Reclaim the Records Needs Us Again

We always try to help our friends at this wonderful organization because they are fighting our battles for us all over the United States. We've written about Reclaim the Records many times, and for those of you just joining us, let us introduce you to one of the most vibrant and hardworking of genealogy organizations. This not-for-profit group of genealogists and lawyers goes head-to-head with governmental agencies over and over again to keep public records public, prevent bureaucrats from denying vital records to genealogists and historians, and ensure that Freedom of Information Act requests are granted as they should be everywhere. It's a hard job, and they rely on all of us to help them, since they are doing it for us.

Kudos to Reclaim the Records Once Again for the New York State Death Index!

Our friends at the amazing Reclaim the Records have chalked up another victory for genealogists who had ancestors who died in New York from 1880 to 2017. We have written about this small but mighty nonprofit several times before, alerting our readers to their ongoing battles for indexes and records that should be public but are being held out of sight by unending red tape. Now, the group has announced another victory which many of us will be very pleased to see. Here are the details . . .

Reclaim the Records Scores Another Victory for Genealogists

We have written several times in the past few years about the nonprofit organization called Reclaim the Records and its endless battles against governmental agencies on our behalf to open public records. This bold and tireless group is pretty much the David vs. Goliath of the genealogy world, taking on bureaucracy in state after state to ensure that genealogists have access to both indices and records that are, by law, open to the public. In their latest triumph for all of us, they have gone into action against the Department of Military Affairs, and they have won! We now have access to millions of records generated by the Veterans Administration for those military personnel who received benefits during the late nineteenth through the early twenty-first centuries! This victory opens a huge record set that most of us have likely never known about. Read on for all the details!

Newly Revised Missouri Birth and Death Indexes Online!

Just about a month ago, our friends at Reclaim the Records announced the release of birth and marriage indexes from Connecticut (which we told you about in a post on 6 September; if you missed it, you can read it here.) This week, they announced another exciting victory, one which may be much closer to home for many of us. Although this hardworking group had already obtained indexes for some births and deaths in Missouri, they have now been able to add about a million new names to what had previously been published. But it was not without an expensive fight! Here are all the exciting details.

Another Victory for Reclaim the Records!

We want to thank one of our readers, Bob Meinhardt, for reminding us about the newest accomplishment of the exciting, hardworking genealogy group, Reclaim the Records. The last time we wrote about this amazing organization was in February 2020, when we introduced you to them and what they were doing on behalf of all genealogists throughout the U.S. to make public records truly public. (You can read that previous post here.)

Reclaim the Records: A Genealogy Group Worth Knowing About

They call themselves "your favorite little non-profit organization that picks fights with government
agencies, archives, and libraries for better public access to genealogical records and historical materials." But, far from being "little," Reclaim the Records has become a powerhouse of behind-the-scenes legal activity that is bringing long-suppressed indexes and records to the waiting hands of eager genealogists.

Although birth, death, and marriage indexes are supposed to be open and available, the reality is that many governmental agencies have taken it upon themselves to block access to them.  Privacy laws restrict access to actual records in all states, but the indexes to the records are not liable to the same restrictions. They are just indexes, and, according to the Freedom of Information laws, they should be open to the public.

Genealogist Brooke Schreier Ganz began the fight to win back records from New York City in 2015, and Reclaim the Records achieved its registered non-profit status two years later. Like St. Louis Genealogical Society, Brooke and her eight-member board of directors are all volunteers; they have no paid staff and rely on generous donations and helpers to move them forward. In the short time they have been active, they have filed Freedom of Information Act (FOI) lawsuits in multiple states (Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Washington, and Wyoming to date) and have managed to win access to millions of records. In spite of massive push back from governmental agencies, they have successfully negotiated the courts and released previously unavailable data online for free. They have gone to battle with few resources and won all of us the right to view marriage, birth, and death indexes that were previously off limits.

You can benefit from their hard work by going to the group's website. Their home page features a list of current lawsuits and record requests. Each of the record requests explains what was asked for and the current state of legislation. More importantly, each of the request graphics is a link to the status of the specific lawsuit. If the suit has been settled, the actual indexes will be posted there. You may be interested to note that litigation is in progress to open the Missouri birth index, for which the state tried to charge $1.5 million dollars! You can read more about that here. If your ancestors came from any of the states that are in the position of withholding access to records, the site invites you to take a records survey and let them know what records you have interest in. (NOTE: They have no jurisdiction over adoption or cemetery records, as those are private and not within FOI boundaries.)

What Else?

While you are on the site, you can sign up to receive their free newsletter so you will know what legislation is pending and be alerted when new records come online. If you want direct access to the records, they are all posted on the Internet Archive, although you will have to search for them individually. And, of course, as a small non-profit doing expensive work on our behalf, Reclaim the Records will gladly accept donations.