Hi everyone, Just thought this might be some help to someone and to kind of show you what goes on at our free on-line lectures. For the beginning genealogist, there are many avenues to take while beginning your family history...to start, remember to exhaust all your home resources. Photographs, letters, family bibles, certificates, etc. Even talking to your older aunts, uncles, cousins will help begin to fit the puzzle together piece by piece, date by date. Once all home resources and relatives have been gone through with a fine tooth comb so to speak...then you can "branch" out into different directions. No pun intended... One or more of family historians may have an idea about looking into state or county records, but never really gone to the depths in doing so. Think again...take time to "go the distance". Zero in on what state your ancestor had lived, then the county. Also remember to have a time frame when your ancestor lived in that state/county. Read through your genealogy magazines and read what the articles have to offer on state or county records. You would be surprised as to how many resources there are in the state archives or state library in the state where your ancestor lived. Who knows..you might run across a gold mine! For those of you who are researching McKean or Potter County in Pennsylvania, you might be interested in knowing what the PA State Archives and/or the State Library has to offer the serious genealogist. Researching online for the PA State Library...I could not find it up front or directly. I visited the Commonwealth of PA web site at www.state.pa.us/, but could not find the State Library specifically. So I e-mailed the web master of that site. He sent back a message and informed me that the State Library is under the Department of Education. This you would not associate with the State Library...or would you? Anyway, in checking out the web site for the State Library of PA..I found the following: Public Reading Room Hours, How to Reach Us, Collections, State Library Catalog via ACCESS: PA's database, Brief History of the State LIbrary, Revised Classification Scheme for PA State Publications, Other Information that details census records, researchers, naturalizations, AND used book dealers (who would have thought?). Under the "Collections", it reads...The State Library's collections total more than 987,000 volumes and reflect its mission. ....The Library maintains extensive collections in subject areas related to official state business and public policy areas...strongly in the fields of public administration......down to PA history and genealogy. The Library does not purchase books for children or popular best-seller titles. Under the Genealogy/Local History paragraph...this collection contains important PA genealogies and local histories, including several hundred unpublished compilations of church and cemetery records. Approximately 13,500 titles are in microfilm, including federal census for PA [1790-1920] most of the National Archives microfilm publications relating to PA and the complete microfiche collection entitled Genealogy/Local History, as published since 1979. Among unique indexes for genealogical research there is a surname and place-name card file. Genealogy/Local history materials must be used on site and cannot be borrowed. For further reading, you may wish to check the following on the web site...Brief Guide to the Collections; Genealogical Research in the Published PA Archives; and Records of Interests to Genealogists. The Library is the official depository for all printed publications of the Commonwealth of PA. The Library has over 40,000 titles, many dating back to colonial times. Some 2500 new titles published by state gov't are added each year. Legal materials and government publications may be borrowed. Check out the PA Historical & Museum Commission's web page. A list of gov't records currently available for research at the PA State Archives can be found there. The State Library collection includes PA newspapers, which is the largest in existence... consisting more than 75,000 microfilm reels and over 2000 bound volumes. The Library subscribes to 171 current newspapers; all major dailies published in PA; at least one newspaper from every county in PA; major national newspapers and selected English-language foreign papers. By the way, the State Library is in Harrisburg, PA. Home of Gov. Tom Ridge {from Erie, of course}. Also check the sub web page for Records of Interest to Genealogists that describes "PA Birth & Death Records", "PA Newspapers", "PA Marriage Records", and "PA Divorce Records". There is also a web page describing "Naturalizations & Naturalization Records" in the Genealogy/Local History Reading Room. Another sub web page describes "Census Records"...from 1790 to 1840, 1850-1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1920, and the Soundex. If you make plans to visit Harrisburg, be sure to write down the hours for the State Library and the State Archives. Visit the Library first; then the State Archives as this is open on Saturdays. As for New York State, I checked out www.sara.nysed.gov/. This is the web site for the NY State Archives & Records Administration in Albany at the Empire State Bldg. In reviewing the web page for "Records & Resources in the NYS Archives", there are listed such things as Birth,Death, Marriage Index Search; Military Service Search Request Form; Canal Records; Probate Records; Records Relating to Women; Vital Records; Native American Records; Genealogical Sources; Electronic Records; Local Records; and Photographic Collections. Be sure to read "Guide to Records in the NYS Archives". The Genealogical Sources in the NYS Archives covers seven pages of sources, describing Military records, Census Records, Indian Records, real property tax records, court records, naturalization and related records, marriage bonds, etc. Be sure to review the NY State Census. Later I will explain briefly these census. According to an article in the Ancestry magazine, Mar/Apr 1995 entitled, "Special Census Schedules", the author wrote: "In addition to the nationwide federal census, many states conducted their own census. Some state census dates from as early as the 1790s, others as late as the 1940s. The motivations for these censuses varied from state to state and from year to year. Where they vary from the federal censuses, both in terms of the years they were collected and the types of questions asked, can prove to be invaluable to genealogists. While a great deal of misinformation about state census exists, fortunately, that has been remedied by a recent publication by Ann Lainhart in 1992." The state census were usually done in the years ending in "5"...such as 1905, 1915, 1925. They are usually not as comprehensive in scope as the Federal census, but are also an extreme value to genealogists. Here is a list of states who have their own censuses. The states with only one state census are: Arkansas, California, Colorado, "Dakota" in 1885, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Vermont. Other states with a few censuses are: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and North Dakota. Now the states who have the most state censuses are: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Sorry, Pennsylvania did not take advantage of having state census as well as the other states not listed above. New York State has state census for 1825, 1835, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925; NYC for 1890, 1905, 1915, and 1925. Make note that these state censuses could be a substitute for the destroyed 1890 Federal census; not as complete, but should be reviewed. In closing, if you have other states to research other than Pennsylvania or New York, you can locate those state libraries or archives at www.state + state abbrievation + .us/. Exclusions are Maryland [www.mec.state.md.us/]; Michigan [www.migov.state.mi.us/]; Montana [www. mt.gov/]; Washington [www.wa.gov/] and Washington DC [www.capcityon-line.com]. These sites will give you valuable information to researching your ancestory's state and county. Happy Hunting!