USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1895-1899 > Part 22
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
The question as to whether the flashboards should be removed permanently or whether they might be restored during the fall and winter seasons and removed in the spring has been carefully eonsid- ered ; but it seems best that the flashboards be removed permanently, in order that water be kept from covering the meadows as far as pos- sible at all seasons of the year.
The land damages will consist ehiefly of land purehased for widen- ing and straightening the channel through the meadows, and at the present value of these lands the item of land damages would be very small.
THE EFFECT UPON THE MEADOWS.
The effeet upon the meadows would be to prevent their being flooded, unless possibly for a day or two at a time, during the months from the first of June to the first of October, exeepting years of exceptionally heavy summer rainfall, which appear to have oeeurred only two or three times in a eentury, when the meadows might be flooded for a period of several days; moreover, in nine years out of ten the meadows would probably be free from water after the 10th of May, and in four years out of five they would be free from water during the whole month of May. They would also probably be free from water during the month of October, exeepting one year in from sixteen to twenty years.
It is not thought that the amount of lowering of the water would be sufficient to cause a serious lowering of the surface of the mead- ows, though some lowering might take place. The meadows could be drained, and their sanitary condition greatly improved and their value for agricultural purposes would be inereased. In order to learn, if possible, how much the increase in their valuation might amount to, such information as could be obtained from the assessors of the
.
25
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
various towns has been collected. At Norwood, Dedham and Hyde Park it was possible to obtain a practically complete list of all the separate lots in the meadows within these towns and the assessed value of each lot, and the area assessed corresponds very nearly with the area found by survey. In Canton, Sharon and Milton no such detailed information as to the different lots and the assessed value of each was obtainable ; but in the first two towns an approximate esti- mate of the value has been obtained from the assessors, who have gone over the plans and indicated the valuation of portions of the meadows, showing the limits of the areas having approximately the same valuation. By subsequently measuring these areas, an estimate of the valuation of the meadow lands in these towns has been obtained. The amount of meadow in Milton is small, and the assessors state that it is all valued at practically the same rate. In the following table is given the area of the meadow land in each town, as obtained by survey, and the area obtained from the assessors' records and statements in cases where such information was obtainable : -
TOWNS.
Area measured on Map.
Assessors' Estimate.
TOWNS.
Area measured on Map.
Assessors' Estimate.
Canton,
Acres. 1,302
Acres. 1,302*
Norwood, Sharon, .
Acres. 1,583
Acres. 1,543
Dedham, .
443
437
243
243*
Hyde Park,
54
61
Milton,
·
69
69*
Totals,
3,694
3,655
Classifying the areas according to the valuation per acre, the num- ber of acres in each town having approximately a given valuation is as follows : -
TOWNS.
Number of Aercs
valued below
$10.00 per Acre.
Number of Acres
valued from
$10.00 to $19.99
per Acrc.
Number of Acres
valued from
$20 00 to $29.99
per Acre.
Number of Aeres
valued from
$30.00 to $39.99
per Acre.
Number of Aeres
valued from
$40.00 to $49.99
Number of Acres
valued from
$50 00 to $99.99
Number of Aeres
valued above
$100.00 per Acre.
Canton, .
-
241
953
57
-
51
-
Dedham,
222
93
64
20
Hyde Park,
-
-
-
-
-
19
42
Milton,
-
-
Norwood,
85
813
244
20
129
55
11
Sharon, .
88
-
144
-
-
11
-
Totals,
.
173
1,276
1,434
263
167
269
73
-
38
per Acre.
per Acre.
69
* No figures could be obtained from the assessors, and figures from map are given instead.
26
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
Summary.
VALUATION.
Number of Acres.
Total Valuation.
Average Valuation per Acre.
Valuation below $10.00 per acre,
173
$1,225
$7.08
$10 to 19.99 per acre,
1,276
15,007
11.76
20 to 29.99 per acre,
1,434
32,608
22.74
30 to 39.99 per acre,
263
8,285
31.50
40 to 49.99 per acre,
167
7,195
43.08
50 to 99.99 per acre,
269
16,524
61.43
100 and above per acre, .
