Hi...thought this tip was worth sharing with my Hamilton County cousins!! Because I research several different surnames in Hamilton Co,IL,related to one of my primary lines (GIBSON-McGINNIS),I get several genealogy related newsletters and short tips daily through e-mail. One such daily tips bulletin that I have found particulary helpful is one that comes from Emazing.com concerning Genealogy Tip of the Day. A really great one came to me today concerning "uncataloged reference material". It is one of those tips I just could not pass up sharing with you all. This is one of those "things" I remember running into at our Georgia State Archives...and then proceeded to forget all about until I was reminded of it again today when this tip appeared in my e-mail box....I have taking the liberty to quote this brief tip below in it's entirety...and noted the proper url where you may follow up on other similar tips if so inclined. This tip would apply to all libraries and archives...and interestingly enough even to Rootsweb in someways..they have a catch-all site for Miscellanous pages.(see their Miscellaneous Pages Hosted by RootsWeb site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~websites/misc.html ). Anyways, back to the tip: Emazing Genealogy Tip of the Day Tuesday January 23, 2001 from Emazing.com (for more info on Emazing tip categories and e mail tips see http://www.emazing.com see genealogy under the hobbies category.) "Ask for Uncatalogued Library Holdings" "Your library probably has a computerized catalog of its holdings that you use to locate materials. Unfortunately, though, no library has an unlimited budget, and sometimes there are insufficient funds to catalog everything. Among the things often omitted are handwritten or typed manuscripts of family history, the contents of vertical files (pedigree charts, family group sheets, correspondence and obituaries), individual maps, microfilm and miscellaneous records. While these materials may not be in the online catalog, they may be available for your reference use. Get into the habit of asking the reference librarians if there are any genealogical or historical materials that are not in the catalog. You may find some gems." I think the key to this tip is "get into the habit of asking"... which applies to libraries and lists both. It is easy to say to myself that I have already checked that and don't need to do it again. In genealogy research just like in learning the abc's or multipilcation tables...repetition repetition (practice/practice) ..is often the key to success when coupled with "verify,verify." I never have enough source material to verify a stated genealogical fact. It is too easy to get into the habit of accepting a statement of info as fact just because it has been repeated over and over again in several places often without verifiable "first hand" documents. Even then take care... birth certificates and even marriage licenses or bonds are not infalliable sources..."all records" are subject to errors and hence to verification by cross referencing. Keep in mind, some cross references might be buried in the uncatalog materials file of local library,historical society or state archive. I don't even trust my grandmothers' written or oral statements concerning herself and family members without trying to find independent sources to back up her stories and claims. Heck, I even goof about facts concerning myself and have to go back and verify and often correct....<smile>. Anyways, thought I would share this tip and genealogy mediations with you all... since you are such an important source of verification for me concerning my Hamilton Co families. Thanks Barb "Gibson" Marcovecchio in Savannah,GA