12.2 The Importance of Places

Discovering a place opens doors to research. If the place is specific, like a school or hospital, there may be records that are tied directly to that entity. These can be identified through place searches on the big four websites, looking at the city or small jurisdiction and then seeking education or medical records, by using the internet to find out if the entity has a website, or whether there are local archives where historical records might be kept. Even if documents are not easily available online, education records, medical files, sexton records, and more may be held by the organization and could be made available through a records-request process. Be aware, there is often a fee involved in a formal record request and the request may need to come from a direct-line relation.

Another way to get information is to seek out someone in the local area who is willing to assist with person-to-person interactions. In genetic genealogy, these helpful volunteers are sometimes called “Search Angels,"1 but there are people willing to assist with doing some legwork, asking questions, or looking up information in an area where a researcher does not have time to travel to in-person. The local library may be a good place to call when looking for a little assistance. Sometimes an in-person visit opens the way to a record that was impossible to acquire online. People who have had someone step up to assist them understand the value of that help and look for opportunities to do the same for other researchers.