Here's another common genealogy myth.
If your ancestors lived in a burned county, genealogy
is hopeless.
Fires wars, hurricanes, floods, not only
did they cause devastation and hardship for our ancestors.
They may have destroyed records that
make genealogy research challenging, to say the least.
Genealogists call counties that have lost records
from natural or man-made events burned counties.
For example, Georgia has a rather long list
of burned counties.
But research still gets done.
If you find your ancestors come from a burned county,
you may decide there is no hope.
But there is hope.
Your road is going to be more difficult, but there is hope.
Let's say the county courthouse burned in 1867.
All the county records before the fire are lost.
Wills are gone, land records, deeds, everything.
But your ancestors would most likely
have their own copies of such documents.
Let's use the land record as an example.
Establishing who owned land prior to a courthouse
catastrophe is important when making a land sale.
So your ancestors may have brought in their own copies
of land deeds.
Check indexes to make sure you aren't missing anything
that may have been filed later.
And be sure to review the full land
file for these additional records no longer available
at the courthouse.
Many records are also stored at the state or federal level.
[? Penchants ?] and censuses are two obvious ones.
Make sure you check everything for your ancestors
and all of their brothers, sisters, and cousins.
You never know where a clue might be.
Outside of records that were held in a county courthouse,
remember there are plenty of other records kept
on a daily basis.
Check newspapers and local histories.
Also check county and state genealogical societies.
Attack these problems just like you do those annoying brick
walls.
When the usual paths don't lead you to an answer,
look in new and unexpected places.
And don't let anyone tell you it can't be done.