed to be actors. In 1870,  there was just one Vampire in the United States, 26 year-old machinist George Vampire.  Of course he lived in New York City.   What happened to these five Vampires  in the 20th century?  Were they forced to leave or did they on their own just pull out up stakes and leave?

According to the World Names Profiler (WNP), Germany and the United States have the greatest incidence of Vampires in the world.  Germany’s statistic is 0.04 per million, while in the U.S., the figure is 0.01 Vampires per million people.  Regionally, the American Vampires are located in Oklahoma, according to the WNP.  The Sooner state has a Vampire index of 1.04 per million.  With a 2008 estimated population of 3,640,000 or so,  there would be about four Vampires in Oklahoma.   I found in public records three listings in Lawton, Oklahoma, for Madonna Vampire.  Unfortunately for her, there are at least thirty people named Buffy in Oklahoma presently.

Zombies

Nearly all the Zombies in the census records turned out to be mis-transcriptions of other names.  The WNP reports no Zombies in the United States.  Public records reviews show about 14 Zombies in various places around the country.

Ghosts

Kraft Ghost of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and Leonard Ghost of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, both listed on the 1790 federal census appear to be the first two Ghosts in America.  But in the 1900 census, the number of Ghosts expands exponentially.  Most of these “new” Ghosts are Native Americans in the upper Midwest.  The WNP indicates a Ghost index of 18.29 per million in South Dakota and 3.37 per million in Nebraska.  South Dakota’s estimated 2008 population was 804,000, which would yield about 15 Ghosts. Public records reveal about 17 Ghosts in South Dakota (when obvious duplicates are eliminated).

Nebraska’s estimated population is about 1.8 million, suggesting something a bit more than six Ghosts.  I was able to find only one Ghost in Nebraska in public records. The rest seem to have vanished.

And how about Pennsylvania where it seems to have begun for Ghosts in America?   WNP’s Pennsylvania Ghost index is 2.58 per million.   That would mean about 32 Ghosts presently among Pennsylvania’s estimated 12.45 million folks.  I was able to identify 25 Ghosts in Pennsylvania public records after eliminating duplicates and two entries which appeared to refer to religious organizations.

Ghouls

Apparently, the first Ghoul in America was 66 year-old Christian Ghoul of Maryland, a German immigrant.  He appears on the 1870 census.  Few other Ghouls seem to have been counted until the 1900 census, where like the Ghosts, the Ghouls grew rapidly in number.  And like the Ghosts, most of the “new” Ghouls were Indians, living primarily in Tehama County, California.

When it comes to Ghouls, the United States doesn’t even register in the WNP top ten. (Number one is France, with a Ghoul incidence of 4.59 per million; Switzerland is a distant second at 1.92 per million, supporting evidence that the Gauls may be the most Ghoulish people on Earth). (Hey, I just report the facts!)

Within in the U.S., however, Ghouls seem to be concentrated around Las Vegas and Chicago, at least according to the WNP.  Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, and Will County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago, were the only two counties in which the WNP found any Ghouls at all. Curiously, public records show no Ghouls in Nevada and six in the Chicago area.  Overall, public records indicate something more than 100 Ghouls in America presently, with perhaps as many as 10% of those in California.   This is the biggest disparity I’ve ever seen between WNP data and public records. [The WNP's FAQs state: "All our names and location data are derived from publicly available telephone directories or national electoral registers, sourced for the period 2000-2005."]

Goblins

A man named Goblin was first in recorded in New York City in the 1850 census.  In 1860 there was still just one Goblin on the census and that was 14-year-old Lucinda Goblin who lived with the Davenport household in Columbia, Missouri.  But just 10 years later, the 1870 census showed that three fourths of the (four) Goblins in the USA lived in North Carolina.  By 1900 however, the number of Goblins in America had increased nearly eight-fold to a total of 33, to be found in every region of the country.

Globally, the number of Goblins in the U.S. doesn’t make the slightest statistical ripple, using WNP data.  Number one is France, again, with  0.2 Goblins per million.  The United Kingdom is far, far, behind with 0.02 per million.

