GeneaBabble

I will emphasize it again and again:  Atlases and land records are key to any genealogical research.

Nineteenth century county atlases tell more than just what went where. They spoke of family and places, in color, augmented with lithographs by accomplished artists.  [Read more]

If you’ve ever looked through your county’s old plat books and atlases you know that many of them are falling apart.  There are, however, some projects that have helped restore and compile these old volumes.  There is a new volume, McLean County (Combined Indexed Atlases, 1856-1914),  that compiles map books from McLean County, IL.

There is another aspect to old McLean County’s old illustrated plat books — and it was of concern to the McLean County Genealogical Society and its ally, the McLean County Museum of History, of which Koos is executive director. These books are faded, falling apart and inaccessible - until now.  [Read more]

Of course, most counties aren’t so lucky.  You can, however, usually find what you’re looking for at the courthouse.  Also, keep in mind that many counties now have a good portion of their plats and land records available online.  Do a search on Google for your county recorder and you might find a good portion of their records available online for free.  Search for something like “Trumbull County recorder” without the quotes.  If your county has these records available leave a comment here and let the rest of the world know.