Sometimes in the course of human events we have to recognize the heroes amongst us...to paraphrase a famous American document (the preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence.) I am honored to take this opportunity and space to pay homage to one such group of people at an organization called: Reclaim The Records. Their motto is: "Public data for public use."

I encourage you to visit their website and see first-hand the tremendous work this small group of dedicated people are doing to assist all of us in getting timely and reasonably priced access to our own government records. They have already amassed an impressive amount of data and are sharing it free of charge. You can also choose to sign-up for their newsletter to keep abreast of their activities and even public presentations. If you are into following others on social platforms they have a great presence also on Facebook (Reclaim the Records ) and Twitter (@ReclaimTheRecs).

It is my humble opinion that this group is providing an invaluable service to each and every family historian, amateur genealogist and most importantly the future of our efforts. If you agree as I do, you can provide financial support to this 501(c)3 non-profit organization. And even more importantly, spread the word about them!