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Archiver > GEN-EDITOR > 1999-03 > 0922597975


From: <>
Subject: Re: Frugal Genealogist
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 00:12:55 EST


Some ideas, in no particular order --

Take full advantage of the Family History Center or other local resources
before making field trips. I've known people who made expensive trips only to
have the clerk hand them a roll of microfilm that they could have read only a
mile from home! Even though you will probably still want to make field trips
if you can afford them, you can better use your time to visit cemeteries or to
use records that have not yet been filmed.

Stay organized. If your records are a mess, stop gathering more until you
have organized what you have. Then you won't order duplicate copies of things
you forgot you had, or because you let some important certificate get too dog-
eared in that pile that keeps getting knocked over and walked on.

Except for very special items, you don't have to own everything yourself. Use
most reference works and genealogical magazines at the library instead of
buying them yourself. Make copies of the three pages that refer to your
family instead of buying the whole book.

Learn to write effective messages to post on Roots-L or other rootsweb lists.
You can often find someone in those distant places who will visit the library
or courthouse for you and obtain copies much cheaper than if you paid the
clerk or archivist to do it. But you have to write your request to show what
you have done to solve your own problem, so you don't come off looking lazy or
like a newbie who expects somebody else to do all the work for you. Offer to
barter your services for the work you need if you have access to a
particularly good archive.

As interesting as photocopies can be, if you're truly frugal you'll learn to
make appropriate transcripts instead of buying photocopies of everything.
Rather than paying 20 cents a page for census copies that probably won't be
legible anyway, use the forms that are available in most big genealogical
libraries. Make abstracts of land records instead of photocopying all the
"reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues and
profits" verbiage. (I know a lot of people will disagree with me here. But
since this is a question of research *costs*, this is an option for people who
have more time than money, who make careful source citations in case they have
to look again after all, and who can distinguish between essential documents
and mere information that is as useful in your handwriting as in the original
image.)

Until you are ready to issue some kind of final (ha!) version of your work,
don't be too picky about your storage media. Your binders don't all have to
match; your file folders can be old ones that have been relabeled. (Again,
there will be some who disagree. I'm not talking here about archival storage
of original documents and photographs, just storage of your working notes and
photocopies that aren't going to last anyway.)

When you request certificates from vital records offices, make it clear that
you need them for genealogical purposes. Don't require that they be
certified, either. Sometimes you won't have a choice and you'll be charged
full price anyway; other times you'll get a price break for a genealogical
version of the record.

If you can get the cooperation of your family, get photocopies of vital
certificates they already have in their "important papers" files rather than
ordering new official copies from the state.

If you like your genealogy database program, keep using it a while longer.
Skip a version or two before you upgrade, unless the upgrade solves a specific
problem that has really been giving you headaches. Save printing costs by not
making paper printouts of every last little change you make in your database;
minor additions or corrections can be made by hand on your last printout.

Although my aesthetic prejudices won't let me accept a photocopy or computer
scan in place of a true photograph (unless that's absolutely the only way I
can get the picture), some people without my personal biases find such copies
to be an acceptable and frugal alternative to photo expenses.

When you write to people asking for genealogical data, include a simple
homemade form with spaces only for the particular information you're
requesting. Not only will you save money by not buying fancy charts, you're
apt to get a better response from non-genealogist cousins who will put off
filling out a form they don't understand.

If you have cousins who are requesting copies of your research -- and you're
willing to share it -- don't think you also have to pay for the privilege of
sending them your work. Ask for help with copying and postal costs.

And if you're REALLY strapped, sell the TV, sell the dog, get a second job.
After all, what matters more than genealogy? <g>

Ardis Parshall

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