• Christina Burke - Victoria Advocate
• Originally published July 26, 2008 at 11:04 p.m., updated July 26, 2008 at 11:04 p.m.

Who are you? To answer that question you only need to go as far as the Internet.

Members of the Victoria County Genealogical Society spent the day Saturday transforming hundred year old written records into high tech digital files.

They set up three work stations with laptop computers and scanners at the library where the public brought in all kinds of family records, some as old as 1826.

“We’ve been getting good records this morning,” Billye Jackson a member of the board of the Victoria County Genealogical Society who came up with the idea of scanning family records and is passionate about genealogy. “When I die I want to be in the begats department in heaven. I want to be a begat angel,” she said.

Bible records are the best she said. “If you want to do family research Bibles are invaluable. Bible records are pieces of positive proof that can connect one generation to another.” Jackson said.

But it wasn’t just Bibles being scanned.

Everything from loose pages to account books, minutes from meetings to a last will and testament were scanned into the computers. The documents, in both Spanish and English, provided records of births, deaths, marriages and other family events.

“Whether they’re from Germany, Mexico or wherever, we’re going to help preserve those records,” said Jackson.

Their intent is to place the records in the Texas State Genealogical database, the Daughters of the American Revolution library the Victoria College Library and the Victoria County Genealogy Society Web site said Jackson.

So when the paper those those records were written on disintegrates the information they provide will forever be available through the modern day preservation techniques.

“As a new researcher this creates easier access to more documents on the Internet,” said Leona Booth, who is also a member of the board of the VCGS.

Christina Burke is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6516 or cburke@vicad.com or to comment on this story go to www.VictoriaAdvocate.com

• The Victoria County Genealogical Society Web site

  www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txvicto2/

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