The Peabody is a great hotel, and there are so many great genealogists here. We enjoyed the parade of the Peabody ducks at 5:00 PM today.

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 While every marriage begins with hope and promise, not every one has  happy ending.  Some marriages inevitably end in divorce and there are civil records created as a result of a divorce.  Divorce records are typically found at the courthouse in which the action was filed and/or completed.  Legal papers are filed to declare the intent to seek a divorce decree.  Sometimes the divorce did not take place and only the intent papers are filed.  There should be records in the divorce court minutes to trace the procession of the action.  If the divorce was finalized and granted, there should be documents to show the decree.  Unlike marriage records, divorce records may not be indexed by husband's and wife's names.  You will sometimes find such indexes while in other cases there is only a chronological list of decrees granted.  You may therefore have to do some deeper research but the results will provide another type of record for your family history files.

The permanence of tombstones and their inscriptions can be misleading.  While we think of them as being accurate representations of name spelling and vital dates, sometimes they are in error.  Nicknames rather than given names may be used in the interest of saving space on the stone, and stonemasons made mistakes in spellings and dates.  Remember also that a stone may not have been carved and set on the grave site until some considerable time after the death.  During the Great Depression, families did not always have the funds for a grave marker and, in some cases, many years elapsed before the stone was set.  The lapse of time and of people's memories may have led to misinformation being carved on the stone.  Use the tombstone as a pointed to a death certificate, an obituary and other records of correct name spellings as well as birth and death dates.

Sample of an error on a tombstone made by stonecutter and poorly corrected

The Hispanic Genealogy Center is a non-profit organization whose focus it to help persons of Hispanic descent trace their genealogy.  Located at http://www.hispanicgenealogy.com/, the site is hosted and maintained by the Hispanic Genealogy Society of New York (HGSNY), and contains extensive information for the researcher.  Message boards facilitate communications between other researchers, and a search facility using Boolean searches can be used to search the entire Web site for references to surnames, locations and other keywords.  In addition, the HGSNY has a library staffed with volunteers who can help with inquiries.  You can subscribe to and order copies of their newsletter and purchase their "Workbook of Hispanic Genealogy" to help you begin your Hispanic research.

Don't overlook the holdings of state archives in your research.  Their collections often contain documents relating to state history including military records and pension files, county and local histories, diaries, letters, manuscripts, directories, tax rolls, voter registration rolls, court minutes, legislative records and a wealth of other, more obscure materials.  Their military and pension records are always different than those held at the National Archives and Records Administration and contain other documents that can provide you with details and clues.  Many materials are microfilmed and easily accessible to the researcher.  Others may require that you fill out a call slip and the original materials can be pulled from storage for your review.  Call ahead to learn the days, hours, contents of the collection, and any research regulations.

Following the Civil War in the United States, Southern men were required to pledge an oath of allegiance to the U.S. government in order to be returned to the voter roll.  The purpose was "to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States -- passed March 2, 1867 -- and to facilitate restoration" of Confederate citizens to voting status.  In effect, the Southern males were taking an oath of allegiance to be return to naturalized citizenship. These oaths were  typically sworn before the registrar in each voting district of the former Confederate and sympathetic border states.  The signed oaths, and in some cases rolls returned voters, can usually be found in the archives of the state in which the oaths were sworn and are organized by county and then by election district.

Most of us make trips to conduct genealogical research.  For a longer, more extensive trip, you will want to take file folders, pads of paper, pedigree charts, family group sheets and copies of other reference documents.  You will also likely come home with a substantial number of copies.  An excellent carryall for your research trip is one of the covered plastic storage boxes.  Available at all office supply stores, they come in a variety of sizes and some come with carrying handles.    Select one that will hold file folders and you can devise a hanging file folder system inside that can help you organize your materials for easy reference when you are on your trip.  Also consider a plastic pencil box or a compartmentalized storage box for writing utensils, paper clips, rubber bands, small stapler and stapler, and coins for the copy machines.  This self-contained unit can become your portable genealogical office.