73
10,130
138.77
3,655
$90,974
$29.89
Very little information has been obtained as to what the proba- ble value of the meadow lands would be after providing for their drainage as proposed. Assessors in the towns where most of the meadow lands are situated appear to be of the opinion that if the meadows could be restored to their original condition they would be valued for purposes of taxation at about $50 per acre. This may indicate that their value would be equivalent to this amount on ac- count of the hay crop. It is said that the meadow lands were for many years thought to be worth $100 per acre, and there are those who think that if the meadows were properly drained they would again be worth this amount.
The total area of the meadows, as already stated, as found by the assessors' estimates, is 3,655 acres, of which 3,313 acres, or a little over 90 per cent., are valued at less than $50 per acre. If by draining the meadows the valuation of these portions would be raised to $50 per acre, the increase in the taxable valuation of the meadows would be as shown in the following table : -
VALUE PER ACRE.
Number of Acres.
Total Present Valuation.
Total Valu- ation after Draining.
Below $50, Above $50,
.
3,313
342
$64,320 26,654
$165,650 26,654
Totals,
3,655
$90,974
$192,304
Net increase in valuation, .
$101,330
27
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
The gain in the valuation of the meadows which would be pro- dueed by draining them probably does not represent wholly the economic value of the improvement. Should the river and mead- ows continue in their present condition, and become not only a source of annoyance but a menace to the health of those living near them, as they seem destined to do if the present conditions are allowed to continue, the value of real estate in the vicinity of the meadows is likely to be unfavorably affected thereby. It is possible, moreover, that portions of the meadows could be utilized for market gardening after draining, and, if this should be the ease, the value of such portions would be much greater than if they were available for hay and pasturage alone.
Respectfully submitted,
X. H. GOODNOUGH, Chief Engineer.
28
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
.
REPORT OF THE CHEMIST.
LAWRENCE, MASS., Nov. 23, 1896.
Mr. HIRAM F. MILLS, Chairman of Committee on Water Supply and Sewerage of the State Board of Health.
DEAR SIR : - Inspection and chemical examinations of the water of the Neponset River at different places along its course have made clear that, at the present time, the main pollutions of the river above the Neponset meadows are the waste liquors from the paper mills of F. W. Bird & Son and Hollingsworth & Vose in East Walpole, and the tanneries of Winslow Brothers and Lyman Smith's Sons in Norwood.
The first in order of these sources of pollution, beginning up the river, is the mill of F. W. Bird & Son. The water in the pond directly above Bird's mill has an average analysis during the summer about as follows : -
[Parts per 100,000.]
Residue on Evaporation.
Loss on Ignition.
AMMONIA.
Chlorine.
Oxygen Consumed.
Hardness.
Free.
Albuminoid.
7.80
2.50
.0010
.0350
.60
.98
1.90
The water in the pond below Bird's mill and above the mill of Hollingsworth & Vose has an average analysis about as follows : -
[Parts per 100,000.]
AMMONIA.
Residue on Evaporation.
Loss on Ignition.
Free.
Albuminoid.
Chlorine.
Oxygen Consumed.
Hardness.
32.00
10.30
.0100
.0780
2.20
2.70
11.50
These analyses were made in each case from samples of the water collected within a foot or two of the surface of the pond.
29
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
During the year ending July 1, 1896, this mill of F. W. Bird & Son worked up about 5,100 tons of stock. This stock consists largely of old paper, but includes also a considerable amount of old rope and bagging and a small amount of old oil-cloth. In the pro- cess of making this stock into paper for the market about 1,000 tons of chemicals and dyestuffs are used yearly, consisting of alum, quick- lime, chloride of lime or bleach, soda ash, copperas, clay, venetian red, yellow ochre, lamp-black, soluble blue, logwood extract, starch, aniline dyes, bichromate of lead, etc.