Witches

We all know the history of Witch hunts in America. Surprisingly enough however only one Witch appears on the 1790 census and that would be Peter Witch of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (just what is it with Pennsylvania and Lancaster in particular?).  There was also a Witch in Rutledge County, Alabama, in 1790.  By 1900, Witches were routinely enumerated in the census all over the country.  Sadly, two of them were little boys: Jacob Witch, 10 years old, and his brother, Henry Witch five years old, who were apparently in an orphanage in Las Galinas, Marin County, California.

Turns out that there are far more Witches in the U.K. and Canada than in the USA (the only countries reporting any Witches at all).  The British Witch population (0.5 per million) is concentrated in Newport (Casnewydd), Wales, and the southwest jurisdictions of North Somerset, Bath and Northeast Somerset, as well as the City of Bristol.  There are also a few Witches in Surrey.

According to WNP, Manitoba’s  Witch frequency of 2.93 per million accounts for the whole of Canada’s 0.23 per million Witch index. Manitoba has an estimated population of 1.2 million; all of Canada consists of 31.6 million people. Mathematically, that does not work out.  Unfortunately the WNP provincial map of Manitoba gives no further details.

The U.S. Witch frequency is a comparatively minuscule 0.04 per million.  WNP finds Witches concentrated in Dickinson County, Kansas, and Howard County, Maryland.  A public records search reveals about twelve Witches in  the USA (eliminating commercial enterprises like plumbing and construction ["Ditch Witch"] and fast food restaurants [Fish Witch"]).  None of the Witches were found in Kansas and of the two in Maryland, neither was in Howard County.

Pumpkins

John Pumpkin appears as the only one of his surname on the 1820 census.  He lived in Fayette Count, Kentucky.  Virtually no other Pumpkins are found in the census until 1880.  In that year, Pumpkins were concentrated in two areas of the country: Fresno County, California, and Greene County, Georgia.  The latter jurisdiction included a young lady, 15 years old, named  Etta Pumpkin.  Following a pattern that we’ve seen before, the 1900 census showed a huge increase in the number of Pumpkins in America. Again this had to do with the number of Native Americans enumerated on the census in that year.  The Indian Pumpkins were primarily on reservations in the upper Midwest.  By 1910, however, they were concentrated in Madera County, California, and Cherokee County, Oklahoma.  The Oklahoma Pumpkins included one Mary Pumpkin Gritts.

The WNP data shows the expected distribution of Pumpkins in the USA based on historical data.  South Dakota, Montana, and Oklahoma are leading Pumpkin states, based presumably on the frequency of the name among Indians.

Other “Important” News

While I was whacking away on Halloween themes, I started wondering about some other things. Not only did I find unexpected discrepancies with the usually reliable World Names Profiler, but I also now have reason to question the competence of the Census Bureau, whose data report not a single Fool, Clown, or Jackass has ever been enumerated in Washington, D.C.

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Los Angeles County Record Request Requirements–Just Quirky? Or Unconstitutional?

May 2, 2009 Craig Uncategorized

I was alerted to this issue by a commenter on the Find-A-Grave California Discussion Forum.

If you go in person to the main office of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder in Norwalk, California, and ask to view their birth, death, or marriage records, you will be required to sign a form similar to the one below (the example is for birth records, but the ones for death and marriage records contain the exact same provisions)

Los Angeles County Application to Examine Records

Los Angeles County Application to Examine Records

(click image to enlarge)

Frankly, I don’t understand most of what’s here in the section after “Please read and sign the following”.

The first item is somewhat clear, but I wonder why L.A. County wants researchers to sign it?  What effect, other than a potentially chilling one, would this have on a researcher’s ability to characterize, analyze, or describe data contained in the records?

The second item is extremely confusing.  What is meant by “any technical descriptions of the birth or death record indices”?  What are the descriptions provided by the State Department of Health Services and how would a researcher know if they are “consistent” with whatever?

I might understand that item #3 is designed to discourage commercial use of the information (a common, but  dubious governmental objective).  What, however, is meant by the phrase “otherwise transfer”?  Does that mean if I have received certain information from L.A. County’s records, I can’t tell you what it is?

Item #4 is the only one that makes any sense.

The most objectionable requirement is the fifth one, that the researcher “not post information from the [records] on the Internet.”  There is no statutory basis for this requirement that I could find in California law. Furthermore, even if
there is a statute permitting the county to impose this requirement, it’s likely unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment’s guarantees of free speech and free press.  It serves no compelling governmental interest sufficient to overcome an individual’s constitutional rights.  And how would the county enforce it?  Could they get an injunction blocking proposed publication on the Internet? Or a court order requiring a researcher to remove the information from the Internet?  Not likely.

