----- Original Message ----- From: "Dale E. Reddick" <dereddi@hargray.com> To: <GA-DEUTSCH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 6:47 PM Subject: [Georgia-DEUTSCH-German] Katrina: Impact on research in Orleans Parish > Hi Folks, > > The following has been shared across a number of surname e-mail lists. > So, I'm sharing the message with the lists where I'm an administrator. > > It appears as though Hurricane Katrina may have had a very deep, > genealogically significant impact. Nearly two hundred years of records > (perhaps more) may have been lost! > > Would someone who's a member of the FLY e-mail list please repost this > message there. If any of you are an admin for another list then please > consider passing along this information. > > If a Category 4 or 5 hurricane were to impact upon Savannah, Georgia - > then I'm certain that the -original- 1778 will of my gggg-grandfather's > uncle Peter Readick would simply dissolve in the floodwaters that would > fill the storage vault of the Chatham County Courthouse (most of Chatham > County will be underwater due to the storm surge of a major hurricane - > I've seen the flood maps). I've handled that 228 year old document > along with the later will of his brother (along with my co-investigator > Niles Reddick). Those and other documents are so fragile. > > Besides the human tragedy that we're all witnessing (and that some > readers may be experiencing), there is this potential for loss of > significantly meaningful documents. Such does not compare to the human > suffering of the tragedy we've seen unfolding, however - it may effect > many of us in our personal interests. > > Thanks, > > Dale E. Reddick > > Administrator, RootsWeb FLYTHE-L e-mail list > > Administrator, RootsWeb PARIS-L e-mail list > > Administrator, RootsWeb PARRIS-L e-mail list > > Administrator, RootsWeb GA-DEUTSCH-L e-mail list > > _____________________________________ > > > FYI: > Beginning to assess impact on research in Orleans Parish > > While this is far from the most important thing going on in New Orleans, > the > following piece from the Times-Picayune website (nola.com), begins to show > what sort of damage is readily apparent to documents in the parish. > > From Dave McDonald CG/Certified Genealogist > > ------------------------------------------------- > > Mortgage records may be drowned > > Orleans documents are in basement > > By Greg Thomas > Real Estate writer > > Thousands of lawyers in the metropolitan area have lost their files, their > clients and their offices, but one of the biggest legal ramifications of > Hurricane Katrina's flooding waters is the probable loss of real estate > records dating back to the early 1800s. > > The records, which include titles, mortgages, conveyances and liens, were > stored in the now-flooded basement of City Hall on Poydras Street. > > In 2002, employees of Register of Conveyances Gasper Schiro began the > tedious process of entering the records into computers, a $700,000 process > that could have been contracted out and accomplished quickly but was > instead > done slowly by his staff to save money. > > It's unclear how much of the information has been digitized or whether the > computerized information is stored safely. If either the original > records or > the digitalization is lost, it will be a major mess, said Southern > University Law Center Professor Winston Riddick, who teaches real estate > law. > > While it will be a tedious process to fix, and it can be fixed, it will > be a > major headache that could take years. The records involved date back to > 1827, with the earliest recorded by hand in Spanish and French. > > According to the American Center of Real Estate Lawyers, or ACREL, the loss > of the records could be devastating to the local real estate industry. > > The process of restoring the information could be incredibly tedious and > create havoc for homeowners who will be filing insurance claims, said > Professor Riddick. While he expects insurance companies to honor claims by > owners who have copies of their insurance policies, the potential for > delays > and other hassles is very real. > > New Orleans real estate attorney Marx Sterbcow of Marx Sterbcow Law Group > said Friday that the loss of the records, stored in the musty, moldy > basement of City Hall, may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to > storm-related problems for Louisiana attorneys, citing a memo e-mailed to > Louisiana lawyers by Southern University Law Professor Michelle Ghetti. > > "Many ACREL members have been in touch with us to express concerns for > colleagues in the region. Members have been generous with offers of office > space housing and other support," Ghetti said. > > Real estate records aren't the only ones affected. Ghetti estimates that as > many as 6,000, or two-thirds of the state's attorneys, have lost offices, > files and other documents critical to civil and criminal legal cases. > Several court buildings were flooded by Hurricane Katrina, including the > basement in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Louisiana Supreme > Court > building. > > For City Hall records, Sterbcow said, "it's the mortgages that's going > to be > ugly. To put it mildly, how are you going to be able to prove if you own a > piece of property if your records are gone? How are you going to be able to > prove you have a mortgage, or one is paid off?" > > Records for the 24th Judicial District in Jefferson Parish are probably in > much better shape than the records in Orleans Parish, Sterbcow said. > > "Jefferson Parish sounds like they're going to be ok for mortgages and > conveyances,'' he said. > > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. 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