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| Sumner Courthouse Peonage Research Photo Credit: Walter C. Black, Sr. |
I've had the opportunity to travel to many courthouses throughout the Louisiana and Mississippi searching for my ancestors or helping someone else search for their ancestors. One thing is for sure the books can be heavy to lift. Not to mention the dust on the outside of the books. "So if you suffer from respiratory problems, you may want to wear a mask to keep the dust from getting in your nose."
I strongly suggest that you wear comfortable clothing and shoes. You may find your subject in the index and may have to pull several books off the shelves. Be prepared to do a lot of bending down in search of the book you need. A magnifying glass can be helpful when you are reading scripted writting. Make sure you have enough time and not be in a big rush to leave. If you are taking someone along with you, be sure to let them know that you will be a couple of hours.
The picture shows the amount of dust on the book. The book was at the very bottle of the shelf and it appeared to be untouched for a while. All the index keys were dusty too. This is not uncommon at all. The points that I'm making is to be prepared for the research trip.
