Rockdale County GaArchives Photo Document.....Rockdale County Genealogical Society-Newsletter February 12, 2009 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Larry C. Knowles http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00012.html#0002854 February 12, 2009, 5:41 pm Source: Larry C. Knowles Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/rockdale/photos/documents/rockdale4417nph.gif Image file size: 246.7 Kb Rockdale County Genealogical Society Newsletter-February 2009-[page 1] Jeans & Genes Rockdale County Genealogical Society Newsletter-February 2009 Dabblers and Delvers Find new adventure in your family history! Many people dabble into family history. They get into it looking for easy answers-and superficial family trees or pedigree charts. The Internet will ultimately become the best thing that ever happened to family research, but I believe it is currently producing a new generation of dabblers. Some of these potential genealogists will get into it in earnest, acquire the necessary skills for it, and find that it can be a lifelong hobby-or avocation. The first very large wave of dabblers was created in the 1970s, after the premiere of the TV miniseries "Roots", which was based on Alex Haley's best selling book. I was one of those early dabblers, rushing out to our old ancestral church and frantically copying the tombstone dates; and even visiting a known family cemetery in rural Butts Co. I may have looked at a few microfilmed census records then-but it didn't go much further than that. I didn't really learn much about genealogy, or just how many old records were out there. I got lucky in the early 80s, when my 2nd great grandfather's diary came to light. Fortunately my interest was still alive, thanks largely to a few "Roots" reruns-and a sequel, but it was quickly accelerated when I was privileged to bring that old family "journal" into my home. In a matter of days I was transformed from a novice "dabbler" into a true "delver", as I painstakingly learned to read that strange, ancient script, and gained an insight into my ancestor's daily life. Like most, I was at first turned off by that old handwriting-"I can't read that", but with the aid of someone looking over my shoulder, we were soon able to make out fully 90 to 95 percent. By the third read- through, we were able to read it like a newspaper. But, being able to read old handwriting is only one of the skills necessary in genealogy. Patience, and "delving" into records are its two most important requirements. You may not be lucky enough to have an old family journal heirloom, but I would bet that you'll find some very interesting things, somewhere in your family tree. You learn genealogy by doing it; after studying all you can about it. For me it took five to seven years before I considered myself to be a pretty good genealogist. Of course, during that span I found a lot of good things, but I still had much more to learn. After checking most of the genealogy books at Nancy Guinn library, I found other books at Covington-in the old Porter Memorial. I also utilized their microfilmed censuses. Somewhere in there, I belatedly visited my first courthouses in Henry and Butts counties- a revelation, in learning the variety of records available. In considering where to donate the diary, I made visits to our great State Archives, and the Atlanta History Center. A lot of your family's history is out there. Take your time-(and the time)-to find it. See “Adventures in Genealogy”-pg. 3 ___________________________________________________ Visit a local Courthouse-examine a variety of records ___________________________________________ Most genealogy is done at the county level, where your ancestors interacted with government, creating marriage, legal, and estate records. Court clerks are usually very helpful. Simply tell them you are getting into family history and would like to look at some of their older records. They are likely to have more time near month's end. I have researched in forty courthouses in Georgia and nothing beats the hands-on experience of examining the actual records. Though many old volumes have been microfilmed, it is best to use thin cotton gloves on the originals. In Georgia the Probate Court is the source of most family records-including: marriages, wills, appraisements, inventories, sales, annual returns, and tax digests. Look at some of all types. You will learn to decipher handwriting only through practice. Move over to Superior Court for your ancestor's deeds, contested wills, equity cases, and most other civil or criminal records. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/rockdale/photos/documents/rockdale4417nph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/gafiles/ File size: 5.0 Kb