Note that a researcher could broadcast the information on television or radio, or post it on a billboard in downtown Los Angeles, or publish it on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, or even email it to a million people.  You just  can’t post it on the Internet!

What makes this form all the more amazing is that persons ordering records by mail are not required to sign any such similar form!  At this link is the document needed to order records by mail from Los Angeles County.

To use the words we lawyers love to use, the Los Angeles County form contains provisions which are vague and overbroad, arbitrary and capricious, and an unlawful infringement on the right to free expression under the U.S. and
California Constitutions.  I would not sign such a form.

For this bit of foolishness, Los Angeles County and its Registrar-Recorder, Dean C. Logan, have earned a place in the Public Records Hall of Shame.  Let’s hope they redeem themselves soon!

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Louisiana Public Records Online Access: Good and Ugly

May 1, 2009 Craig Uncategorized

I’ve written favorably about the vital records index at the Louisiana State Archives.  It’s easy to use to look up information and it’s set up to make ordering certified copies by snail mail easy.  Unlike Texas, Louisiana does not have an on-line ordering capability run by the state.  But since they make everything else so easy, I barely noticed.

Now the individual parishes are quite another story.   Two parishes in which I do a lot of research are Caddo and De Soto.   Here’s the unvarnished truth about their processes:

CADDO–The Caddo Clerk of Court has an easy-to-find website at www.caddoclerk.com.   On the site there is a marriage index which goes back to 1919.   I have find it to be very useful from a substantive point  of view.  My gripe with it is that it doesn’t work well with my Firefox browser.  It works fine with IE 6 and IE 7.

Copies of the marriage licenses may be ordered from as early as 1838.  The cost of a certified copy is $2.50; an uncertified copy is just $0.50!

Suppose, however, you want to view something other than the marriage index.  Perhaps you’re interested  in property records, or even in seeing the images of the marriage licenses (which are available back to 1838).  All of these things are accessible via the Internet.  The ugly part is that one must haqve a remote access account with the county.  To get such an account, you must sign two documents, an application and a contract.  You are charged a $100.00 set up fee and then $30.00 per month for unlimited access.

DE SOTO–The situation in De Soto Parish (much smaller than Caddo) is even worse.  First, the oldest records online are from 1958.  Most date from 1991.  But the fees are astronomical.  There is a one-time setup fee of $150.00.  Then, if you just want to search indices, that’ll cost $50.00 per month.  To actually view the records, you’ll have to fork over $100.00 per month!

This is a shame.  But De Soto’s clerk explains on his website:

No tax money is provided for the operation of the office except for residence, utilities, and some  modifications. The fees collected for recordings, certified copies, and services rendered in  connection with civil, probate, and criminal proceedings are established by statute.    All salaries  and expenses of the office are paid out of the fees. This makes the Clerk of Court’s office entirely self-supporting.

So there you have it!

I’m certainly not one who favors operating with no reimbursement for costs.  But, please, the maintenance of these records is a public function and it ought to be funded that way.  If you want to charge a higher fee for out-of-state
requests, that’s one thing. But to provide no public funding for a core governmental function is wrong.  It puts the  records at risk and ultimately may have dire consequences for the public.  It’s time for Louisiana to step up and pick up this duty.

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Getting Info from the Government: FOIA 101

August 11, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

Suppose your grandfather or great-grandfather worked for the federal government or for a government contractor, building Hoover Dam. Perhaps he kept a journal that stayed with the government for some reason when the project was completed. Or may be your relative was in the Far North as an early operator of the DEW Line. You might want to learn more about that than just what’s in the history books. Perhaps your family’s homestead was taken by the government to build a defense plant. Now you want to know what the place was like and to learn about the circumstances of the taking. Or, perhaps most interesting of all, maybe your ancestor was under surveillance by the FBI or passed information about his former homeland to the CIA. Wouldn’t that be something to know about?!

Information of the sort described above can be had from the government if you know the secret word that opens government vaults and and filing cabinets [with some exceptions] to ordinary citizens. And I’ll bet you do know the word, but maybe not how it works.

