Because genealogy is becoming the fastest growing ‘hobby”, even those unfamiliar with what is involved are beginning to ask, “Who are my ancestors?”.  The Harrison County Historical Museum Research Library is a fancy name for a place where you might find the answer. Besides general history of the area, and other areas involved in the migration, this library has specific information on families that have lived here, or have simply passed through.  History tells that early on the settlers in the North American colonies tended to move from eastern ports where they landed from Europe or Africa to southern and western areas of what is now the United States.  Migration followed definite patterns.  This research library tries to help by filing whatever information it can find and afford on those patterns and the persons involved.

But the question “Who are my ancestors?” takes in much more than a history lesson from printed, or even manuscript materials.  The first question anyone interested in his forebears should ask is “Who am I?” Then, “Who is my father?”  Then, “Who is my mother?”  The very first rule of thumb is to document, by writing down in a logical way, the information about yourself, and then to work backward. Too often enthusiastic researchers will say, “I know I’m related to Charlemagne.  How did this come about?”  It’s impossible to go that way, since Charlemagne had numerous descendants, and even following the offspring of his children (legitimate and illegitimate) would be daunting.  But imagine trying to document all of his grandchildren, and all the great grandchildren for generations between the 700's and the 2000's.  

Step I, then is to list what information is known about you, your parents, your grandparents, and, if you know your great grandparents, those too.  Basic information such as birth, marriage, death, and burial, is material that can be documented by finding the sources where the items are officially listed.   Most often county courthouses are the answer, but there are other sources, too.  If, for example, you don’t know your great grandfather’s first name, so that you can’t easily go to the courthouse to look for his marriage license, try the census. 

This library has all Harrison County censuses up to 1910, as well as some from surrounding counties, and even some from other areas on the migration trail.  The 1920 census will be available next year, since it will have then been the lawful 72 years since it was taken.  Incidentally, the 1890 census for the whole country was destroyed by fire.  A few small areas survived that mammoth fire, and a few counties may have kept copies of what was submitted to the federal census bureau, but for the era from 1890 to 1900, other sources will have to help. If you know the full name of one ancestor who lived in Harrison County before 1910, looking him up may be the easiest part of getting started.  You will probably find him in a family, with all his existing brothers and sisters, as well as his father and mother, if he was a child at that date.  If he was living away from his family, you will find that information.  You will find his occupation, his place of birth (at least the state), if living at home his father’s and mother’s place of birth (at least the state), ages of all, and possibly other information.  Reading the census should give a beginning to finding out who the ancestors were.  It is possible to go back to previous census lists to see earlier generations.

With at least this much information, it is possible to ask questions.  Before asking for additional data, however, it is desirable to be able to furnish what you have from your own knowledge, and from census data in some logical form.  Most researchers prefer to use a diagram type of “pedigree sheet”.   This shows at a glance the relationship of the person asking the question.  If, then you find that Harrison County figured in your ancestry from several generations back, you would be able to ask if there are “vertical files” about that family.  The file drawers so labeled contain manuscript material, letters, and other types of material. The library also has picture drawers, artifact drawers, ledgers, loose papers, maps, scrapbooks, not to mention books that contain family histories, or even whole biographies of a specific individual.