GOVERNMENT ISSUE

The government can make or break your genealogy research. Laws that created records about your ancestors, like the Census Act of 1790 (which facilitated the first US censuses) and the Steerage Act of 1819 (which mandated passenger arrival lists), are boons to genealogists across the country. The resulting documents were stored (and sometimes, lost) in government custody. Tax dollars and government grants allowed them to be microfilmed or digitized. And lawmakers and agencies set policies that determine if and how you can get ahold of records—plus how much it will cost you to do so.

There’s no doubt that federal, state, county and town governments play an important part in your genealogy search. They’re responsible for many of the records you rely on to fill out your family tree.

And do you have a place in all these policies and processes? Why yes, you do. We’ll explain the government’s role in your genealogy and how you can have a say in it.

Part of the government’s job as records custodian is to provide you with access to records.

MATTERS OF RECORD

Many of the most-used genealogy records exist in the first place because local, state and federal governments passed laws and set policies that> and is a founder of the Records, Not Revenue <> advocacy campaign. “Not only are these records genealogically significant, but they can really color in the details of our ancestors’ lives.”