by Judy G. Russell | Jan 31, 2020 | Records Access |
… and threatened with closure now Heads up. Here we go… again. Here in this 400th year since the landing of the Mayflower on the shores of what was to become the Bay State, public access to vital records in Massachusetts is under attack. Birth, marriage...
by Judy G. Russell | Jan 27, 2020 | Records Access |
Another chance to speak out against USCIS fee hike! If you’re sitting there feeling a little guilty that you were so busy in December that you missed the deadline for commenting on the truly outrageous fee increases proposed for genealogical records by the U.S....
by Judy G. Russell | Jan 23, 2020 | Records Access |
Buildings One building in particular, that is. This one. The National Archives building in Seattle, Washington. Which the Public Buildings Reform Board has decided should be sold… because the real estate it sits on is a hot property. Not one whit of...
by Judy G. Russell | Dec 23, 2019 | General, Records Access |
Speak out against USCIS fee hike! Today, December 23, there is just one week to go. One week to speak out. One week to say that a public agency raising fees for public records well beyond the reach of any average citizen is just not acceptable. One week to join The...
by Judy G. Russell | Dec 13, 2019 | Records Access |
Oppose the USCIS fee hikes The genealogical community has a little more time as it’s mobilizing to fight the extraordinary fee increases proposed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency for its Genealogy Program and the records provided under it....
by Judy G. Russell | Nov 21, 2019 | Records Access, Resources |
Opposing the fee hike Nobody with a functioning brain expects genealogy to be free. Yeah, yeah, The Legal Genealogist knows there are those who think it should be free — that having to buy copies of birth, marriage and death certificates and court documents and...
by Judy G. Russell | Nov 15, 2019 | General, Records Access |
The new year to bring original birth certificates It’s a New Year’s gift to New York adoptees. Finally… finally… finally… more than 80 years after adoption records in the Empire State were sealed by law, the New Year will see those born...
by Judy G. Russell | Nov 13, 2019 | Court Cases, Records Access |
… Gone to Kansas City Researching federal court records has always been a bit of a problem. First, of course, a researcher like The Legal Genealogist needed to know what record group the National Archives of the United States had assigned the specific type of...
by Judy G. Russell | Oct 8, 2019 | Court Cases, Records Access |
… it’s a grave matter The Legal Genealogist cannot resist the pun: calling the case of Knick v. Township of Scott a grave matter. It’s factually a case about access to graveyards.1 That’s not even remotely the legal issue involved, which...
by Judy G. Russell | Sep 5, 2019 | Records Access |
Vital records officers changing gears There is no evidence that closing vital records for long time periods prevents identity theft. The Legal Genealogist knows that. You know that. And now, for the first time, the people in charge of vital records are beginning to...