Are You Using This Resource? The GRC

     I mentioned last week that joining the DAR had opened me up to new genealogical resources.  One of those is the Genealogical Records Committee Index (GRC).  This is very similar to a service offered through FindMyPast.com's index to the PERSI database at the Allen County Public Library, that I wrote about last year.

     The GRC is composed of records collected and created by DAR chapters worldwide, who transcribed and indexed unique records in their local areas, from census and tax records, to church and cemetery records, to obituaries and family bibles.  There are over 17,000 records in the collection!  These records have been, and are still being, reviewed, and the names included have been added to a searchable index.

     The search is simple, but the results can be vague.  Here's how it works:

1. Fill out the search form with the surname your looking for, as well as a first name and a state.  In this example, I searched for my 6th Great-Grandfather, Peter Ouzts.

2. Here, you can see a number of results.  You can see the name I searched for with the book code to the right and the page number in blue.  Below that is the title of the book, which is the only piece of information that tells you the subject of the book or record.  Review the matches and, when you see something of interest, click on the blue number, which is the page the name appears on.  I clicked on a series of Bible records, in which the name Peter Ouzts appears on page 100.

3.  On the next page, we can see the other names that appear on the page along with Peter.  Only a few names down I see Elizabeth Harling.  It's Peter's wife!  This book looks like it contain the family bible of my Harling ancestors.  Could the John and Kiziah listed above Elizabeth be her parents?

     Unfortunately, the information shown above is the only information I have on this record.  In this case, it's more than enough encouragement to send off and request a copy of this record.  I can do that using the DAR Photocopy Request Form (PDF) and for a fee of $10 for members ($15 for non-members).  For that fee, I will receive 10 pages, including the cover page.  

     Searching the GRC database, I found a number of requests that would be worth requesting.  Not all records are as clear as this one, with regards to the subject of the record.  Based on the title of the book, I know that the above record should be a Bible record.  Other titles are often titled as "Misc Records."  I would be taking a chance ordering these records, but they could turn out to be a gold mine.