All the dirt washed from the stock, together with a considerable amount of fibre and all the waste liquors, passes to the mill pond of Hollingsworth & Vose. This mill is about 1,400 feet below Bird's mill, and turns out about 12 tons of paper daily. A large amount of chloride of lime, quick-lime, alum, etc., is used at this mill. The stock is first machine dusted, and the dirt removed in this way is given to farmers. All the remaining dirt and waste liquors are discharged directly into the river.
Both of these paper mills have a mechanical filter plant, and filter from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 gallons of water daily; but the dirt taken from the water by these filters is washed back into the river when the filters are cleaned. The water as discharged from the mill of Hollingsworth & Vose shows a considerable increase in total solids, loss on ignition, oxygen consumed and hardness, but ordinarily very little increase in the amount of nitrogen present over that in the water of the mill pond above. This is owing to the fact that about one-half of the water used at this mill is drawn through an eight-inch pipe from the mill pond above Bird's and the water taken from their own mill pond is filtered. Eventually, as I have said before, how- ever, all the filth removed by these filters is turned into the river again. Measurements of the water used show that, at the present time at least, each mill uses between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 gallons of water daily. A large number of samples of the waste liquors have been analyzed, and it can be said that they are rather worse in appearance than in analysis. A large percentage of the organic pollution pres- ent is carbonaceous matter, not easily decomposable, being the fibre that passes through the paper machines ; and the liquors in them- selves have not an offensive odor, but contain a very large amount of matter that deposits upon the bed of the river and, when mixed with the sewages entering the river, farther down in its course, aids largely in increasing the offensive character of the river.
30
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
An average analysis of the mixed waste liquors from Bird's mill is about as follows, although at times these liquors are much worse than these averages : -
[Parts per 100,000.]
Residue on Evaporation.
Loss on Ignition.
AMMONIA.
Chlorine.
Oxygen Consumed.
Hardness.
Free.
Albuminoid.
43.00
20.00
.0200
.1500
1.00
3.00
11.50
From the Mill of Hollingsworth & Vose. [Parts per 100,000.]
AMMONIA.
Residue on Evaporation.
Loss on Ignition.
Free.
Albuminoid.
51.00
31.00
.0150
.1500
1.50
4.00
18.80
Chlorine.
Oxygen Consumed.
Hardness.
Experiments have been made in regard to the feasibility of filtering these liquors through sand, and also in regard to the amount of puri- fication that could be obtained by sedimentation and chemical precipi- tation. A small filter has been operated, at the rate of 200,000 gallons per acre daily. The effluent of this filter is a clear, bright water, with very little organic matter contained in it; but, from the small amount of nitrification obtained, there is evidently considerable stor- age of nitrogen in the upper layers of the filter, and onee during the five months of operation of this filter a film of carbonaceous matter, apparently fibre, has had to be removed from its surface. I have no doubt that this filter could be operated at twice its present rate with as good results, but, of course, with greater storage of nitrogen. Results upon sedimentation are that about 30 per cent. of the total organic pollutions are removed from these liquids when they are allowed to stand and settle for one hour, and that a period of sedi- mentation two or three times as long improves this result little, if any. This proportion of removal ean be increased to about 45 per cent. if either ferrous sulphate or aluminum sulphate is added in the proportion of 500 pounds per 1,000,000 gallons of liquor treated. This method would involve large settling tanks and filter presses to care for the sludge.
To take care of Bird's liquors above the mill of Hollingsworth & Vose these settling basins could not be over 4 feet in depth, if
31
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
the liquors were to run into them by gravity; and to eare for one hour's flow a basin would have to be 50 feet long and 30 feet wide, with this depth of 4 feet. At least three of these settling basins would be needed, and apparently the only location at all suitable for them is a narrow strip of land some six or seven hundred feet below the mill. All the waste liquors have at the present time a natural settling basin in the mill pond itself, and during the season of low water all the water flowing from this pond, with the exception of a small amount of leakage through the wheel and around the dam, is used by Hollingsworth & Vose.
