This is going to take a while...

I've worked out my strategy for working through the estate records I received about my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Frank Leaphart, that I received yesterday.

1. I'll scan the records myself. This will require two scans per record and I will stitch them together using Gimp. By scanning them myself, I will save money and will get spend more with each individual document.
2. As I scan each record, I will read over them and look for valuable information. I'll take notes on anything of interest to save myself time in the future when I go back to find it.
3. Save the new digital files to my computer and back them up on a flash drive.
4. Eventually, upload the images to my Flickr account and tag them in a way that will allow other researchers to find them. I'll also highlight the most interesting documents here on my blog.

So far, I've scanned and edited five pages. The fifth page happens to be Frank's will. This document was recorded in May 1864 - perhaps when Frank was heading off to war? The rest of his estate records seem to start in November of 1865 and, given the wording of his will, I don't believe Frank was dying when he wrote this. From this document I have concrete evidence of Frank's middle name, Edwin, and that he referred to his wife as Julia Ann - not Julian or other variations that I've seen. The will was also witnessed by men named Crapps, which was his wife's maiden name.

[Image reproduced from microfilm in South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, S. C. Lexington County Estate, Box 17, Pg 3, FR 273-368. Estate File of F. E. Leaphart, E1965.]

Estate Records are Here!

A little while ago I discovered that Lexington County, South Carolina had placed some indices online for marriage and estate records. Listed in the estate record index were documents filed for my Great-Great Grandmother, Ida Leaphart Hyler, her brothers and their father, Frank E Leaphart. Since Frank is one of my brick wall ancestors, I hoped that these records might shed light on his life and ancestry.

I sent a request to the address on the website, requesting information on the records. It turned out that those records were not housed in the county, but were actually at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. I was able to use their online form to request the documents listed in the index. After a few weeks, I received an invoice for the records that I'd requested. For $76 the SC Archive would send me about 130 pages of records. Although the price was steep, I decided to go ahead and pay.

Today when I arrived home there was a package waiting for me: stacks of 11x17 paper almost two inches thick. My record request had arrived! Given the size of the materials I received, I really feel like I've gotten my money's worth. I've started skimming through the pages and have already discovered a few interesting facts about my ancestors. My Great-grandmother Ida is at times referred to as an infant, as 12 year old girl and "the former Ida Leaphart, now Mrs. Hyler." I can see numerous pages of ledgers, showing where items for the estate were sold (want a quilt for $2.50?) and where money was taken out for the care of Ida and her orphaned siblings. I also now have another document proving who Ida's maternal grandfather was, as she also inherited part of his estate.

I'm looking forward to reviewing these pages over the coming days, as well as sharing the information with others. I have two scanners at home, neither of which is capable of scanning documents of this size. I need to find somewhere to do this - maybe fedex kinko's? Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Image reproduced from microfilm in South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, S. C. Lexington County Estate, Box 17, Pg 3, FR 273-368. Estate File of F. E. Leaphart, E1965.]

The Price of Research in The South

It was recently announced that the price of vital records document requests will soon go up here in Georgia - for the second time in a year. All together, the cost of requesting these certificates will have gone up 150%! I thought I would put together a chart to show the different prices throughout the region.


The prices listed below are for records available through each state's vital records office. Not all years may be available at these locations and/or prices. Records that do not fit into the categories listed here are usually available through individual counties. Also, be sure to review each state's policy when "family only" restrictions are listed, as this term varies by state.

State  (Website Link)	Birth	Death	Marriage	Divorce
Alabama	$15; 1908-Present; Family only	$15; 1908-Present; 25 year restriction to family only	$15; 1936-Present	$15; 1950-Present
Arkansas	$12; Feb 1914-Present; Family only	$10; Feb 1914-Present; 50 year restriction to family only	$10; 1917-Present; Family only	$10; 1917-Present; Family only
Florida	$9; 1916-Present with limited availability from 1865; Family only with ID	$5; 1917-Present with limited availablility prior; 50 year restriction for COD or for family only	$5; Jun 1927-Present	$5; 1927-Present
Georgia	$15 now, soon $25; 1919-Present; ID Required & family only	$15 now, soon $25; 1919-Present	$10; 1952-1996	$10; Search Only/No Copies
Kentucky	$10;1911-Present	$6; 1911-Present	$6; 1958-Present	$6; 1958-Present
Louisiana	$15; 1907-Present; 100 year restriction & ID Required	$7; 1957-Present; 100 year restriction & ID Required	$5; 1957-Present; New Orleans Only	No Information
Mississippi	$15; Nov 1912-Present; ID Required & family only or for Genealogists after 100 years	$15; Nov 1912-Present; ID Required & family only or for Genealogist after 50 years	$15; 1926-Jul 1938 & Dec 1941-Present; ID Required & family only or for Genealogists after 100 years	$15; 1926-Jul 1938 & Dec 1942-Present; Search Only/No Copies
North Carolina	$24; 1913-Present; Possible family restrictions	$24; 1930-Present;  Possible family restrictions	$24; 1962-Present	$24; 1958-Present
South Carolina	$12; 1915-Present; ID Required	$12; 1915-Present; ID Required	$12; Jul 1950-Aug 2009	$14; Jul 1962-Dec 2008
Tennessee	$15; 1914-Present	$7; Available for past 50 Years	$15; Available for past 50 Years	$15; Available for past 50 Years
Virginia	$12; 1853-1896 & Jun 1912-Present; ID Required & family only	$12; 1853-1896 & Jun 1912-Present; ID Required & family only	$12; 1853-Present; ID Required	$12; 1918-Present; ID Required

Alice Budell Hooper is a Shocker

Lately, I've been seeking out local county government websites in an effort to find new genealogy resources. One that I've found is a Marriage License Record search available from the Greenville County, South Carolina probate court website. When I first found this database, I knew of a few family members that I might find listed, but could only find the marriage record for one of the couples (a Great-Aunt). I've checked back every few months to see if the database would be updated, and today I was rewarded - and surprised.

Mainly, I've been looking for the marriage license record of my grandparents, Roy and Betty (Huyler) Albea. I actually have their original marriage license in my records, but had found it odd that it was not listed in this database. Today I ran a search for 'Albea' and was rewarded with their listing, as well as one for Roy's father - which was an unexpected shock!

Roy's parents, Charles Vernon Albea and Mamie Auline Witt had divorced and lived in separate states. According to the family, Charles Vernon contracted tuberculosis while caring for his sister and died in 1947 in a sanitarium in at the early age of 44. His death certificate supports this information and even lists him as divorced with Auline as his wife. So I was very shocked to find a listing for Charles Vernon and a never heard of woman, Alice Budell Hooper. Who on earth is this woman? No one in the family had ever mentioned a second marriage, let alone this woman's name. I'm going to have to try and research her and send off for the marriage license to discover what this new information means.