Visiting the South Carolina Department of Archives and History

     This second stop on my recent genealogy trip with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (aka the SC Archive). My mom and I woke up bright and early to get there just after they opened. The Archive is located in Columbia, just off of Highway 277. When we arrived it was raining a bit and there were only two other cars in the parking lot.

     Making our way up to the building, the windows were dark and I was a bit worried that I'd gotten their hours wrong. Never fear! The automatic doors swung open we stepped up the the reception desk. Like visiting other archives, we were asked to fill out a form and agree to the rules (no bags, pens, etc). Unlike other archives, we didn't get a researcher card. Instead, our information was put into the computer and they would look us up during future visits. We put our bags into the free lockers and took our notebook, pencils, laptop and camera into the Research Room.

     The first thing I did was approach the desk and ask about the room's layout and available records (I'd looked up available county records on their online index, but finding them at the location is a different thing) The very helpful archivist showed us the microfilm index drawer and explained about some of the available materials. Unfortunately, South Carolina records are very spotty, due to a lack of record creation and massive record destruction. For example, government marriage records aren't available until 1911.

     We grabbed some indexes for deeds in Lexington and Edgefield Counties and headed to the microfilm readers. There were perhaps as many as 40 of the older hand-cranked microfilm readers available and three of the more modern electronic readers with printers attached. Researchers are asked to take only one film at a time, which will prevent folks from hogging the printers.  Mom and I sat down at the manual readers and started hunting for ancestors. I used my laptop and genealogy software to keep track of names and the free wifi to tweet about my experience.

    Mom at the machines:



    After we had found a number of records in the indexes, I would pull the films with the actual documents and have mom print them. I was surprised to see that the print capable microfilm readers had coin slots on them that required you to pay 50¢ per copy in advance. We weren't prepared for this and had to get some change from the information desk. Due to this, I decided to only print copies of records for direct line ancestors and take photos of records for collateral line ancestors (I'd expected to save records to a flashdrive).
     Going back to pulling the microfim records: a list of all available microfilms were placed in binders. I used the information I'd found in the index and look up the corresponding film in the binders. This wasn't hard, but it wasn't super easy either. The binders were a mess! There were also additional records that did not have a separate film index, so we used the binder to locate them as well.
     We took an hour break for lunch, but otherwise spent six hours researching at the archive. I didn't break down any walls or find any new relatives. Instead, I concentrated on finding supporting documents for the ancestors I already knew. Records included: marriage licenses, wills of three multi-great grandparents, deeds of two multi-great grandparents, mortgage of GG-granfather Witt and the knowledge of what records didn't exist. 

     Next stop: Elmwood Cemetery

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  Also in this series:

1. Tweeting My Trip
2. Visiting the OEDGS at the Tompkins Library
3. [This Post]
4. Visiting Elmwood Cemetery / RestingSpot Review
5. Visiting the Lexington County Museum
6. Visiting the Franklin Memorial Library (Emanuel County, GA)

Georgia Archives Hours Changing

     I went to the Georgia Archive today and made it in a record time of 45 minutes (yay!). I didn't find out anything amazing about my ancestors but did make one big discovery: The Georgia Archive's hours are changing - again.

     According to a sign in the lobby, staring July 1, 2011, the Georgia Archive will be open Friday and Saturday from 8:30am - 5pm. They will be closed Monday through Thursday. There is no mention of these changes on their website - with less than a month to go!

     That's right, the state's archive will only be open two days a week. How does Georgia compare to research hours at state archives throughout the South? Let's compare:

• Alabama: Tue-Fri, 8:00-4:30; 2nd Saturdays
• Florida: Mon-Fri, 9:00-4:30
• Tennessee: Mon-Fri, 8:00-6:00
• South Carolina: Tue-Sat, 8:30-5:00
• North Carolina: Tue-Fri, 8:00-5:30; Sat 9:00-5:00
• Mississippi: Mon, 9:00-5:00; Tue-Fri 8:00-5:00; Sat 8:00-1:00
• Virginia: Mon-Sat 9:00-5:00

     So there's no other state in the South East that has cut back so dramatically (back in Oct '10 they were open Tues-Sat). What is Georgia doing? 

My Day at the Georgia Archive

     Today I visited the Georgia Archive for the first time. I found a few things that I was interested and found out that they didn't have a few things that I was looking for.

