These days, with so many people moving around the country for work and so busy, it takes a while to feel you are a member of a community. As well, if you are far from where your family of origin in the United States settled you may not know much about their lives in a historical niche because you're so distant from that place and time. Contacting the Historical Society that is in that area may just be the start for your research.
Why?
Because most Historical Societies have some people - often older people - who have stayed put and know a lot about the area. They may just know of your family.
That's what happened to a friend of mine who found out that the home her immigrant ancestors had lived in for a couple generations was on a HISTORY TOUR of the area. She actually got to go see the house and hear this local expert talk about them. They were thrilled to meet her as well!
Some historical societies also offer some low-cost look up services for you if the records you need are not on databases or microfilms. This is especially true of local newspapers.
