Moultrie Creek Books

It isn’t unusual to pour over census images only to find that the page your ancestor was nesting on has been used as nesting material.This has to be my favorite line in Deborah Collin's The Cloning of Solomon Hays: A Beginner's Guide to Genealogy. It's one of many that touched close to home in my research too. I found this book a delightful refresher course, reminding me of the value of resources I've been neglecting thinking they were old and tired, as well as the fact that basic research techniques function with or without the latest technology. Deborah's writing style is very engaging and her explanations make it easy to see why these steps are necessary or why those bits of information are important.She uses her own research to provide examples on specific research techniques. This gives the book a very personal touch, making it even more fascinating. The story of her efforts to discover the truth behind her great-great grandfather's arrest and conviction describes not only an amazing family story, but a herculean research effort using some unusual record sources to uncover it. This story makes it clear that research is often tedious and frustrating, but the results of those efforts can be so rewarding.In addition to techniques for research, records management and organization, the book covers the many types of records used as research sources, has very nice overviews of the available archives and reminds us of the importance of our own family papers and heirlooms as research tools.I read a Kindle edition of the book which Deborah graciously sent me. The Kindle's annotation features got quite a workout and my copy is now full of highlights and notes so I can quickly reference the many sections I found useful. It's now a permanent part of my research reference library.