First Stop, County History Records and Information

Don't overlook county historic societies and county websites as go-to resources in your research. When I know the town my research subject lived in, I immediately look up websites that can tell me county history. Most county governments have a website that give an overview of the county's history. Use this as a jumping off point.

Making a quick study of the county history can really inform your research. You may learn for example that the county once had another name or lost records in a fire or once attracted settlers of a particular religious sect or ethnicity. 

Details like these can come in handy when you try to understand the subject's life in the county.   Tracking a Massachusetts family I discovered that their county was once part of Delaware and then Massachusetts again as boundaries were drawn and redrawn. A county in Pennsylvania was split into two separate counties between one Federal census and the next. How much time did I save by learning about these changes in county history before I waded through records? 

A quick search for the name of the county may turn up that county's historic society and they may have a website. On historic society sites I often find links to published local or family histories (often available in PDF format for free), old newspapers and civil record or grave site look-up services. Local libraries at the county level hold similar resources.

posted many photos on Flickr.  Running searches on my surname plus Sauk County, netted me a photo of two great-great uncles. The caption mentioned only the surname so I could not identify them. But a quick email to the Historic Society and a quick response by them told me what I so hoped to hear, that the photo was of Edwin and Edmond, my great grandfather's youngest brothers. Bingo! The best part is that I was not looking for a photo per se, but just anything that might pop up. 

A visit to a county historic society can be a research trip to remember. But never just drop in. Call ahead, make an appointment and go with specific tasks in mind. Historic Societies are usually staffed by volunteers. When planning your trip, tell them ahead of time what you are hoping to research and ask how you can access their holdings. Find out if you can take in laptops or just pen and paper. Find out if you will be allowed to make copies of anything. 

Remember that historic societies are often run on love and a shoestring. Few are funded by taxpayers so don't be shy to donate money to the organization by way of saying thank you.