Guidelines For Requesting Research
From The Lawrence County Archives
Requests for off-site "extensive" research is currently not being accepted since I am the only staff member. I will count pages in a family file folder, look up obituaries, marriages, cemetery records, or any other record that only takes a few minutes without charge for my time. If it takes over 15 minutes, there will be a $5.00 research charge. You MUST follow the rules listed below, or your request will be returned.
If you decide you need further research, there are a couple of people that I might be able to persuade to do this for you. We do not have regular volunteers to assist in this. You also might try one of our volunteers who do lookups in books they own at this web site.
I gladly perform research for
offsite requests, but since I am now the only staff member, some of the rules
have changed. Any requests for information to our office by email,
regular mail or telephone will be handled as quickly as possible. However,
the waiting period between your initial request and when I actually perform the
research could be anywhere from one week to a few months. I have an
overwhelming amount of requests and can not possibly keep up with them. There
are also many on-site researchers
whose needs must be served first. I also have many daily tasks to do and
various projects I am usually working on. IF you need pages copied from a
particular surname family file folder (consists of research donated to the
archives or copies of research I have preformed for off-site requests), I will
still do this as time permits. This link will take you to the web page listing all the
family
file folders and this link to the web page that has an inventory of the
compiled books
housed at the archives.
Before requesting a search and in order to expedite your request, please read
all of the information below and follow the few rules listed.
1) Only submit a request for research on one surname at a time. After you receive the copies pertaining to your query, then you may submit another request. The second request will fall in line behind other people who have submitted requests between your first and second request. This will allow me to provide this service for more off-site researchers so the backlog will not be as large.
2) When requesting a search, send the names and dates that you know and if you are looking for something specific. DO NOT request EVERYTHING the archives has on a particular surname. The information found might only be a few pages, or it could be hundreds of pages.
3) If you only want certain records checked, please specify which records you need, not to exceed 3 records for each request. [Example: census record, marriages, wills and estate settlements, court petitions, and minute books.]
4) You may also specify if you want me to spend just one hour ($5) researching, or if I am finding additional info, to continue up to a certain amount.
5) Please be sure to send a list of any records you have checked previously in Lawrence or surrounding counties (Wayne, Giles, Lewis, Maury in TN and Lauderdale Co in AL) so I will not duplicate your search. Also, state whether you found info in other counties in TN or northern AL, or have already checked the census on Ancestry.com.
6) When I finish the search, I will give you a list of records I have found with the price for each listed beside it. You can decide which records you need copied or have all of the material copied.
7) You may request that I give a summary of what I found, what it concludes and advice on what or where you need to check next. Any summary or conclusion that takes over 10 minutes will be charged at the $5 an hour rate. [Summary or conclusion = explaining how each document relates to other documents, what the records prove, etc.]
7) If you just want information copied that a "family file folder" contains on a particular surname, there is not a research charge. I will count the pages and tell you the cost of copies and postage. If you request that I search a family file folder for a specific name within the file, especially if it is a large file, I will charge a $5.00 an hour research fee prorated to reflect how much time spent.
Fees Are Listed Below:
1) $5 an hour for research.
2) $5 deposit required up front if I think the request will take longer than 15 minutes.
3) Copy fees are currently 25 cents per page per side, but this is subject to change = 2 pages
4) The copies will be mailed to you after I receive a check or money order for the copies, postage and/or any additional research time over the $5 deposit.
5) I normally mail copies and documents first class or media mail at the post office, unless you request priority or their is a large amount of material. Sometimes priority is just as cheap as first class mail. Postage for shipping is figured by weight and your zip code, so please be sure to include your zip code.
6) Make your check or money order payable to the Lawrence County Archives, and mail to the archives at 2588 Hwy. 43 S, Leoma, TN 38468.
Kathy Niedergeses, Director
Lawrence County Archives
lcarchives@lorettotel.net
Last up dated January 29, 2009 by Kathy Niedergeses