Dirty Books

When time and circumstances would allow, my father and I would share this tree climbing adventure. We traveled to Richmond, Virginia to investigate the records there. We traveled to Caroline Co., Spotsylvania Co., Culpeper Co., Fredericksburg,
all in Virginia. We explored libraries, courthouses, archives, museums, and cemeteries. However, it was when Dad did his own tree climbing that he had the most success!

I was always amazed how he seemed to find just what we needed, when we needed it, and would seem to solve the brick wall that we faced! When our brick wall was W.C. Jones (Who was W.C's father?), Dad found a file hidden in the stacks of papers, in back of a filing cabinet, in our Winchester library. A previous relative had already answered this question and provided the link to our Thomas Jones. Where was our Nicholas buried? Dad made a trip to the court house in Bartholemew Co., IN. Here he entered the county clerk's office, at random, to ask if anyone knew about a Revolutionary War veteran that was supposed to be buried in a place called Flatrock Township. The lady in the office not only knew about our Nicholas, but she owned the very farm where Nicholas rested! She then took my father to the grave site; and we have pictures and dates, and other family information as a result. On and on it goes. Wow I thought, how do you do this?

I finally asked Dad what was his secret was concerning genealogy. His response was "dirty books"!---Dirty books? What do you mean?---He explained to me that whenever he entered a library, courthouse, or archives, he always sought the books that no one else looked at, or that appeared the oldest, or the dustiest, or dirtiest! Find the dirty books he said.