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Re: Delayed Births and Filing Dates



There's another wrinkle on dating.   Courthouses, after
they had fires, floods, etc., would institute a "re-recording"
period asking people to bring in deeds and the like for re-
recording.    Since the county records are kept chronologically
(so clerks could say how many certified items they recorded,
fees collected for the year, etc.), again, these same materials
may actually be entered into chronological books that differ
substantially from the actual items.   For example, say you
bring back a mortgage to record...it was initially recorded in
1889, the courthouse had a fire in 1895, it is re-recorded in
1896... it may actually be filed with an 1896 date...

I have the same problem with cemetery records.   Researchers
often think that because "book 1" covered sales of cemetery
lots from 1889 to 1911, when book 2 came into creation...then
why look for something in 1955 in book 1.    But since cemetery
sale books are organized by land....book 1 may record the resale
of a lot to someone in 1955 and record the subsequent burial
in 1966.

I've had students claim that they didn't want to use  1986 book
about Napoleon because they want to find early information about
him!    Or they won't use a reference book because they don't
understand the cumulation of information.


Dean





Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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