Something always brings Eugene Shield back to the Thomas Balch Library.
"Convenience," Shield said.
The Thomas Balch Library is one of two in the state that offers genealogical services and provides rich resources to assist in the mapping of family trees for descendants of the Civil War and World War II era. The library has some who regularly visit to gather information even unrelated to them.
Take Shield for example. He is a history columnist for the Washington Times. The library "is the strongest library for history and genealogy in Virginia. It has the best collection in regard to Loudoun County," Shield said. He said that it is where he always starts when conducting his research. Shield has seen it grow from a private library in the 1960s to a more public library.
Shield uses it for work or research; and for many visitors, it is an important pastime. "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it," said the Thomas Balch Library archive director, Alexandria Gressitt, sharing the oft-used quotation. She explained how people who are looking to explore the pastime of genealogy have many outlets to do so at the library.
THERE IS AN advisory commission for the library that is appointed and presided over by the Leesburg Town Council. Council representative Kelly Burke said that "the library brings people into the town. It's one part of [Leesburg's] whole historical background ... it's a unique place. The value of the library's services is what makes it so special."
As a Civil War historian, Steve Meserve is also known to visit the library frequently mainly because he does historical research on local figures and says that the most outstanding thing about the library is that it has the "most helpful library staff he has ever come across." Meserve is also an editor for Caliber Consulting Firm.
He spends a lot of time thumbing through the pages of the Loudoun Democratic Mirror, a local paper circa the 1860s and said that he found information on the first Loudoun County Court Clerk, Charles Vinns. What is most interesting to Meserve though was Vinns' grandson, also Charles Vinns, who was believed by many to be a traitor to the Confederacy by becoming a Yankee, Meserve said. He said that there are differing opinions surrounding why Vinns may have gone to the other side. But Meserve believes that "it may have been because he killed his first recruit." No matter what you are researching though, Meserve said that there is a lot of information, ranging before the Civil War and that, in general, the library is "well-stocked with books." In sum, he said "Balch is a really good resource for local history."
OF COURSE all are welcome, but those interested in genealogy relating specifically to the Civil War or World War II era are provided with a way to dig through their roots so to speak. The library is named after Thomas Balch, an attorney who lived during the Lincoln presidency.
In 1922, his sons, Edwin Swift Balch and Thomas Willing Balch, decided to put $10,000 into building a library because he was so passionate about historical preservation. Contributors from Leesburg provide the special service that helps unearth the past. Burke said that these contributors are people from the town who have donated items that were collecting dust in their attics. She said, people that lived in the town decided it would be good idea to share the information.
The genealogical archive was not always available. Gressitt, said that until about 15 years ago, the library was all-purpose and possessed historical records but did not include a genealogical archive that was available to the public. Located in Leesburg, the library contains a wealth of historical information specific to the families of Virginians. Burke said, "the amount of material is phenomenal. Alexandria has done a great job of getting it catalogued." Some of its items of interest include historical information on Loudoun County, Virginia and the region. In addition to offering genealogical services, it offers specific categories for military and ethnic history. Gressitt said that currently the library is expanding its information to fit the World War II era.
The Rust archives, a vital source of the information found within the library, contains a variety of historical items such as original hand-written manuscripts, Civil War ledgers, newspapers circa the 1800s, diaries of soldiers and other historical documents of interest. Meserve mentioned that he uses the information that is available in the Rust Archives and has found such interesting items as a Confederate roster of soldiers.
Gressitt said, interest is good and the archive serves many. She said that those who live in Northern Virginia make up about half of those utilizing the archive. Gressitt said that the remaining patrons come from other parts of Virginia and outside the state. Burke shared how important she feels the genealogy services are for people in the community. "Sure it's important to [them]. People love to research their background. They love to get information they never had before," she said.
HOW DOES SOMEONE dig up some of this information buried within the walls of the Balch Library? The process is fairly simple. One would need to register and talk with a staff member and, from there, guided to various online indexes and resources.
Gressitt believes the purpose of the archives "is who and what we are. It's a part of the fabric of the community." Consider that it is a cultural point of interest as Gressitt said. So people have not only the benefits of a library but also the significant bonus of discovering family history.
Genealogy can also be a costly pastime. Gressitt says that "it can be expensive but it doesn't have to be." This is especially true if hiring professionals or buying computer software programs to help the search. Gressitt said "there is a lot of online material that may or may not be accurate and that they are making the best use of what is online." So the reliability of online materials is not always accurate. Burke agrees and said "the Internet has ways to teach you where to start [and that] it is a beginning resource." She also said, "it depends on the methods you use and the information itself." For instance she says if you have to go to local towns to get the information, travel can be expensive.
Sometimes people even turn to a last resort, DNA testing, which can be very expensive. By comparison, the library charges no more than the 20 cent per document for making a copy.
Although it takes a while to attain the rank of a professional genealogist, according to The National Genealogical Society Web site, one does not have to be a professional to make use of the best resources. The library could prove a valid and useful tool for historians and researchers looking to learn about the validity of accepted historical facts. Since genealogy is the study of families and their lives, and families are made of people, the study of genealogy can tell the community more about itself than is already known.
Burke said, "[Balch Library] has seen an increase in the number of visitors every year" since providing the services.
"Families are becoming more multicultural as society changes, and as we get older, people get more involved with where they came from." She said that, personally, she even has friends and relatives that are participating in the popular pastime.