Safety Vault Microfilm

     I recently went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Georgia Archive and learned a lot about how they functions.  One particular aspect that I learned about is Safety Vault Microfilm.  This service allows counties to have their records microfilmed (I'm not sure if it's through the archive or a third party) and stored at the Georgia Archive.  These microfilm rolls are not available to the public, but are stored in one of the many areas of storage that are not considered part of the Archives records.  The Archive employees I spoke to referred me to the individual county's Superior and Probate Court Clerks for details on which records have been microfilmed.  I also don't know when this service started.

     Going forward, if you are researching at a county courthouse in Georgia that has experienced recent records loss (Hancock County, for example), make sure to ask the court clerks if they utilize the Safety Vault Microfilm service and how you might be able to access those records.  For other states, ask if they have a similar service.

Surprises at the Lexington County Library

   After leaving the South Carolina Archive, my mom and I went to the Lexington County Library's Main Branch location.  From their website, I knew that they had a South Carolina Room for genealogy research, which included local newspapers on microfilm.  Unfortunately, their website doesn't really provide any more information on what resources they had available.  From their Obit Index, I knew that there was at least one obituary that I needed.  I also wanted to see what else they had available.

     When we arrived, we headed straight for the microfilm, a list of which was available in a small folder.  To my surprise, the list started with church records.  There were numerous rolls of records, and on roll seven I saw the names of two of the churches my ancestors had attended: St Michael's and Mt Pleasant.

     I was extremely excited and sat down to the microfilm reader... which didn't work!  I started getting anxious, but luckily the other machine did work.  Whew!

     I found the St Michael's Lutheran Church records first, which contained birth, marriage, death and membership records.  I first found records for many-times-great aunts and uncles births, then found one for my 3rd Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Rachel Metz, who was born in 1826!  This was an amazing find.  South Carolina didn't start issuing birth and death certificates until 1915, so church or bible records are the only source before that date.  I also found records showing that my 4th and 5th Great Grandfathers, Gabriel and Barnet Hyler, had attended the church.

     The second set of church records were for Mt Pleasant Lutheran Church, which was lost when Lake Murray was damed up.  I found a plot map of their cemetery, listing the exact location of my 3rd Great-Grandparents' burial - except for the fact that they were moved when the lake water rose.  Luckily, I do know where they were moved to.  I found some funny records too; it seems that my 2nd Great Grandfather, John W Hyler, had "gone astray," while his brother had "gone to the Methodists."

     After browsing through these records, I didn't have a lot of spare time to browse newspapers.  I did find the obituary I'd located in the index, but didn't spend much time on them otherwise.  These papers are all slated to be added to Chronicling America sometime this year or next, so I'll have another chance to search them from the comfort of my home.

     The library also had a number of books of interest that my mom found, as well as vertical files with newspaper articles.  It's too bad that I don't live closer and could spend more time exploring their collection.  But I'm extremely happy with what I did find.

First FHC Microfilm

     I received a voicemail yesterday, informing me that I had microfilm available. This would be the first microfilm I received through the local Family History Center (I initially ordered three reels four weeks ago).  The process to retrieve my film was simple: the new films are in one drawer and films ready to be sent back are in another. They also had numerous other drawers filled with "indefinite" microfilm reels with names of patrons on them.

     The film I received was Minutes and Membership Lists, 1842-1859 for Hawhammock Missionary Baptist Church in Swainsboro, Emanuel, Georgia. I know that multiple generations of my paternal grandmother's family attended this church. I was hoping to find mention of deaths, baptisms and perhaps births and weddings in this film.

     I didn't end up finding everything I was looking for, in part because the title of the film is misleading. It should be "partial" or "fragmented" Minutes and Membership Lists - because that's exactly what they are. At times 10 to 20 years were missing from the minutes. This was unfortunate, because the minutes did in fact include obituaries and baptisms, as well as other religious events. Of course, most of the years I needed were the ones that were missing.

     I did find a few things of interest however, including a membership list from 1938 which listed my Great-Grandmother (click the image on the right to see a bigger image). Her name, Ledora Britt, is crossed out and marked "dead," though no date is given.

     And you'll notice that the image has been stitched together from multiple images. I don't know if it was the older machines (hand crank) or the film, but I couldn't zoom out far enough to see the entire width of the image. I ended up taking multiple pictures of the screen and stitching them together.

     And while I was waiting on this film to arrive, I discovered that the Georgia Archive has a copy (c'mon GA-A, index your film on something more hi-tech than a physical card catalogue!). I'll be back there again on Thursday, so I'll take a look at this film on a newer machine and see if I can get a better view. Also, I'll be able to save to flash drive there.

     I have two more films coming in soon, so I'll see how that experience goes before deciding to order any more film.

finding obits

I'm lucky enough to live near a library that has the Atlanta Journal Constitution on microfilm. The AJC, in it's many forms, goes back to 1868 and the entire publication is available on microfilm, while only sections are available online (for a fee). Every now and them I'm able to go down to the library and find obituaries. Today's findings:

Mary Harding Waters Whitlock

Ollie Britt Funston

Margaret "Margie" Lee Price