RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 25, 2005
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
A scarce work that has recently been reprinted is INDEX TO OBITUARY
NOTICES IN THE RELIGIOUS HERALD, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, 1828 - 1938 prepared by
the Historical Records Survey of Virginia, Division of Professional and Service
Projects/Work Projects Administration. Reprinted as two volumes in one, the
material was originally published in 1940 as the GUIDE TO THE MANUSCRIPT
COLLECTIONS OF THE VIRGINIA BAPTIST HISTORICAL SOCIETY, SUPPLEMENT NO. 1.
Covering a 100-year period, the book gives approximately 19,000 references to individuals who were either members of or were connected to Baptist churches in Virginia. Arranged alphabetically by surname and thereunder by given name, all the announcements provide the deceased's date of death. Often the notices also furnish the name of parents or a spouse. In addition, they sometimes supply a person's professional position, such as Reverend, or his military rank.
Because Virginia did not start requiring the statewide recording of vital statistics until the Act of April 1853 and many marriage and death registers were destroyed during the Civil War (1861-1865), the data from the Baptist periodical fill in some of the gaps in the absence of official vital records. The importance of this reprint becomes even more evident when family researchers discover that copies of the original printing are difficult to locate; when they can be found, they are often in poor condition. Due to these factors, genealogical libraries will want to acquire a copy of INDEX TO OBITUARY NOTICES IN THE RELIGIOUS HERALD, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, 1828 - 1938 while supplies last.
The 386-page paperback (item order #9582) may be purchased by check, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211 (toll free phone 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com). To the book's price of $36.50, add these handling charges: For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $4 for one book and $1.50 for each additional copy; for UPS, the cost is $6 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book.
During the week of October 30 - November 6, the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) will conduct its popular annual event--a research tour to Salt Lake City, UT. Participants will receive one-on-one assistance from members of the NEHGS staff as well as from a guest consultant. The agenda will also include lectures, networking dinners, and library orientation to the world-renowned Family History Library before participants do personal research. Complete information is available online at www.NewEnglandAncestors.org/education, by e-mail via [email protected], or by calling toll free 1-888-286-3447.
Yvonne S. Perkins, 2107 54th St., Lubbock, TX 79412-2610 (e-mail [email protected]) is seeking information on buffalo hunters who fought at the Battle of Yellow House Canyon in Lubbock County, TX. It is possible that several remained in the Texas Panhandle after the battle and after the buffalo were gone.
If you are looking for relatives in the western U. S., you may want to see if you can find them in the BYU-Idaho Western States Historical Marriage Records Index. Compiled by Brigham Young University religion faculty member Blaine Blake and several volunteers, it is the most comprehensive index available to the marriage records in this region. Researchers can search for individuals in the groom index or in the bride index or they can enter a specific surname to call up all persons bearing that name. An advanced search can also be done by county. Entries provide an ID number, the names of the couple, the county and state where they wed, date of marriage, and the volume and page number where the document can be found. Often the entries also furnish the town where the marriage took place, and the places of residence of the couple. You can visit the website at http://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/fhc/gbsearch.htm.
As experienced genealogists know, data can sometimes appear in unexpected places. An example is the death notice of Civil War veteran James LYNN of Wilmington, DE, which was carried on page 1, column 2 of the December 25, 1933 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune (Vol. XCIL, #307). Headlined "Veteran, 89, Dies in Home Where He Lived 61 Years" and dated December 24, the short article states that he was a former city councilman and had lived in Wilmington for the last 61 years.