Some of the films in a catalog item are locked

C Boone

I'm researching digitized films in the on-line catalog: United States, Virginia, Montgomery - Land and property; General index to deeds, 1773-1933; deeds, 1773-1868; wills, 1773-1797; catalog # 373892 (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/373892). The films for the general indices, e.g. 32604, are locked to internet access. However, the films for the deed books themselves, e.g. 32608, are accessible. It seems odd that the indices are locked but the actual content is not as they are all from a single author. Are those permissions correct?

Thanks for any clarification.

N Tychonievich

@C Boone looking at the catalog page (thank you for posting the URL!), we see that those index films are viewable online at a family history center or affilite public library. And, yes, those restrictions are accurate. The restrictions are determined by the record custodians, and we don't have any special insights into why they make the decisions they do. But, we do notice that the actual deed books stop at 1868 and the indexes cover up to 1933. So, privacy concerns could well be the reason for limited access to the indexes. But, that's just an educated guess.

A van Helsdingen

If you want to know more about why the records are restricted and how to access the restricted records, the best place to start would be to contact the Montgomery County Clerk.

C Boone

Thanks for the ideas. I can visit a FHC to view the restricted records. I'm not questioning the restrictions, and would never pester a busy county clerk. I just have seen similar mixed restrictions in other catalog items, and they seemed illogical to me.

A van Helsdingen

Family History Centers (FHCs) are currently undergoing IT maintenance. While this is in progress (possibly until early September), restricted records are not viewable at an FHC. This means that records that are only viewable at an FHC are not accessible anywhere. In the meantime FS has a lookup service, which allows you to request that FHL staff lookup the records on your behalf: https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/library-lookup-service-fhl/

I have to partially disagree with your approach to County Clerks. They are elected officials who are accountable to voters. I can understand that if you do not vote in Montgomery County that you don't want to interfere with their local affairs, but if you do, consider that the Clerk controls access to these records, and if you made your views on this topic known to them and voted in the elections for the Clerkship, there would a greater chance of genealogist-friendly policies being enacted.

C Boone

Thank you. The lookup service looks to be quite helpful.