Women's History Month 2015: Manuscripts

Ok, there's a lot of things I love about research. But one of my favorite sources is manuscript collections.

Brooklin, Maine OES. In possession of Gena Philibert-Ortega

I've written about these collections before and I want to encourage everyone to make it a goal to visit an archive and look at a manuscript collection for the place your ancestor lived. These collections hold such great information that gets overlooked in our focus on researching via the Internet.

Now I love research on the Internet but there's nothing like going to an archive, smelling that old paper smell, and reading the writing of someone from a much earlier time.

My favorite place to find manuscript collections? ArchiveGrid. Search on your ancestor's city or county first then try their religion, occupation, or membership group.

Honestly, research in manuscript collections and you will be hooked.