Historical Research Links

Today Savvy Authors has posted this article by Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes’s PI Colleen Collins: “Tips from a PI: Historical Research Sites for Your Stories.” In it, Colleen outlines several genealogical, news and media research sites that are handy for private investigators, writers, and other researchers. To read the article, click here.

We thought we’d follow up on that article by listing several more historical research sites.  Some offer tips for conducting historical research, others provide lists of links for more specific historical research, and some are just fun to browse.

Learning to Do Historical Research: Professor William Cronon and his team of students created this website to help others learn basic research skills. Topics include how to frame questions, effective research techniques, and a slew of online resources.

Best of History Websites, a portal to hundreds of history websites, including links to educational resources.

Military History Research Sites (this site can be a bit of hit and miss as some links are inactive — however, there’s dozens and dozens of links to specific military events, battles, organizations and more)

From the National Archives, Eyewitness offers first-person eyewitness accounts in letters, diaries, audio and film records.

From About.com Genealogy, a photo gallery of cemetery symbolism.

Have a great Friday, Writing PIs

Any fool can make history, but it takes a genius to write it. – Oscar Wilde

Answering Writer’s Question: How Can a Person Stay Hidden?

Writer’s Question: I have a question about people who disappear. What are some of the more successful ways a person could stay hidden? What are some of the ways people have tried, but haven’t worked?

Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes’s Answer: As to successful ways a person can stay hidden, they cannot use banking/financial institutions they previously used.  Their funds need to be liquid, and preferably kept in an account offshore.  They must ignore creating government records (such as auto registrations, property ownership records, government licenses, bidding/accepting government contracts, and so forth).  A crucial element of staying hidden is for the person who is hiding to change hobbies and similar life patterns.  Recently, a criminal fled our region, established residence in a foreign country, kept his funds liquid, refrained from creating any traceable records (such as a driver’s license), used a forged passport, changed his style of dress and hair, even married a local woman in the foreign country (and essentially “buried” himself underneath her identifiers–meaning, everything was in her name).  But he messed up in one big way: he had a notorious hobby and vocation, which he prominently displayed and advertised in the host country.  A person saw this individual on “America’s Most Wanted” and recognized him from this hobby (the person was either a tourist or local and had seen the advertisements this individual had placed in the area).  This man had done just about everything right to hide his identity and ability to be found, but he failed to abandon his established hobby.

Have a great weekend, Writing PIs