This is where I found the references that I posted previously to BURT list. It is definately a site worth checking out.-- John >>>>>A website with immense research potential is online ... and the wonderful >>>>>Cynthia Van Ness explains it below ... >>>>>-------- >>>>> >>>>> ... I just learned about an underpublicized website that has great >>>>>potential for genealogists. Those of you who know the Library of Congress's >>>>>website inside and out are already way ahead of me on this one, so I beg >>>>>your patience. >>>>> >>>>> I heartily recommend visiting the "National Union Catalog of Manuscript >>>>>Collections," also known as NUCMC, at: >>>>><http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/nucmc.html> >>>>> >>>>> The print version, which we librarians call "nuck-muck," has been a >>>>>reference standby for years. I didn't know it was available online, and >>>>>boy, did I print out reams of records from it. >>>>> >>>>> So why should you be interested in NUCMC? First of all, let me explain >>>>>what a "union catalog" is. A union catalog is what you call the result >>>>>(whether in print, microform, or online) of recording and describing the >>>>>holdings of multiple libraries, archives, or similar repositories. For >>>>>example, I worked in a public library that had a county-wide union list of >>>>>periodicals, which enabled us to refer patrons to another local institution >>>>>(college, university, historical society, etc.) if our library happened not >>>>>to subscribe to a certain periodical (magazine, journal, etc.) and someone >>>>>else did. >>>>> >>>>> Now, most of you know that the colleges, universities, historical >>>>>societies, archives, and libraries across this country have all sorts of >>>>>one-of-a-kind items, usually from people, places, and things that aren't >>>>>there anymore. People who are deceased, companies that are defunct, >>>>>charities that folded, and so on. Items such as: >>>>> >>>>>* family bibles >>>>>* family papers >>>>>* business records >>>>>* church records >>>>>* charity records >>>>>* ethnic organization records >>>>>* arts & cultural organization records >>>>>* photographs >>>>>* political and advocacy organization records >>>>>* maps, posters, charts >>>>>* architectural plans >>>>>* letters, correspondence, diaries >>>>> >>>>> What NUCMC did was survey these repositories large and small--across the >>>>>entire US--and publish the results in many, many large volumes, which are >>>>>still available in libraries. And now NUCMC is online, meaning that you can >>>>>do a search on your family names, place names, and institutions connected >>>>>with the people you are researching. You can search the companies they >>>>>worked for, the clubs, societies, and fraternal organizations they belonged >>>>>to, the churches they attended, and so on. >>>>> >>>>> Now, there's *never* any guarantee that the records you seek were given to >>>>>a proper repository instead of going in the furnace or dumpster, or that an >>>>>ancestor left important papers, but try a simple search on your (US) >>>>>hometown and see if you were familiar with half of the stuff that turns up. >>>>>Then try a search on "_______ family" (your surname). Those with Anglo >>>>>names will probably have the most success. >>>>> >>>>> I did an easy word search on "Buffalo, New York" and got over 500 hits, >>>>>several of which told me that some religious charities' records are now held >>>>>by an archive elsewhere in the state; that the papers of a few prominent >>>>>Buffalo citizens are likewise in out-of-town repositories. >>>>> >>>>> Every record in NUCMC gives a detailed description of the item and >>>>>identifies the institution that owns it, either using a code or, in most >>>>>cases, giving the full name and address. The institutional ("RLIN") codes >>>>>are available on the site. >>>>> >>>>> IMPORTANT distinction to keep in mind: the original documents (letters, >>>>>diaries, photographs, maps, etc.), are NOT online at NUMCMC--just a >>>>>detailed, written descriptions. What we in the library biz call catalog or >>>>>bibliographic records. To get copies of original documents, you must >>>>>contact the institution that owns them or, if you hit a gold mine, plan a >>>>>research trip. >>>>> >>>>> Other goodies at NUCMC include links to conservation and preservation >>>>>information, a perennial question on the genealogy newsgroups. >>>>> >>>>>Happy digging! >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >> > > > > ----------- John K. Brown, Jr. jkbrown@mindspring.com Researching: Burt, Brown, Abney, Watts