The format for this series of books was designed specifically to address an extreme weakness in genealogical research methodology as it existed in the later half of the last century. The primary component of this solution was an extremely large data base of records which could be accessed via computer instantly to provide location of additional existent and more complete records needed by researchers. Marriage records were uniquely the form of research in need of this additional research methodology.

Several barriers to this project will be lost to the fog of history unless mentioned somewhere so here are a few; A few County Clerks were naturally obstinate. The worst two were Parish Clerks in Louisiana, one of Assumption Parish, who would not allow our elderly collection team any access to the records unless they stood at the counter and hand copied the data. The books containing the dates were in a separate book and to see it required an individual retrieval and put back for each marriage. A neighboring parish, Ascension, arrested and prosecuted my wife and I for conducting a legal bingo (the mayor himself had issued the permit) to raise funds to continue the data collection process when the inheritance my parents had left, had been exausted.

Another involves a deceitful lady named "Annie" and the Mississippi Genealogy Society who have no problem with taking the data that HFB paid teams of people to travel to each local court, collect the data, process it and publish it. Annie and MGS then published it on the internet and locally in print form thereby, negating any chance of recouping any of the expenditure incurred in accruing the data. Nick and Dorothy had expended tremendous effort establishing directly or indirectly over half of the Genealogy Societies in Mississippi and Louisiana and had trained and hired these new enthusiasts as team members in their data gathering project. To have several of these "researchers" betray friends, mentors and employers in this manner is inexplicable!

There is a corporate "wolf" who has done the same as MGS does does locally on a small scale on a national scale, no an international one. HFB had been approached by a small startup CD producer to make our data available on CDs. He assured us the data would be protected by an unbreakable decryption method. Maybe he was correct, but the "wolf" bought controlling interest in his company, took our data and built the world's largest data repository and search service. All of this was done while I was becoming disabled in the Gulf War, I just love it when people say "Thanks for your service" all the while smiling and stealing everything they can get their hands on. After almost a decade "the wolf" did pay $35,000, half of which was back royalties on already sold CDs to avoid lawsuits (about the cost of gathering data from one state in 1960).929/.3763F368 .M87