     This is the Georgia Archive (which you might recognize from the Spike Lee episode of Who Do You Think You Are).

     Located just off of I-285 in Morrow, it's really easy to get to. It's also right next door to the National Archives SE branch. And I mean that literally. If the GA Archive played really loud music in the middle of the night, the National Archive would bang on the wall and tell them to "turn that racket down!"

     Anyway, when we entered the Archive the reception desk was right in front of us. There was another desk attached to the side where we sat down to fill out our researcher forms. This allows us to read the policies (no pens!) and receive our free card that we wear the entire time and that identifies us. We were able to put all of our "banned" items in a free locker (take the key with you) and followed the directions around the corner to the research room.

     The research room was guarded by a security guard, who made sure we didn't have any pens and had us sign in. We then went into the research room, that looks just like any other library - except that nothing was labeled! You know how library shelves usually have catalogue numbers or subjects listed at the end of each shelf? Not here. You just have to start at a random point and figure out which direction the decimals are flowing. At the GA Archive, the Georgia books are at the back, far end of the shelves. To get us started, I grabbed a few Lincoln County, Georgia book for mom to look through while I headed over to the microfilm side of the room.

     I have to say, I was confused. Like the bookshelves, there was a distinct lack of signage in this portion of the room and I didn't know how to start. I saw lots of microfilm machines and two long rows of shelves, labeled only with numbers. How would I find the film I wanted? I had to ask an archivist, who explained the system to me. One set of files is set up much like a card catalogue or inventory list. They're organized by type or location (ex. GA Counties Jefferson - Gwinnett or GA Tax Lists). On each card is a title and extremely short description of a film, as well as the drawer number and then box number where the film is located. From there you help yourself to the film and find a machine.

     I started by looking at Elbert and Emanuel County wills. I have two specific ancestors that I hoped to find wills for, as well as others that it would have been nice to find one for. Unfortunately, I didn't find a will for anyone. But at least now I know they're not there. I next looked at Lincoln County Estate Indexes for my Albea ancestors. There I found success, with a document where my GGG Grandfather indentured himself to purchase land (more on this later). From there I picked topics at random that struck me and continued to find small discoveries. Nothing dramatic or brick-wall breaking, but enough to make the trip worth it. I also picked a few films for mom to browse through.  Look at her - hard at work!

     Also on the microfilm side of the room were the General Name Files and Vertical Files. The Name Files are available online and give extremely brief biographical information on folks, mainly politicians. I double checked the card for my GGGG Grandfather Willis Craft, who had been in the state House, but didn't find any more information than what was already online.

     The Vertical Files consist of random bits and pieces of material that might interest genealogists. I browsed church and cemetery records before checking the surname files. I found some great stuff in the Craft Family folder, in which a researcher wrote an affidavit about the previously mentioned Willis Craft who "had always understood that he was the son of John Craft, an early settler of Elbert County, Georgia." Great stuff!

     I made a number of photo copies (20¢ for the copier, 30¢ from microfilm) and will be transcribing the documents over the next few days. I hope to go back next week or the week after, my work schedule permitting. There's still a ton of stuff I didn't get to.

My Genealogy Plans for This Week

     My mom has the week off from work, so I've drafted her to help me with my genealogy research. We'll be doing some things that I've put off - again and again. One of my personal hurdles with research is my hesitancy to do new things, especially new things on my own. So I'm taking Mom with me. Also, I'm broadcasting my plans to the world, which is further incentive to follow through.  So, what am I doing?

     Wednesday, I have the day off. I'll be going to the local Family History/FamilySearch Center. That's right: I still haven't been to the location three miles away. I'm the queen of procrastinating! Though it doesn't hurt that the center is open only two days a week, which doesn't often fit with my varying work schedule. I'm not sure what to expect, but I have looked up some microfilm records online that I'd like to request. (The FamilySearch Center locator on the new FamilySearch.org was broken. I sent an email about my problems using it and was told that, for now, the old Family History Center locator on the old site is the best option right now).

     Friday, I've requested the day off from work. Bright and early, I plan to travel down to the Georgia Archive in Morrow. They're open from 8:30 am to 4 pm and I hope to make use of most of that time. I'm currently trying to use their website to plan my visit, though I find their Finding Aids hard to understand. The Georgia Archive is right next door to the National Archive's Southeast Branch. We plan to stop by to get information, but we'll have to visit gain to do actual research. Friday evening I'll be doing what everyone else reading this blog will be doing: Watching the first episode of season two of Who Do You Think You Are.

