Genealogists, I need your help! On January 1st, I take office as the new county clerk of Washtenaw County. As you know, Washtenaw County is regarded as a difficult county for genealogy research. I want to change that, but I expect to face some institutional inertia and perhaps opposition. Very likely I will hear arguments that changes I propose are contrary to Michigan law. What I need is a list of those things which need to be changed in the County Clerk's office. Some changes will probably be easy; others may take some fighting for; still others may not be achievable. But I can't even begin without knowing specifically what they are. I also need examples of other Michigan counties with policies more friendly to genealogy. There are 83 county clerks in Michigan. I need to know which ones are pro-genealogy and likely to be allies and resources for helping make these changes. Also, I am planning to create a volunteer citizens advisory board or committee for the Clerk-Register's office, and I want at least one of the members to represent genealogy. If you are interested in this, please send your information to me via email or postal mail. Further, I am always interested in comments, suggestions, and criticisms on any aspect of the county clerk/register's office and my management of it. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns which arise during my term of office. Many thanks! Larry Kestenbaum soon to take office as Washtenaw County Clerk/Register of Deeds --- Lawrence Kestenbaum, polygon@potifos.com The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106

Mr. Kestenbaum, Is it possible to allow researchers to obtain a xerox of a record for a nominal fee? In most cases, a certified copy is not necessary and the $13.00 fee for each record really adds up. I am not aware of the current policy, but about four or five years ago I was able to order copies of marriage records from Ingham County for only $5.00 each. Thank you taking the time to consider our suggestions, Jane Barker Phoenix, AZ Researching Barker and King in Washtenaw County ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence Kestenbaum" <polygon@potifos.com> To: <MIWASHTE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 2:13 PM Subject: [MIWASHTE] County records: policy changes? Genealogists, I need your help! On January 1st, I take office as the new county clerk of Washtenaw County. As you know, Washtenaw County is regarded as a difficult county for genealogy research. I want to change that, but I expect to face some institutional inertia and perhaps opposition. Very likely I will hear arguments that changes I propose are contrary to Michigan law. What I need is a list of those things which need to be changed in the County Clerk's office. Some changes will probably be easy; others may take some fighting for; still others may not be achievable. But I can't even begin without knowing specifically what they are. I also need examples of other Michigan counties with policies more friendly to genealogy. There are 83 county clerks in Michigan. I need to know which ones are pro-genealogy and likely to be allies and resources for helping make these changes. Also, I am planning to create a volunteer citizens advisory board or committee for the Clerk-Register's office, and I want at least one of the members to represent genealogy. If you are interested in this, please send your information to me via email or postal mail. Further, I am always interested in comments, suggestions, and criticisms on any aspect of the county clerk/register's office and my management of it. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns which arise during my term of office. Many thanks! Larry Kestenbaum soon to take office as Washtenaw County Clerk/Register of Deeds --- Lawrence Kestenbaum, polygon@potifos.com The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106

Larry, I have talked with you on other subjects in the past. I might suggest a number of things: 1 - Easier access to the "old" deeds books. 2 - Longer hours - I might suggest that you take a look at engaging the Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County in a volunteer effort to open and man the area where the old deed books etc are kept. With proper training, this might allow an evening a week when genealogical records would be available without adding costs to the county. 3 - Allow copying for minimal cost if done through a volunteer or by the genealogist himself/herself. 4 - "Actively" encourage genealogical research by allowing the Genealogical Society to hold seminars/classes/training for genealogists in the records office. 6 - Promote and market genealogy as a "normal function" of the Clerk and Register of Deeds offices rather than just "being there" when someone wants to look something up. 7 - Set up some sort of "credit card" or "genealogical account" for genealogist to "charge" to if they wish to use the records on a regular basis. 8 - Engage local genealogists or the GSWC to be daily "volunteers" who can field queries for lookups. This would free up staff and possibly result in a daily effort to better organize the efforts of the Clerk/Register of Deeds genealogical service. 9 - Train staff to recognize genealogy as one of the "normal" and "necessary" functions which the Clerk/Register of deeds fully supports without question, and as a normal part of their jobs. This would be a major improvement and might be the most helpful in the end. Hope this helps, Dennis Norton ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence Kestenbaum" <polygon@potifos.com> To: <MIWASHTE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 4:13 PM Subject: [MIWASHTE] County records: policy changes? > > Genealogists, I need your help! > > On January 1st, I take office as the new county clerk of Washtenaw County. > > As you know, Washtenaw County is regarded as a difficult county for > genealogy research. I want to change that, but I expect to face some > institutional inertia and perhaps opposition. Very likely I will hear > arguments that changes I propose are contrary to Michigan law. > > What I need is a list of those things which need to be changed in the > County Clerk's office. Some changes will probably be easy; others may > take some fighting for; still others may not be achievable. But I can't > even begin without knowing specifically what they are. > > I also need examples of other Michigan counties with policies more > friendly to genealogy. There are 83 county clerks in Michigan. I need to > know which ones are pro-genealogy and likely to be allies and resources > for helping make these changes. > > Also, I am planning to create a volunteer citizens advisory board or > committee for the Clerk-Register's office, and I want at least one of the > members to represent genealogy. If you are interested in this, please > send your information to me via email or postal mail. > > Further, I am always interested in comments, suggestions, and criticisms > on any aspect of the county clerk/register's office and my management of > it. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns which arise during > my term of office. > > Many thanks! > > Larry Kestenbaum > soon to take office as > Washtenaw County Clerk/Register of Deeds > > --- > Lawrence Kestenbaum, polygon@potifos.com > The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com > Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106 > > >