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By SHARON TATE MOODY, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 13, 2008

In November, I wrote a column about ancestor migration trails and mentioned that William Dollarhide's "Map Guide to American Migration Routes" is one of my favorite books. I purchased it for $9.95 in 1997 and looked for it online during research for the column. It was being offered for staggering prices from $90 to $165.

Since then, I've heard from readers who found the book for a mere $24.95. I took a look at the online seller they found - Amazon.com - and discovered it was being sold for even less, $22.95, plus $3.95 postage. The lesson here is that you can get different search results on different days. Meanwhile, I noticed several used copies also were available at Amazon in the $90 to $111 price range.

One reader, Susan Terbuch, wrote about the surprise she got when she ordered the book through Amazon for the $24.95 price. A note had been written on the invoice: "Signed by William Dollarhide on the title page. New condition, never used, never sold, but sitting in storage for months, recently discovered by the author. These are the last known copies of this book, out-of-print for over three years. - Bill Dollarhide."

In another online search, I actually found the book being sold at an even lower price, $17.95, at www.familyrootspublishing.com/servlet/StoreFront class="bold">. The volumes being offered at that price were described on the site as a "recently discovered box of books."

Dollarhide just released his latest publication, "Census Substitutes and State Census Records" (Family Roots). There are two volumes of the publication, which can be purchased for $32.95 each, plus $4.90 postage for shipping one volume or $6.95 for both. They also are available at the Family Roots Publishing Web site, mentioned earlier. Volume 1 covers Eastern states and Volume 2 covers Western states.

Seasoned researchers know that the census began in 1790 and has been conducted in each state every 10 years since. But for a variety of reasons, not all the censuses are available for all states. For example, the original 1790 censuses for Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey and Virginia are lost. The censuses for Georgia in 1800 and 1810 also are lost, and 99 percent of the 1890 census for the entire United States was destroyed in a fire at the U.S. Commerce Building in Washington.

For years, family historians have struggled to find records to substitute for missing census years and to place ancestors in given areas for periods between the federal censuses. Dollarhide's new work offers lists of records researchers can use as census substitutes, including 1831-70 Tennessee state penitentiary records, voter registration lists for many areas, various land indexes, public school registers, state censuses, tax lists and others.

Just browsing through the lists he compiled makes one say, "Gee, I never thought of checking for those records."

Jewish Genealogical Society

Alex Friedlander will discuss "Using Both Online and Off-line Resources for a Resource Trail" at the Jan. 20 meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay. Case studies will cover a variety of records sources, including some lesser-known but valuable sites and sources from the United States and overseas, including Poland, Lithuania and Austria.

The meeting will be held at 14041 Icot Blvd., Clearwater. A social with refreshments and library access will begin at 1:30 p.m., and the program will start at 2.

Friedlander is an internationally renowned professional genealogist and expert on Polish and Lithuanian genealogical documents. He was one of the first Jewish genealogists to gain access to the archives in Poland (1978 and 1984) and Lithuania (1990 and 1997). He is the author of "From Suwalki to St. Ignace" and has written for a variety of publications, including Avotaynu.

For information on the organization or directions to the meeting, call Sally Israel at (727) 343-1652.

First-Class Education

If you can afford only one research or training event this year, let it be the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, a weeklong forum in June at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Registration just opened for the 11 sessions being offered, and they will fill quickly.

The institute has been held every year since 1962. This year's sessions offer opportunities for researchers of all interests and levels of experience. This is just a sample of the courses: "Techniques and Technology" (for new or experienced researchers), "Advanced Library Research: Law Libraries and Government Documents," "Research in the South," "Virginia's Land and Military Conflicts and Their Effect on Migration" and "Researching African-American Ancestors: Military Records."

Not only is the classroom instruction top-notch, but instructors also share meals, refreshment breaks and library research time with students, thereby extending opportunities for learning. Most students and instructors live in the campus dormitories and eat in the dining hall, which means the opportunity to make new friends and share with fellow genealogists is boundless.

The institute will be held from the evening of June 8 to noon June 13. Information on fees, registration and courses is available at www.samford.edu/schools/ighr.

Sharon Tate Moody is a certified genealogist by the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of BayLife, TheTampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606 or stmoody0720 @mac.com. She

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