The Local History Room

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick, Orange County, New York.  I was researching an event that took place in Warwick- that post is forthcoming.  The staff was helpful and knowledgeable.  (And so were the other patrons with directions!)  I made use of the local history room.  I recommend asking for and visiting such a room whenever you visit a library.  You never know what you may find.  I found a 1924 book with grave inscriptions from Dutchess County, New York.  You probably would not expect to find Dutchess County material in Orange County, but that is why I recommend browsing the "local" history collection yourself.

I found a listing for a small, private cemetery in Pawling for the Campbell family.  This may or may not be the same Campbell family that I am following in Dutchess County, but now the possibility has entered my mind and can be explored further.  A check of findagrave reveals that someone else has already ventured through the vegetation and photographed these stones, saving me from adding this cemetery to my ever-growing to-do list.  In due time I may have come across this cemetery through other means, but that is true of so many of the treasures that we find.  So check those local history rooms!

I take these pictures with an iPhone.  This enables me to go paperless.  I have boxes of genealogical papers and welcome not having to add to the overflow as more and more genealogical resources become available.  I also tend to copy more items.  It's free and saves me the hassle of requesting permission to photocopy, locating a working copier, and finding change or acquiring a copy machine card.  Once saved on my computer, I can easily search for files instead of rummaging through boxes.  I can also email an image immediately if the find is so wonderful that it needs to be shared quickly.