ONSITE RESEARCH

A summer vacation may provide the opportunity for a visit to an ancestral town
and some onsite research in courthouses, local churches, cemeteries, etc.
Preparations for these trips can be made much in the same way as you would for
visits to other research facilities, and can make the actual trip more
enjoyable.

Many municipalities and churches have their own Web sites, and some will include
much of the necessary information online; others may not, in which case calling
ahead of time is your best bet.

If you are unfamiliar with the area, the purchase of a local map and/or a
consultation of some helpful map sites on the Internet can save you from getting
lost and help you plan an efficient route. MapQuest http://www.mapquest.com or
the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/gnis/gnisform.html can be especially helpful in this
aspect. Also, local departments of tourism often have free materials that can be
ordered ahead of time to help plan your trip as well.  You may be able to find
them with a quick search using your favorite search engine.

Genealogical or historical organizations in the area may also have holdings that
include rare collections specific to the area that may be unavailable elsewhere.