Clerk works to keep genealogy records in county's control

The Posey County Clerk’s Office wants to keep Posey County’s records for Posey County’s residents. That’s how clerk Betty Postletheweight explained recent actions that limits access to geneaology records kept by the county.
According to Postletheweight, people have been coming in and stealing or cutting stamps off of some records dating back to the 1860s. Due to time constraints and the genealogy budget, the office cannot keep someone in the genealogy room all the time, she explained.
Things that are easy to find aren’t the problem, but many people do extensive family research that takes a lot of time. As a result of the thefts, the hours of the genealogy room are Mondays and Fridays noon-4 p.m. Everyone seems to understand the reason for the limited hours, Postletheweight said. “I’m going to protect these records to the best of my ability,” she added.
In addition to the thefts, the county is also trying to prevent losing control of its own family history records, Postletheweight added. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is attempting to contract with counties in the state to microfilm genealogy files.
If Postletheweight’s information from fellow clerks is correct, when they microfilm the records, they will put their own watermark on it and the rights will no longer belong to Posey County.
She said she will encourage the county not to enter into a contract with the Latter-Day Saints. “This is a gold mine to people here in Posey County,” Postletheweight said of the records.