#52Ancestors - Week 39 - Road Trip

Planning a Family History Road Trip can be a highlight in our research calendar but they can be much more successful and less stressful if you do your homework and plan ahead.  Here are my hints for making your Road Trip successful.

Phone Ahead

When you plan visiting any record repository, library or archive, after you visit their website and check hours of operation and record availability, make a phone call before you go. There is nothing worse than arriving at a facility to find that it is closed for renovation or that records have been moved offsite and are unavailable. Remember to check catalogs where available and plan your research wish list ahead of time - this can help maximize your research time onsite, as well. 

Check the Rules

Check requirements beforehand.  Can you take your bag, phone or tablet with you or do you have to leave them in a locker outside?  Are there rules about copying?  Many libraries have computers attached to their microfilm or microfiche machines, so you can save record images to a USB flash drive. If they have a scanner, can you scan documents to the drive as well?  What costs are involved and how do you pay?  Some smaller places may require cash so make sure you have some change with you.

Map Out Places you Plan to Visit

If you're traveling to a city or town that you're not familiar with, try mapping out your research visits so that you're not wasting valuable time on the road. Plan your visits to churches, cemeteries, libraries, and archives on a route that makes sense. Check parking availability nearby too - and any costs for parking too.  Find out what places of worship and cemeteries were around when your ancestors lived in the area (historical city or county directories can be helpful for his).  Also, check with local genealogical and historical societies. They are the experts on research in that area and will know what resources are available and where the records are kept.

Take Your Tree with You

Family history research trips used to be much more cumbersome, with copies of documents, family trees and other pertinent information being carried with you on family visits and to libraries and archives. Today most of us have an online tree, with your data as close as your smart phone or tablet.  When planning your road trip check your access to your online data and make sure everything you will need is available and that your access to it is reliable.  Figure on tech failures. When planning a trip to a remote cemetery, for example, don’t assume your cell phone will have a signal. If you need a list of names bring a printout or make sure the list is stored on your phone, not in the cloud.

Have a Kit

Create a kit or a “genealogy to-go” bag that’s ready to walk out the door with you. Stock it with note books, pens and pencils, batteries, business cards, address labels, a digital voice recorder, a magnifier, sticky-notes, a small power strip, USB, etc.  Anything you might need while researching.  Don’t forget your forms - take your notebook for general notes as well as a pre-prepared sheet to record data and important source info - what you found where and when. It keeps you from forgetting anything if you have a form to fill out.  A little coin purse with change for photocopying and parking is also handy.