Cook Co. records online; let's see how long the server holds up

John at Transylvanian Dutch has found that the Cook County Vital Records site is now live.

I just purchased and downloaded a marriage certificate a few minutes ago. The site is fairly easy to use. One minor complaint: wild card searches aren't an option. Instead, soundex is supported. (Why? The Missouri State Archives has shown how to make an effective search tool that isn't overly complicated.) Not a big deal, though. This site will likely become hugely popular and, hopefully, this shows other counties that digitization projects can and should be done.

Great find, John!

I think I'll buy lottery tickets tomorrow...

Like Apple, I also won a prize in The Buick Heritage Sweepstakes. And like Apple, I don't win prizes...ever. But that's probably because I rarely enter these types of contests. (I actually shocked myself in that I apparently used one of my primary email addresses for this, rather than one of my spam dumps. This was months ago and I had completely forgotten about it.)

Despite what the email stated, I did not receive "a hardcover copy of 'In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past.'" Instead, the package contained a book about Oprah Winfrey's ancestry, written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I'll probably give that book, and the DVD, to my library. Oh wait, they're still closed. Only six months to go...

I will be keeping the Family Tree Maker software because I've never given that a test run. On the other hand, I'm so entrenched with Ancestral Quest that it's highly unlikely I'll switch, meaning the software will either be given away to a family member (one sister-in-law has shown somewhat of an interest in genealogy) or I'll let a society have it for a raffle.

Thanks, Buick!

Impressive Stats

Missouri State Genealogical Association: MISSOURI DEATH CERTIFICATES DATABASE (1910-1957).