Research Library - Part 1 - Family and Subject Files

I want to spend some time this winter highlighting the variety of material that is available in our research library. We have a more complete collection than many county historical societies. That is, in part, due to the close connections we maintain with our county officials who have made it a priority to see that our county archival records are properly preserved. Although the Bradford County Historical Society is not an agency of the county, we are designated as the official "county historical society." This means that we are the repository of original records dating back to the beginning of the county. I hope to talk about some of these records in a future post.

Other than the county records that we hold, BCHS has been collecting research material for over 100 years, but especially within the past 50 years. This leads me to my topic for this post - family and subject files.

Our library contains multiple filing cabinets. Seven four-drawer cabinets contain our family files which number in the hundreds. A file exists for each Bradford County related surname that we have researched in our quest to help patrons discover their roots. Many files also contain data, obituaries and other information that may have been donated by visitors. Family files are always a good place to start. You may discover that someone else has already researched your family, thereby saving you time and effort. There may also be a clue that will lead you in another direction.

Similar to the family files are the subject files that have been created in the same way. These files are about places, events, stories, buildings, and more. The important part is that they are all related to Bradford County history. The subject files fill two four-drawer cabinets.

Staff and volunteers will find the files that you are looking for and will copy any material that might be relevant to your genealogy or local history project.

In Part 2, I will discuss another helpful part of our collection!