by Judy G. Russell | Dec 7, 2020 | Records Access |
Washington AG to sue on National Archives It was — oh — at least a million years ago when the horrible news broke. Okay, so it was January 2020, but The Legal Genealogist stands by the characterization on both counts: it does seem like a million years ago...
by Judy G. Russell | Nov 16, 2020 | Records Access |
New online ordering system There’s good news and bad news on the “please may I have a copy of that application for a Social Security number” front. The bad news is, all of us — The Legal Genealogist included — are going to have to get used to a whole...
by Judy G. Russell | Oct 22, 2020 | Records Access |
… for NYC records access and use The deadline is coming up fast for public comments on a proposed rule by the New York City agency in charge of the Municipal Archives that — unless it’s changed a lot — will impact the rights of researchers,...
by Judy G. Russell | Oct 8, 2020 | Records Access |
Another great example of 2020 in operation It’s the perfect metaphor for this crazy year of 2020. A government agency says, in print, it intends to change its rules to state that there will be a “Publication or license fee for any use of a reproduction of a...
by Judy G. Russell | Oct 7, 2020 | Records Access |
Sigh… the City is at it again It seems like New York City is determined to close every genealogically-valuable record that it can — and when it just can’t close them, it’ll put a price tag on them that may have the same effect. Readers of The...
by Judy G. Russell | Sep 30, 2020 | Records Access |
USCIS fee hike on hold A legal challenge to the enormous increases scheduled to go into effect this week in fees charged by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has led a federal judge in California to put the rule including the rules on hold. And boy...
by Judy G. Russell | Sep 23, 2020 | Records Access |
I take no responsibility The Legal Genealogist is not to blame. I had nothing whatsoever to do with it. I take no responsibility at all of any kind for the horror that is known as the Russell Indexing System. I am deep in the weeds of tracing the history of the house...
by Judy G. Russell | Aug 24, 2020 | Records Access, Resources |
Saving some of the records It may be one of the most important rescues in the history of the United States. The rescue of its history itself. A rescue that became critically, vitally, important, 206 years ago today. Because it was 206 years ago today that British...
by Judy G. Russell | Aug 3, 2020 | Records Access, Resources |
Hikes announced on genealogy fees Ouch ouch ouch. The fee hikes proposed way last year on genealogically valuable records held by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) have been finalized and announced and… Ouch ouch ouch. Even though The Legal...
by Judy G. Russell | Feb 14, 2020 | Records Access |
Records access issues need our voices Records access is the single most important issue to the genealogical community. The Legal Genealogist submits that it’s really pretty simple: no records, no genealogy. So whenever there’s a chance to speak out on...