Innis Family Tree
Since I have done some of the basic research on Ancestry to establish the family line, I thought I would take a quick look at the archives in Tennessee and Kentucky to see what other things they might offer.
I was very disappointed to go to the Tennessee State Library and Archives and see this great list of databases online – only to find that most are only available to Tennessee residents. I emailed to ask if they had a way for non-residents to access the archives for a fee. I received a quick response that the contracts with their online commercial vendors specified only the current residents could access the databases. Like everyone else they had no funding to make it “available nation-wide.” I did send back a suggestion that they consider doing a “Friends of the Archive” fee based system for non-residents. I’m not against paying a non-residence research fee for a 30-day subscription. I am against not having access to records just because I live in another state. If there is anyone in Tennessee willing to help let me know.
Kentucky sadly has little to offer of basic use in their online catalog. They offer some of their vital statistic records for purchase on their site, but most of them are available on Ancestry. They do offer the microfilm of the Original Death Certificates from 1911-1958 for a rather large amount of money.
So much for the state archives. Guess I’m going back to Ancestry for some deeper research in their card catalogs and then some Google, GenWeb, County, and newspaper work.