Below this mill settling basins at least 15 feet deep could be arranged, and have the entire waste liquors flow into them by gravity ; and if it were decided to partially purify the wastes from these mills by sedimentation, I think that during those months of the year when Hollingsworth & Vose ean obtain a sufficient volume of water for their processes without using the waste water from Bird's this waste water might flow to these last settling basins, and that during the months when it is necessary for Hollingsworth & Vose to use Bird's waste water it could go into the mill pond with- out any further elarifieation by sedimentation than what would take place in this pond.
A large proportion of the organie pollution in these waste liquors is in suspension, and is readily sereened out by means of wire sereens. During the past year a contrivanee known as a " save-all " has been put in operation in the mill of Hollingsworth & Vose, and the waste liquor from one of the paper machines passes through it, and a large amount of paper fibre is thus sereened out and saved. This company is about to arrange its plant so that all its waste liquors, from the paper machines and beating the stock, will pass through these " save-alls," and in this way a very large amount of fibre now passing into the river to be deposited along its bed will be kept out.
These " save-alls " should also be put in operation in the mill of F. W. Bird & Son.
Experiments at the laboratory have shown that the waste liquors can be passed through a coke strainer at a very high rate and give an entirely satisfactory effluent. The liquors without any prelim- inary sereening have been applied at a rate of 1,000,000 gallons per aere daily. With the preliminary sereening through the " save-alls " the rate could be increased to two or three times this, and give a
32
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
satisfactory result. The coke has also the power of removing to a very considerable extent the dyestuffs which now color the river. The cost of a coke strainer would not be excessive, and the dirt and coke removed from its surface from time to time could be burned. In regard to the location of the strainer, the same can be said as in regard to settling basins. The waste liquors from both mills, after passing through the " save-alls," could flow to a place below the mill of Hollingsworth & Vose except during that season of the year when, owing to low water, all of Bird's waste liquor has to be used by Hollingsworth & Vose.
The river for two or three miles below these paper mills is gen- erally colored to a considerable extent, but seldom has an offensive odor. After receiving the sewage from the tanneries of Winslow Brothers and Lyman Smith's Sons, however, the river becomes decidedly offensive, both in appearance and odor, and the pollutions of the water increase four or five fold. These two tanneries are engaged in preparing and tanning sheep skins, and turn out from 20,000 to 50,000 gallons each of sewage every twenty-four hours. The sewage from the two places is almost identical in composition, is always stronger than ordinary town or city sewage, and generally five or six times as strong. An average of many analyses of this sewage is as follows : -
[Parts per 100,000.]
AMMONIA.
Free.
Albuminoid.
Organic Nitrogen (Kjeldahl).
Chlorine.
Oxygen Consumed.
5.06
3.54
6.00
436.40
64.50
In applying this sewage directly to a shallow sand filter we have removed 85 per cent. of its organic matter; but nitrification, upon which the life of a sewage filter depends, has been very feeble, owing, I believe, to the small depth of sand in the filter and rate of application of the sewage. A filter to which the sewage has been applied, after allowing it to stand and some of the sludge to settle out, has been in operation since the beginning of the year, and for the past seven months has been in a state of exceedingly active nitri- fication, and has given a good-appearing and almost odorless effluent, containing but a small percentage of the original organic matter of
33
NEPONSET MEADOWS.
the applied sewage. The filter has been operated at an average rate of 40,000 gallons per acre daily, and there has been no removal of sand or sludge from its surface.
Another filter in operation at the station for the past six months has received a mixture of Lawrence sewage and tannery sewage in the proportion of two parts of the former to one of the latter, and has been operated at a rate of 50,000 gallons per acre daily. Nitri- fication has been active in the filter, and its effluent clear and odor- less. In fact our experiments have shown that this sewage can be disposed of and purified upon land either mixed with ordinary town sewage or by itself after the removal, by sedimentation, of a certain percentage of the sludge contained in it. This sludge could be sep- arated from the main body of the sewage in a moderately sized set- tling basin, and, as it contains several times as much nitrogen as the same volume of sludge from town sewage, would be worth carting away by the farmers of the neighborhood.
In regard to land of a suitable character for filtration, there is a considerable area along and near the Neponset River, to which the sewage of these tanneries and the village would flow.
