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Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures

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Family historians often resist researching courthouse records because they either don't understand the records and their content or haven't read this instructive book by Ms. Rose. Case studies are used to illustrate how much information can be gleaned from exploring the courthouse where your ancestors lived or taking a look at the Family History Library films of the records if one can't visit the area of interest. This step by step guide will help the researcher glean every ounce of information from records, and then know how to intrepret and use that for furthering an understanding of his ancestors life. The helpful leads in the local courthouse no longer need to intimidate and confuse. Using this guide will help you enter into the treasure hunt for information with confidence and clarity.

Rose is a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists and a well-known speaker at national conferences. She's also an admitted courthouse junky. There are some 3,140 courthouses in the United States and she's poked around in more than 500 of them -- and she would be the first to tell you that every one is different, even in neighboring counties formed at the same time. (I've spent considerable time rummaging in courthouses myself, though not as many as Christine. . . .) Which county office has custody of which types of records varies from state to state, as do the names of the departments themselves. Big city courthouses are very different from small rural ones. Courthouses in poorer areas of a state do things differently, by necessity, than courthouses in comparatively wealthy counties. And that's not to mention the wide variation in personalities among county clerks and their minions, not only from place to place but even from year to year. (Every experienced researcher has run across courthouse workers who have no tolerance whatever for genealogists.) Rose approaches her topic methodically, from figuring out which county ought to have the records you're seeking (counties often have parents and offspring, too) and where to start when you arrive (with the indexes, the use of which may sometimes be arcane), to dealing with all sorts of records: Deeds, vital records, estates, civil and criminal court books, and all the rest. She goes on to discuss what's available on microfilm when your travel budget is tight, and the "strategies for success" that have worked for her. Courthouse research is a very difficult subject to generalize about, but this volume does an excellent job.

Everything a family historian needs to fully utilize records available at the courthouse. Excellent organization and packed with clear and complete explanations of how to find the many different resources hiding in the different departments. Anyone who has ever been intimidated by a courthouse will appreciate this book.

Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures Great research tool for both the beginner and more advanced family history researcher. The author writes in a very easy to understand language about what can be a very complicated and confusing process of navigating courhouses records. She also provided extremely helpful hints on how to prepare for your visit, how to locate the hard to find information, and how to deal with roadblocks.

"Courthouse Research for Family Historians" is an easy book to use. One that is not filled with facts and figures but still remains a product to help find thos elusive relatives. It is filled with suggestions that I (a fairly novice researcher) find very useful. It covers everything courthouses might be able to offer the researcher. It is fun to read. I definitely recommend it.

I'm very new to genealogical research, and I know I'll eventually need to go to a courthouse to learn more about my family. This book is incredibly thorough in giving you information you'll be able to use. It's so thorough, in fact, that I feel a little scared about starting! When I do, though, I know I'll be well-prepared.

This hefty volume is exactly what it says it is and then some. It doesn't beat around the bush by starting first with lessons on how to search and build your family tree like most books do (right down to what type of notebook you should use). Instead, it goes right to the heart of the matter - searching out legal documents on the courthouse level.

This book is very detailed and explains fully what you can find, how to find it, how to deal with staff, and more. This book would be best obtained when you have done most of your armchair work and have lists of names and some dates. Once you are ready to search out actual documentation at the courthouse level, this is a useful guide that can help you get through the hurdles.

Not for the beginner. Highly recommended for genealogists who are already well on their way to building their family tree.

This wonderful book covers everything you need to know before you set foot in a courthouse. It continues by covering what is available in the courthouse, how to ask for what you need and how to plan your visit.

This book offers so much information for the family genealogist for using court records to locate information about the family. Christine writes in a way that is very easy to understand and a great resource for the beginner. I am one of those beginner family genealogists. This book has helped me so much. Not only will I be learning from it, but I will use it as a reference guide in the future. I would recommend anyone using court records for genealogy research to purchase the book.

This book gives you many very good ideas about doing research in the courthouse and different departments that you may not have thought of looking into. Especially good for the beginner doing research on families.