Call Before You Make the Trip to the Courthouse

This is not the courthouse that’s discussed in the tip. This illustration is used because I like it 😉

I made something of a last minute trip to a courthouse about 100 miles from where I live so that I could obtain a copy of a marriage record. The website for the office indicated they had the records for the time I needed and what the fees were.

When I arrived, they told me that all requests for genealogical records were handled by volunteers who answered them by mail.  I could not get the record that day. I filled out the form. I paid the fee and I left.

Always call and find out research policies before you make a trip. That’s true whether the trip if 10 miles, 100 miles, or 1,000.  It’s especially true if it is 1,000.

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