Helpful Online Research Search Links, O.R.'s, Dyer's, Fox, etc.

If it's been posted, sorry. I found this CD on Amazon:
Master Edition: The War of the Rebellion a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Official Records of the Civil War) Two DVD Set DVD-ROM – 2011

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UBBEGE/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

It seemed to get good reviews, but the 'new' copies were about $30 and the used ones were up to $600. ? Anyone know if it changed, or was just expensive when first released.
 
If it's been posted, sorry. I found this CD on Amazon:
Master Edition: The War of the Rebellion a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Official Records of the Civil War) Two DVD Set DVD-ROM – 2011

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UBBEGE/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

It seemed to get good reviews, but the 'new' copies were about $30 and the used ones were up to $600. ? Anyone know if it changed, or was just expensive when first released.
Probably not expensive when first released. Here's an article about algorithmic pricing. Maybe that's what happened?
http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=358
 
This morning I discovered that several counties I've previously researched have added cloud based records linked from the county clerk's office. In the past I've sometimes found search engines that led to records that could be purchased, but these included digital images I could view and download. I did a little more looking around and found some counties make their online records very obvious such as "Document Search Portal" in big bold print, but others were very subtle, as in a inconspicuous link to "Online Digital Imaging", or the name of the cloud based service they were using. So take a good look around.

Some of the vital records were the same I'd seen on Ancestry and elsewhere, but I've also found deeds, estate settlements, oil and mineral rights, etc.

For example, here's a search I did today:
http://countyclerk.oklahomacounty.o...ortOrder=Instrument|Y&pageNumber=&pageNumber=

One of the warranty deeds that came up via the search was for a cemetery plot. In this case I was aware of the cemetery/burial already, but what a tremendous help this could be otherwise.
http://countyclerk.oklahomacounty.org/roam/search.do?indexName=okimages&lq=Instrument:1938231866

I'm excited to find this resource. I know this won't be available everywhere, but I definitely plan to revisit some counties.
 
Missouri Digital Heritage http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/ They have both government records, state and local, and family and church records as they are provided to them. Adding records every day. On the off chance someone has contributed something, say a diary by a soldier in the unit your man was in in MO, it should be searched. If you live in MO and have historical family papers or artifacts, consider donating them for public use to this wonderful archive.

Maryland land records online are an incredible resource, almost all deeds and slave sales and emancipations filed with the county recorder of deeds (this practice varied by county) online free. If you are researching a Maryland resident who owned property, you are very lucky to have this. https://mdlandrec.net/main/

The above archive is part of the Maryland State Archives, among the very best I've seen with more and more digitization daily. msa.maryland.gov Also good for the Colonial and Revolutionary War periods. What is not yet online is available on request at their facility in Annapolis.

Some counties in West Virginia have also digitized land records. See for example documents.jeffersoncountywv.org
The indexing system takes a little trial and error (for me anyhow) but the records are there.

Also, familysearch.org may have copies of your subject's Will and estate proceedings, testate or intestate, online. Familysearch.com's progress in this regard varies with location and they have both searchable images and many as yet unindexed originals uploaded for browsing. If you can find the Index to the court records in the original record book or in an original index book, you can find the volume and page number of your subject's documents even in the unindexed files. Date of death or approximate date of death will spare you a lot of browsing time.
 
@Suzanne A Thanks for the added info. I had come across one of the WV counties initially, and in checking others I had go through each county clerk's office website as there seems to be no standardized web address. I played around with it and found using this combination of search terms (with the specific county name) often popped it up on google.

monongalia county west virginia document inquiry

Like I said, I'm going back to revisit some locations because online digitized records at the county and state levels hold so much potential. I found this summary of state archives--not sure if it's kept up to date but this looks good.
http://www.digitalstatearchives.com/

If you haven't visited any of these state or county archives yet, prepare to be surprised! I discovered my own wedding photo in the photo archives of the state where we were married. The source of the photo was a local newspaper.
 
mcfb50, very interesting. It seems like digitized records are added every day everywhere. If time has passed since your last search, it might be very productive to revisit your subject's locations for new postings.

I never though about searching one of these archives for myself while looking for ancestor's records! Thanks for the tip.
 
mcfb50, very interesting. It seems like digitized records are added every day everywhere. If time has passed since your last search, it might be very productive to revisit your subject's locations for new postings.

I never though about searching one of these archives for myself while looking for ancestor's records! Thanks for the tip.
Thank you for the reply.
 
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