The river as it enters the meadows is, during the summer months, a stream of moderately strong sewage, containing generally no dis- solved oxygen ; but, as the water flows slowly through the meadows, it is improved in character by sedimentation and also by dilution, owing to the entrance into it of a number of brooks of mueh purer water.
In conclusion, it can be said that, by caring for the waste liquors of the manufacturing industries in the manner here outlined and pre- venting in the future the entrance of town or industrial sewage into the river, the character of its water can be permanently improved.
The Massachusetts Drainage Commission in 1886 indicated land suitable for sewage disposal ; and a further study of the character of the land of the several towns upon the Neponset water-shed has shown that there would probably be no difficulty in locating suitable areas for this purpose.
Yours respectfully,
H. W. CLARK,
Chemist in charge of Lawrence Experiment Station.
TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
TOWN OFFICERS
OF THE
TOWN OF NORWOOD,
FOR THE
YEAR ENDING JANUARY 31,
1897.
NORWOOD, MASS .: ADVERTISER AND REVIEW PRESS, 1897.
TOWN OFFICERS FOR 1896-97.
Selectmen, Assessors, Overseers of the Poor and Surveyors of Highways :
FRANK A. FALES, Chairman. FRED L. FISHER, Clerk. GEORGE H. BATEMAN.
Town Clerk : EDGAR L. BIGELOW.
Town Treasurer : CHARLES E. POND.
Collector of Taxes : EDGAR F. ROBY.
School Committee : GEORGE W. CUSHING, term expires March, 1899. MILTON H. HOWARD, term expires March, 1899. WINSLOW FAUNCE, term expires March, 1898. MRS. MARCIA WINSLOW, term expires March, 1898. MRS. MARY J. ALDEN, term expires March, 1897. PATRICK J. MAHONEY, term expires March, 1897.
3
Board of Health :
EBEN C. NORTON. FRED E. COLBURN. LYMAN F. BIGELOW.t
REV. GEORGE HILL .*
Park Commissioners : GEORGE S. WINSLOW. JAMES BERWICK. TYLER THAYER.
Water Commissioners :
JOHN F. CALLAHAN, term expires March, 1899. MARCUS M. ALDEN, term expires March, 1898.
EDMUND J. SHATTUCK, term expires March, 1897.
Registrars of Voters :
LOUIS A. CURRIER. AUSTIN E. PRATT.
JOHN P. OLDHAM. EDGAR L. BIGELOW.
Auditors :
FRANK E. EVERETT. JAMES A. HARTSHORN. EBEN F. GAY.
Cemetery Commissioners :
W. ALLEN TALBOT. ALBERT G. WEBB. EDWARD B. PENDERGAST.
Police :
WARREN E. RHOADS, Chief. MICHAEL D. CREED.
* Deceased. ¡ To fill vacancy.
4
Constables :
L. B. FULTON. WALTER S. BEAL. SUMNER BAGLEY.
WILLIAM CLEARY. MICHAEL D. CREED. WARREN E. RHOADS.
Trustees of Public Library : J. STEARNS CUSHING, term expires 1899. IRVING S. FOGG, term expires 1899. MRS. MARIA E. COLBURN, term expires 1898. JOHN C. LANE, term expires 1898. MIss MARTHA B. PARKER, term expires 1897. FRANCIS TINKER .*
Surveyors of Lumber :
H. FRANK WALKER.
MILTON H. HOWARD.
Measurers of Wood and Bark : HARVEY L. BOYDEN. C. HENRY WOOD. MARCUS M. ALDEN.
Public Weighers :
JAMES A. HARTSHORN. WALTER S. PHALEN. JOHN NUGENT.
J. E. PLIMPTON.
J. E. HARTSHORN.
CHARLES E. HILL.
Superintendent of Streets : FRED H. HARTSHORNE.
* Deceased.
---- -
5
Engineers of Fire Department : J. FRED BOYDEN, Chief. FRANCIS W. TURNER, Clerk. H. FRANK WALKER.
Field Drivers :
LOUIS COBURN, Chairman. EUGENE L. SULLIVAN.
PERLEY B. THOMPSON.
