CCGS Pioneer Books
For genealogists who
have ancestors who lived in Clark County the Pioneer books can
be a valuable resource. They contain around 30,000 names of people
with Clark County connections.
Clark County
Pioneers A Centennial Salute, Rose Marie Harshman, 760 pp,
published in 1989
Clark County
Pioneers Through the Turn of the Century, Rose Marie Harshman,
911 pp, published in 1993
These books are the
big, red books located on the top shelf of the south wall of the CCGS
library. The first book is out of print, but a few copies of the
second book are available for purchase.
Loose Leaf Copies of Pioneer Books
The
Pioneer books are bulky and
awkward so
photocopying pages is difficult. There are loose-leaf editions of the
two books in 3 ring binders on the shelf behind the librarian’s
desk. Pages can be removed for photocopying, then returned to the
binders. Note: these volumes
may differ slightly from the shelf copies since they were made from
the author’s manuscript.
CCGS Master Index Includes Pioneer Books
Names in the Pioneer
books are included in the CCGS Master Index.
Enter in the source
field either pioneerbk1 or pioneerbk2
and any other search
criteria. You will get a list of matching names and page numbers. You
can do this from home but you will then need to consult the books on
the shelf at the library.
Pioneer Files, Sources for Pioneer Books
One
limitation of the Pioneer books is that they do
not list sources for the
information contained therein. Researchers
interested in taking the next step may want to consult the Pioneer
Files. Pioneer Files contain
some of the source material that were submitted to the Pioneer books
author. They may contain additional information and the names of the
submitters.
The
Pioneer Files are in a locked , beige, two-drawer file cabinet in the
center of the library. The key to the file cabinet is kept in the
center drawer of the librarian's desk. We
have had some Pioneer files go missing in the past, so their use by
library patrons should be supervised. Check with the library director
for guidance and the latest
usage rules.
Project—Scanning and Indexing Pioneer Files
As insurance against
the loss of material from the Pioneer Files, I’ve started a project
to scan and index the Pioneer Files so they will be available in
digital form (easy to back up.) If you are interested, check with me
to get trained. Once this is done, the cabinet can remain locked.
Patrons will view the files on CCGS library computers.
Project—Re-do Clark County Pioneer Books
A project is in the
formative stage to re-do the Pioneer Books with expanded coverage.
This will likely be a joint project with the Clark County Historical
Society. If you are interested, let the library director know.
Bill Whalley
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