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Imagine this collection of people: a glamorous movie starlet from the 1950s wearing a designer gown; a Marine in his full dress uniform; a bride decked out in her wedding regalia; a genealogist sporting sensible shoes and a comfy sweater.

What do they have in common? Even though they wear vastly different outfits, they share a common accessory - they all wear white gloves.

Back up the tape, you're thinking. Why would a genealogist be wearing white gloves? Well, it's not mandatory for all of our research efforts. In fact, I would avoid wearing white gloves when you're prowling through cemeteries.

However, peak in on genealogists at work in state archives and you're likely to see them all wearing white gloves. And, no, we're not scouting out the efficiency of state-paid custodians by conducting white glove dust tests.

We're wearing white gloves to protect the rare and fragile documents we handle from the general grimy condition of our bare hands.

Wearing gloves is a minor inconvenience considering the types of documents placed in our hands at state archives.

Every state has an archive that houses and preserves documents of historical interest. The function of the State Archives of Iowa, for example, "is to document the rights of citizens, the actions of state officials, and the state experience."

In regular-speak, that means you can find loads of information about your ancestors in the state archives.

Located in the capital cities of each state and functioning as a branch of the state government, state archives are sometimes combined with state libraries or with state historical societies.

Regardless of the setup, you're bound to hit ancestral pay dirt when you cruise into a state archives research room.

So, what can you find?

All kinds of government records from around the state constitute the bulk of archival documents. Court documents are plentiful. Depending on the structure of the state court system, you'll be able to research everything from local court proceedings, to county and district courts, to state courts.

Some of the court records I've used at state archives include criminal case files, divorce records, naturalization records, state penitentiary records, civil court cases, and probate records just to name a few.

There are also other government records such as tax records, jail records, voting records, deed records, property assessments, military records and school records.

In addition to government records, state archives often have old maps and photographs in their collections.

Archives also have manuscript collections - personal papers and documents donated by private individuals. These collections usually relate to people who lived in the state.

For example, you might find store ledger books from 19th century merchants or handwritten diaries of frontier settlers. You might find the personal papers of lawyers, judges, or other prominent citizens.

State archives usually have census records, old newspapers and city directories.

In short, state archives are one-stop researching opportunities for family historians - white gloves included with the free admission.

Can't travel to every archive where your state-hopping ancestors lived? No problem. The states have joined the information superhighway. Next week I'll write about exploring state archives on the Internet.