JOSEPH W. ROBY, JR.
WALTER J. BERWICK.
JAMES B. SULLIVAN.
ALFRED T. HARRIOTT. MICHAEL LEE.
JOHN G. HOLLINGSWORTH.
ERNEST A. ALLEN.
Truant Officer : WARREN E. RHOADS.
Sealer of Weights and Measures : WARREN E. RHOADS.
Inspector of Provisions and Cattle : ALBERT FALES.
Inspector of Fish, Fruit and Produce : WARREN E. RHOADS.
Fence Viewers :
SUMNER BAGLEY.
JOSEPH W. ROBY.
JABEZ SUMNER.
J. MARTIN WINSLOW.
APPROPRIATIONS, 1896.
RAISED BY TAX.
Schools,
$19,000 00
Music in public schools,
500 00
Truant school,
150 00
Guild School note and interest,
2,300 00
West School note and interest,
1,040 00
Interest on High School note,
35 00
Interest on High School extension note,
375 00
Interest on note, vote of Jan. 1, 1896,
165 06
Amount due Committee on High School Extension,
328 36
Highways,
4,500 00
Repairs of sidewalks,
1,500 00
Concrete walks and edge stones,
500 00
State highway,
500 00
Grading Foundry Street,
1,000 00
Widening Washington Street,
1,500 00
Land damage, Washington Street,
1,500 00
Davis Avenue,
250 00
East Chapel Street,
200 00
Howard Street,
650 00
Grading Broadway,
300 00
Land damage, Day Street,
626 82
Rock Street,
450 00
Myrtle Street Extension,
500 00
Sidewalk on Cross Street,
300 00
Drainage of Munroe Street and Railroad Avenue,
500 00
Lighting streets,
2,200 00
Surveying and setting street bounds,
250 00
Paving gutters,
500 00
Removing snow,
500 00
Amount carried forward, $42,120 24
7
Amount brought forward, $42,120 24
Water for watering streets,
100 00
Fire department,
1,800 00
Public library,
500 00
George K. Bird Post, G. A. R.,
150 00
Prosecution of illegal sales of liquor,
300 00
Support of poor,
3,500 00
State and military aid,
300 00
Abolition of grade crossings,
1,000 00
Isaac Ellis suit
477 39
Book for plans and making street plan,
150 00
Fees in Trial Justice Court,
200 00
Care of old cemetery,
100 00
Abatement of taxes,
400 00
Printing and stationery,
700 00
Water mains on Mylod Street,
200 00
Water mains on Walpole Street,
345 00
Water mains on Dean Street,
275 00
Hydrant on Walpole Street,
66 00
Town officers,
2,000 00
Special police services,
100 00
Police, one for day and one for night duty,
1,400 00
Salary of collector of taxes,
500 00
Incidentals,
900 00
Grade crossing,
186 53
County tax,
. 2,207 59
State tax,
2,152 50
Overlays,
312 06
$62,444 31
APPROPRIATIONS FROM MONEY IN TREASURY.
(FROM ORIGINAL APPROPRIATIONS. )
High School note due March 2, 1896, $2,000 00
Land damage, Washington Street, 424 50
Amount carried forward, $2,424 50
8
Amount brought forward, $2,424 50
Rock Street,
210 00
Highways, 200 00
Hillside Street,
250 00
Munroe Street, drain,
65 00
Lighting streets,
384 00
$3,533 50
APPROPRIATIONS FROM TREASURY OF THE WATER COMMISSIONERS.
Painting pumping station and reservoir fence,
$200 00
Four standpipes,
300 00
Water mains, Walpole Street and Davis Avenue,
1,500 00
Water mains, Rock Street,
250 00
Water mains, Prospect Street,
300 00
Interest on water takers' loan,
120 00
Interest on water bonds,
3,220 00
Sinking fund,
3,400 00
Improving quality of water,
1,000 00
$10,290 00
APPROPRIATIONS FROM MONEY IN TREASURY.
Foundry Street, to grade and pay[land?damage, $450 00
Watering streets,
600 00
Day Street, grading,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.