The “word” is “FOIA” (foy-yuh), the acronym for Freedom of Information Act.

Most people have heard of FOIA, but many do not know how it works or the type of information available under it. Many genealogists have used FOIA (even if they didn’t realize it) to get Social Security applications and passport information from the government.

Basically, FOIA requires federal agencies to make available to any person upon request records held by those agencies. A FOIA request should be in writing and must “reasonably describe” the records being sought. The request must be made in accordance with the particular agency’s rules and procedures which can be found on each agency’s website. The rules state such things as where to send the request and what the fees are (more about that later).

What types of information might be obtained under FOIA? “Agency records” include paper records, but also electronic records, photographs, sound recordings, maps, videos, etc.

There are exceptions to the obligation of a federal agency to disclose information. These include (1) national security information; (2) internal agency personnel rules; (3) information exempted by other laws; (4) trade secrets or confidential business information obtained by the government from another party; (5) internal documents exempt from disclosure in litigation; (6) personnel or medical files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy; (7) certain law enforcement information; (8) certain banking regulatory information; and (9) geological and geophysical information and data.

The exemptions can become quite complex and many have the subject of litigation before the Supreme Court. However, don’t let that stop you from making your genealogy-related request. The agency has to show that an exemption applies.

An agency may charge fees for FOIA requests. There are fee categories set out in the law. The most favorable fee categories are for educational institutions, non-commercial scientific organizations, and the news media. Generally, these entities must only pay the costs of duplication, but are entitled to the first 100 pages free. Other requesters generally may be required to pay the costs of search and review in addition to duplication.

There’s no obvious fee category that covers genealogists, but that may depend upon what you intend to do with the material. In any event, there’s a provision for a waiver of fees, no matter who the requester is. A waiver may granted if the material requested “is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” As a genealogical requester, I would probably try to make this case.

An agency is supposed to make records “promptly available” after a request. Under the law, an agency has twenty days to determine if it will comply with the request. If it will comply, the agency must immediately notify the requester and then promptly make the records available. If the agency will not comply, it must notify the requester of a right to appeal–the appeal must be filed within 20 days of notification. The head of the agency then usually has ten days to decide the appeal.

In reality, most agencies have a backlog of FOIA requests and processing takes considerably longer than the deadlines. You have a right to go to court if the agency misses its deadlines, but I imagine that as genealogists, we’ve gotten used to waiting for public records.

Although the FOIA procedures can seem cumbersome, in most cases they are not. There are numerous FOIA websites that describe the procedures and give examples. I would advise, however, to check if the records you’re seeking are available without a FOIA request. For example, many records have been transferred to the National Archives and are available from them. Other records are now posted on agency websites.

FOIA applies only to federal agencies. Most states, however, have similar laws regarding disclosure of public records.

So if you want the map of the wildlife refuge that now occupies your grandmother’s homestead or a copy of the tape of your uncle’s interrogation by the FBI, use the magic word, FOIA.

The foregoing is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have a problem of a legal nature, seek legal counsel.

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Colorado Gets Stupid

May 10, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

I like Colorado. I lived there for eight years and have many friends there. And I have praised both their state archives as well as their easily accessible marriage and divorce records. But now Colorado has gone stupid. The State Department of Public Health and Environment has taken down their site that used to list marriages and divorces in Colorado. They’ve imposed a strict set of identification rules in order to get access to marriage and divorce records. In this respect, Colorado has gone further than any other state concerned about alleged identity theft. While some states have restricted access to birth records, virtually no other state has so thoroughly shut down access to marriage and divorce records because of identity theft concerns.

There is no evidence that anyone has ever had their identity stolen through the use of state marriage or divorce records. So for a draconian response to a nonexistent problem, I say Colorado has gone stupid.

This is of personal interest to me for two reasons: (1) I have family ties in Colorado and tracing marriages and divorces there has been important to my research, but (2) I was married in Colorado and I’ve never had the least concern about the fact that that information was publicly available! In fact, here’s the transcript of what used to be available on Colorado’s marriage records website about me:

Colorado Marriage Detail

Groom Groom Information MANSON, HAROLD C County EL PASO
Bride Bride Information PENNY, MARGARETT A Date 03/21/1987

Disclaimer: Official marriage records are located in the Colorado County Clerk and Recorder office where the license was purchased. If you detect an error in a record on the Web site, please contact the Clerk and Recorder to ensure that the official record contains the correct information.

http://www.sctc.state.co.us/marriages/default.aspx#this [25 Feb 2006]

There are good public policy reasons that we require witnesses at marriages and that we [used to] make public the names of people in the community who got married. There will bizarre unintended consequences from Colorado’s decision in this issue, I can assure you.

