Lenawee County History: Research not limited to historian toolbox

As of this writing, I have approximately 1,630 emails waiting for my attention from the past month or so.

An initial glance shows the vast majority of them are history or research related.

I dislike having unanswered emails. I like a tightly run ship and being able to give the attention the inquiring person deserves.

I did not anticipate my Lenawee County history page on Facebook would go viral, but it did, just before Christmas. With that tripling of members in just a few months’ time to more than 10,300 came research questions, genealogy requests, land deed inquiries and everything in between.

While I am getting to emails and questions as succinctly as I am able, in between a full-time job, family, and a handful of “as I have time” part-time jobs to keep the bills paid, I offer ways to empower the researcher.

Sometimes I do have that nugget of information that solves the ever-lingering mystery. For the most part, however, the answers remain undiscovered.

Land deed questions can typically be answered by the county and usually through the register of deeds. Questions I get most include when a house was built, when was it added onto, when did the barn burn down, things like that. Probably, one of the most-requested things I get is someone’s complete history of their home. I barely have information on my own place, unfortunately, beyond what the deed tells me.

While there is no inclusive resource that has everything about everything in Lenawee County, there are a growing number of “self-serve” websites that can offer help in answering questions. General genealogy entries are ever-expanding online. I find more information about my ancestors several times a year through websites such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindAGrave and more.

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University archives, including those at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, have digitized historical collections of various documents, similar to the Library of Congress.

More newspapers both domestic and abroad are being digitized, enabling access from one’s own home. Newspapers.comNewspaperarchive.com and Newsbank.com carry many newspapers. The Tecumseh District Library offers access to select years of the Tecumseh Herald, while the former State Line Observer has links to its archives connected to all things Morenci. The Lenawee Historical Society remains an invaluable resource of general history, and other organizations like the Hudson Museum and the Tecumseh Area Historical Museum have archives that encompass those communities.

I am encouraged that people are interested in and value local history. In the meantime, I am doing what I can to get to each email or social media message as I can.

— Dan Cherry is a Lenawee County historian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Dan Cherry history column: Research not limited to historian toolbox