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Local History with Public Records

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:38:04 +0000

Much like genealogy , searching out your using a variety of tools and databases , constructing the history of your neighbourhood has become a fashionable hobby recently, with companies and databases springing up to offer their services to the confused neophyte to trawling public records. However, to get anywhere in researching the and piecing any real information together, you are at some point going to have to consult the vast array of public records available for you to use. Governments have been storing information not just on their citizens, but on the dwellings they reside in, the towns, villages and cities they congregate in and the physical areas they sit on for hundreds of years and the vast majority of that is available to you to look at.

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Where to go

The first port of call for any researcher into local history would most likely be their local library. Researching is much the same as researching the history of a person – your local library has access and probably has the physical records themselves stashes away somewhere in the recesses and the staff there are actually paid to help you – so use them to your full advantage, that’s what they’re there for! Depending on how far you want to look back, you will want to ask for different resources. If you just want to look back to the twentieth century , then look for . If you want to go back to the 1700s-1800s, then maps, governmental records and church records may be the best bet. Any further back and you may have to contact specific institutions to see if you can take a look at their research .

Universities have people doing their doctoral theses on subjects like local history, so perhaps volunteering some of your time to help out might result in some access to records you can’t find anywhere else, so if your local library can’t find what you need, contacting may be a useful port of call if you need something very specific or esoteric in nature.

In conclusion though, local history is much the same as family history with regards to using public records to find information for research purposes. You just have to know where to look, and with the advent of computerised records, that process is easier than ever.

I am a writer in the public records industry where I have worked for several years.

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Local History with Public Records is a post from: US Government Records

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Local Government Records, an Introduction to Their Management, Preservation, and Use

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:32:53 +0000

Local Government Records, an Introduction to Their Management, Preservation, and Use

Local Government Records, an Introduction to Their Management, Preservation, and Use is a post from: US Government Records

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How To Get Government Records in Pennsylvania Part 1 of 2

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:52:02 +0000

In this two part video I will explain how to get records from your local, county or state government agency. The video may be a little long but I tried to explain it down to a basic level for better understanding. My guess is you found yourself at this video because the government wronged you in some fashion. I went through a similar situation and that is why I created this video in hopes that it will help someone else.
Perhaps you will get lucky and the agency will give you all the information you request but this has not been my experience, so you need to know how all this works. Remember I am not an attorney so I can not answer questions. I made this video as a citizens guide. Please comment if you find it helpful and perhaps in the future I can make another video.
Do not use the Office of Open Records for criminal records.

Here is The Office of Open Records Pennsylvania web site
http://openrecords.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/open_records/4434

Duration : 0:8:50

How To Get Government Records in Pennsylvania Part 1 of 2 is a post from: US Government Records

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