AHEAD OF HIS TIME Thomas Jefferson appears to have been ahead of his time with regard to vital records protection, just as he was in political thought, architecture, and other areas. The author of the Declaration of Independence, in a February 18, 1791 letter to Ebenezer Hazard said: "Time and accident are committing daily havoc on the originals deposited in our public offices... the lost cannot be recovered, but let us save what remains; not by vaults and locks which fence them from the public eye and use...but by such as multiplication of copies, as shall place them beyond the reach of accident." The concept of placing security copies of important and vital records in multiple locations to protect against disaster endures today. =========== exerpt from the Nevada Archives- http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/