WILMINGTON — An unpaid effort to help digitize Clinton County Probate Court records wrapped up Tuesday morning when a dozen of the most active volunteers gathered one last time to, as they put it, “prep” documents to be camera-ready.
Their labors throughout the project filled 281 boxes — each box containing 75 to 85 folders holding original paper documents that later are scanned by the camera operator.
By lunchtime Tuesday, the volunteers’ work was completed and while they were enjoying a luncheon, they were given certificates of appreciation signed by the records manager and archivist for Clinton County and the Probate Court judge.
The digital preserving of these local probate records is something that, due to resources, would not get done were it not for the volunteers and the FamilySearch arm of the Mormon Church which pays a camera operator to scan the documents. The project is free of charge to Clinton County.
Two years ago in mid-April 2015, the volunteers began their work of unfolding, ironing and labeling the probate court records. A few records dated to the 1810s. The majority dated from the 1850s through the 1920s, said Susan Glaser, who with her husband Richard coordinated the volunteer effort. They belong to the Wilmington Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon Church, located on Wayne Road.
In addition to individuals from the local LDS church, there have been members of the Clinton County Genealogical Society and citizens of the area community comprising the volunteer workforce.
A rough estimate of hours given to the project by volunteers is 3,000, which Sharon Allen at the Clinton County Records & Archives offices thinks is on the low side.
Over lunch, the volunteer crew talked about what they had found in the probate packets. Mentioned were lunacy records, naturalizations, adoptions, letters of intent, renouncing allegiance to a monarch, eminent domain for the land where the county courthouse now sits, and “mothers pensions” from the 1920s.
Discovering paperwork about mothers pensions led volunteer Leslie Holmes to research the historical program. She learned these laws allowed for financial assistance to needy mothers to keep their children in their own homes after the bread-winning fathers had died.
There remains scanning to be done of the prepped documents. David Richins, the paid camera operator for FamilySearch, estimated Tuesday that the final local count of digital images will be 700,000 when finished.
These digital probate records of Clinton County will end up online at familysearch.org — which is a free website.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768 or on Twitter @GHuffenberger.
