I wanted to second what Everette and Gigi have written. When I lived in NY, I served two terms in our local legislature and I can attest to the fact that government officials at every level tend to be very protective, even jealous, of those things that fall within their purview. So, of course, Everette is right, the consent and advise of the local supervisors must be sought before we have any reasonable expectation of "fixing" this problem. Needless to say, most politicians want to be pictured on the side of historic preservation--especially if it doesn't cost them anything--so there is reason to believe that we can obtain their cooperation in making the needed changes. I feel that the issue Gigi alludes to is already a clear and present danger and likely to become even more problematic in the near future. One can go on eBay and find many old documents for sale. What do you suppose the first issue of the Star-Herald or any newspaper following December 7, 1941, would be worth? Every day that passes, by definition, means that the records in the basement of the Chancery Clerk's building grow older. Being older translates into greater value in the marketplace, so the problem can only become worse as the temptation to pilfer these records necessarily becomes greater. No doubt the readers of this missive, motivated as genealogists always are by the purest of goals and motives, will not succumb to the opportunity to make a buck. (Incidentally, there is not the least sarcasm in this remark. It is crafted of the purest logic and sincerely meant. Many of us feel wonderfully repaid and enriched for the investment we have made in genealogy, but I know of no one who was ever adequately compensated, much less enriched, in a material way for their genealogical endeavors. ) However, recall that the basement of the Clerk's office is open to the public--not just you and me. As long as I see banks putting bars on their windows and otherwise separating their money from the public, I'm going to assume that they have reason to believe that the absence of such deterrents might result in a problem for them. Well, we are at the point that many of the old records and documents in the Clerk's basement--which do have monetary value--are free for the taking. I shant be surprised if some people take advantage of this opportunity. I fear I have done a better job at raising problems and issues than I have done in suggesting solutions. Perhaps, though, the solution to this problem is just to identify the records (such as the oldest land records and court dockets, old newspapers, etc.) which are particularly valuable and place them in the hands of the library or the historical society or any group which has the resources to provide some degree of oversight. Certainly not all the records in the basement are valuable in a material sense, but others are and the time to protect them is now. Edward Hutchison Madison, MS

If your taking count. Count me in. I live too far away to be of any on site help but will help monitarily where I can. If there is any hope of breaking through my brick wall in Attala county I fear it lies in these old negelected records. Jackie Searching THOMAS/GUYNES/MANGRUM/SPROUSE/HALL in Attala Co. [email protected] wrote: >I wanted to second what Everette and Gigi have written. > >When I lived in NY, I served two terms in our local legislature and I can >attest to the fact that government officials at every level tend to be very >protective, even jealous, of those things that fall within their purview. So, of >course, Everette is right, the consent and advise of the local supervisors must >be sought before we have any reasonable expectation of "fixing" this problem. > Needless to say, most politicians want to be pictured on the side of >historic preservation--especially if it doesn't cost them anything--so there is >reason to believe that we can obtain their cooperation in making the needed changes. > >I feel that the issue Gigi alludes to is already a clear and present danger >and likely to become even more problematic in the near future. One can go on >eBay and find many old documents for sale. What do you suppose the first issue >of the Star-Herald or any newspaper following December 7, 1941, would be >worth? Every day that passes, by definition, means that the records in the >basement of the Chancery Clerk's building grow older. Being older translates into >greater value in the marketplace, so the problem can only become worse as the >temptation to pilfer these records necessarily becomes greater. > >No doubt the readers of this missive, motivated as genealogists always are by >the purest of goals and motives, will not succumb to the opportunity to make >a buck. (Incidentally, there is not the least sarcasm in this remark. It is >crafted of the purest logic and sincerely meant. Many of us feel wonderfully >repaid and enriched for the investment we have made in genealogy, but I know >of no one who was ever adequately compensated, much less enriched, in a >material way for their genealogical endeavors. ) > >However, recall that the basement of the Clerk's office is open to the >public--not just you and me. As long as I see banks putting bars on their windows >and otherwise separating their money from the public, I'm going to assume that >they have reason to believe that the absence of such deterrents might result >in a problem for them. Well, we are at the point that many of the old records >and documents in the Clerk's basement--which do have monetary value--are free >for the taking. I shant be surprised if some people take advantage of this >opportunity. > >I fear I have done a better job at raising problems and issues than I have >done in suggesting solutions. Perhaps, though, the solution to this problem is >just to identify the records (such as the oldest land records and court >dockets, old newspapers, etc.) which are particularly valuable and place them in the >hands of the library or the historical society or any group which has the >resources to provide some degree of oversight. Certainly not all the records in >the basement are valuable in a material sense, but others are and the time to >protect them is now. > >Edward Hutchison >Madison, MS > > >==== MSATTALA Mailing List ==== >The American Local History Network, Attala County web site can be found at http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ms/county/attala/. Its well worth a visit. > > > >