Sunday, December 16, 2012

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 51

Week 51: States and Provinces. What is your favorite state or province for genealogical research? Who is most generous with their records? How has this helped your family history research? Share with others your tips and tricks for researching in this location.

The answer depends on where in that particular state I most need to research.  Virginia counties have a wealth of information, or practically none at all.  Pretty much feast or famine.  The counties that do have extant records usually have a wealth of tax, land, court, and probate records, most of them filmed by LDS.   The Library of Virginia website has access to so much free digital content - the land records and many Bible records, and now many of the chancery court records.  The Parish records that exist and many of the other records have been transcribed and abstracted and can be found in print in many genealogical libraries. Therefore, Virginia would be my pick - when it's not a "burned" county. Unfortunately I had family that lived in those, too.