We need to address identity theft, but not by hiding our identities everywhere. That in fact makes it easier, not harder, for the bad people to get away with their crimes.

Thanks to Chris for the tip.

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Google Public Records?

May 1, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

From Google’s press office:


Google and Four US States Improve Public Access to Government Websites

Mountain View, Calif. – April 30, 2007 – Google Inc. today announced partnerships with the states of Arizona, California, Utah and Virginia to make it easier to search for hard-to-find public information on state government websites.

These partnerships developed as both Google and officials with the four state governments recognized that the public is increasingly turning to search engines like Google to access government services, but that a significant share of the information on state agency websites is not included in its index of information sources on the web. As a result, many online government services can be difficult for the public to find.

This is good news for genealogists and family history researchers. I’ve long advocated for more and easier access to information and we’ve highlighted those government offices that are the most advanced in providing access. Partnering with the folks who re-invented online search is a smart move.

*Full disclosure: My faculty colleague at Pacific McGeorge School of Law, Clark Kelso, is California’s Chief Information Officer and was involved in this deal. I haven’t talked to Clark about this matter.

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Illinois State Archives Databases

April 28, 2007 Craig Uncategorized

I’ve been reminded that I really like the Illinois State Archives Databases on that state’s Secretary of State website. There are a few things that could be better, but overall, this is a useful resource.

There are the state’s vital records databases, of course. Unfortunately, unlike neighboring Missouri, the Illinois death index (1916-1950) has no retrievable images. On the other hand, also unlike Missouri, Illinois has a rather extensive pre-1916 death database and a statewide marriage database for the years 1763-1900.There are also databases of Illinois veterans for several wars, but not for the World Wars. Again, no retrievable images, but useful nonetheless.

Most unusually for state archives, Illinois has a database of servitude and emancipation records as well. It’s hard to tell how comprehensive this really is, but the fact that its exists at all is a boon for researchers.

Since I last visited, a “Global Database Search” feature has been added. You can search on surnames or full names. I was slightly disappointed that the search results consist of only links to databases where the names are found, which you must search all over again. Oh, well . . . better than nothing!

I do appreciate that Illinois is constantly upgrading its state archives website. They also make it easy to order copies from several Regional Archives Depositories, which are universities around the state. These Depositories also each contain unique records from counties within their areas.

I came to the Illinois sites after not having been here for awhile because a recent e-mail correspondent had sent me some information about the Micheau and Penny familes of southern Illinois. As I searched through the databases, I came across a marriage record for George and (Mary) Emma Micheau. They were married on September 4, 1872, I’d been unable to find that information in any other place. And that was just the impetus I needed to move out of a research doldrums I’d been in the last few days!

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Some Resources

April 26, 2007 Craig Uncategorized
Nevada marriage and divorce records are now available on Ancestry.com. These resources can be useful to those researching in just about any state. That’s because when many states had restrictive laws about marriage and divorce (especially divorce), Nevada traditionally has had rather liberal laws on these matters. Thus, those who could afford to do so would sometimes head for Las Vegas or Reno for a “quickie” divorce. And folks who wanted something a little different in a wedding ceremony find their way to the unique Nevada wedding chapels.

Not surprisingly, Californians tend to predominate. There are more than 3,800,000 Californians in the Nevada Marriage Index from 1956 to 2005. Anyone doing California research should treat the Nevada resources as if they were California resources. I was looking for California marriages I was certain had taken place and couldn’t find them. Then I went to the Nevada index and there they were! Unfortunately, there are no images available for viewing or downloading.

Getting Nevada records means doing it the hard way: writing county clerks and asking for them; or sending money to Vitalchek.

Clay County, Missouri

As you know, I do a lot of research in Missouri sources. So I’m embarrassed to say that it had escaped my notice that the Clay County Recorder of Deeds no has a fairly decent web site. Information about marriages, deaths, marriages can be found there. Again, however, there areimages to download.

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