Notice the $15.00 for mail in plus the regular charge of $2.00 per page... Char ----- Original Message ----- From: LaniMacA@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 11:08 AM To: coats@hotmail.com Subject: Re: [PHILLY-ROOTS-L] Fw: Microfilm Wills are filed on the county level, not with the state. Early Phila. wills are at the Register of Wills Archives at 3101 Market St. (same building as the Phila. City Archives, but a different office). If you've already got the year and file number (from the published books of Will abstracts), you can skip the second paragraph below. Unless you go to the Wills Archives in person, requests for early wills should be mailed to the Register of Wills at City Hall (they'll then be sent by interoffice mail to the Archives). WILLS & ADMINISTRATIONS (PHILA. CITY & CO.) From 1682 to the present are available through: Register of Wills, Main Office, City Hall, Room 180, Phila., PA 19107; early ones are at the Archives for the Register of Wills at 3101 Market St. (same bldg. as the City Archives but not the same office). First visit the Index Room in City Hall to get all the numbers (Book, page, file and year) for the particular Will: Register of Wills, Index Room, City Hall, Room 185, Phila., PA. 19107. When you search the indexes be sure to write down BOTH the reference # to the original will (e.g., file #124 of 1798) AND the reference to the books (e.g., Book H on page 435). If they don't find the actual Will/Admin folder you can still find some information by using the transcriptions in the Will/Admin. books. These books are scattered between the Archives and City Hall (and some are lost forever). I've heard that if you let them know it is for family research, they won't charge you like they do for someone who is there working for a company. The Register of Wills Archives will pull the folders of up to three Wills/Administrations for free for family researchers; any additional files pulled are $3 each. Take your checkbook if you have a long list to search! Charge for copies is $2 per page at the Archives if you go in person. For mail-in requests, $15 PLUS the $2 per page charge. The form says to send a LARGE self-addressed stamped envelope, for faster services. If you want all the papers with the File No., make sure you tell them that. Otherwise, if you just say to send a copy of the Will, they will send only a copy of the Will but not the Letters, Petitions, Inventory, or other papers that may be filed with it. Lani<br clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a href="http://explorer.msn.com">http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>