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GA Archive Hours Reduction

     I have to be honest, I have yet to make it to the Georgia Archive, which is about 2 or 3 hours from home, depending on (horrible) Atlanta traffic. I spend too much time researching online and not enough getting out to 'real world' repositories. Actually, I plan to take off a week of vacation at the same time as the ATL family history expo to do extended genealogy research. I hope to make a trip to the Archive, maybe stay overnight to take advantage of their somewhat limited hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 8:30 am - 5 pm.

     Well, I'll have to plan a bit more carefully now, as the hours at the Georgia Archive are changing.  Now, instead of being closed two days a week, they will be closed for four days and open only for three.  Here's the notice they posted online:

"Effective October 1, 2010 the hours available for public visitation to the Georgia Archives will change to Thursday through Saturday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. This is an unfortunate action we must take to meet the difficult budget environment facing all State Agencies.

With the reduction in public hours the Archives staff will now be deployed to fulfill different functions on different days. When the Archives is open to the public, most or all employees will serve the public in the Reference Room. When the Archives is closed to the public, most or all of the employees will work with state agencies to bring records into the Archives, catalog them, and shelve them. To provide better and timelier service for research requests outside the core duties of the State Archives, i.e. genealogy requests, a list of other sources of information can be provided. In this way the Archives will maintain its critical functions with reduced staffing."

The Georgia Archives identifies and preserves Georgia's most valuable historical documents. Whether you love history, or simply want to know how we serve the citizens of Georgia, we invite you to explore our web site or visit us in the City of Morrow, located just south of Atlanta. We look forward to serving you!

Finding Photos on Flickr

I love flickr.com for photo sharing and storage.  It's a great place to find photos from others, including family history and genealogy photos.

Flickr has a section, called The Commons, where museums and archive can post their photos to share.  Institutions such as The Library of Congress, The State Library of South Wales, The National Galleries of Scotland, Imperial War Museum, The National Medium Museum, George Eastman House, and Nationaal Archief have posted part of their collections online.  In general, most of these photos have no copyright, due to expiration. 

These groups are great places to find photos because, just like the rest of the photos on flickr, you can search the tags, titles or descriptions to find photos.  When you find a photo, if you have a flickr/yahoo account you can comment on the photo - many people comment with wikipedia links to describe the person, place or thing in the photo.

But searchers shouldn't limit themselves to the commons when searching for family and genealogy photos.  Small museums and archive might not be connected with The Commons, but may still have a flickr account.  I found out that a local archive, the Kenan Research Center, has a flickr account.  Searching for "snow" and "atlanta" turned up a variety of photos that they have posted online.  I'm always looking for photos of atlanta to try and find photos of where my ancestors lived.  I was very happy to find these.

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PS: If you have an unusual or not-so-popular surname make sure to search for it.  I just found senior portraits of my aunt and uncle from a fellow classmate who's scanned his yearbook into flickr!

SC Department of Archives and History

I found the South Carolina Department of Archives and History's website today. I found a few gems already!

It's a relatively easy site to use, especially since there aren't a whole lot of resources, but what

they do have is pretty valuable.

I found the wills of John Dorn Jr. and Peter Ouzts.

Archival Preservation

Thanks to a few websites, I have a bit of a better idea of some archival products to use on my documents. Brodart - Library Supplies and Furnishing has some 'how to's':

• Use cotton gloves to handle documents and then handle them as little as possible. (Although in the Archives class I took, the prof mentioned that cottons gloves are not always the best choice. Sometimes bare hands are better on paper documents, since the gloves can make, for example, book pages hard to handle.)
• Test documents with a pH pen to determine whether or not the document is acidic or alkaline, which will help determine what products to use. (In my Archives class they said that no documents are ever free of this scale, but are always one or the other).
• Keep documents out of the light when possible, and in dry areas.
• Put all documents in plastic sleeves (mylar) with no more than 10 documents per sleeve. Place archival paper or tissue between documents.
• Buffered tissue is for cotton, flax, lenin and jute, as well as color photos. This neutralizes acids.
• Non-Buffered tissue is for wool, silk and textiles, as well as b&w photos. This has a 'neutral' pH.
• De-acidify newspapers, which are very acidic.  There are sprays for this.

So, that's a start. Now I just need to see about reviewing my documents to see what I need specifically.