Brenda, You asked me to share with the list what kinds of records I found available in the Polk and Paulding County Probate courts on my recent trip up there. I'm happy to oblige. Both courthouses have a wonderful collection of records going back into the late 1840's or so, I belive at Paulding, and likewise for Polk. The Probate clerks were courteous in both courthouses and promptly ushered me into the rooms where the records are kept. They showed me where the marriage records were located, which they assumed I would be most interested in, and then gestured towards other records, giving a quick inventory that went past me faster than I could keep up. Both Paulding's and Polk's marriage records are well indexed. At Paulding it's pretty cluttered, with the original marriage records almost spilling out of the old metal filing cabinets, but the filing system is efficient enough to allow the researcher to locate the original documents easily enough. They pretty much gave me the run of the place. I was the only person there at the time. As I looked around, though, I became aware of many other kinds of records that the personnel hadn't mentioned: In addition to the big deed books, there were many other huge books high up on the shelves: very old Writs of Lunacy, whiskey shipment records, bound newspapers, and others I can't remember now, some of them going back to the 1840's. Any one of them might provide surprising finds. Security at Paulding was minimal; I could have stuffed any number of original documents into my shirt and walked out--not that I would do such a thing, of course. All in all, it was a pleasant, laid-back atmosphere where the researcher has free reign to explore to his or her heart's content. Polk's records room is bigger, brighter, and less cluttered, but the same kinds of records exist; in fact, it seems to me there are more. In addition to all the usual Probate records, there are other books of records: the old Writs of Lunacy and whiskey shipments, as at Paulding, but also 150-year-old astray animal settlements, and some others that I just don't remember. An amazing variety to a novice like me, and some of them go well back into the mid 1800's and even a little earlier, as I recall. As at Paulding, the staff were courteous and pretty much left me alone. I wish I had made an inventory of what was at both courthouses so I could give you a more complete list, but I'm sure some list members know better than I do. When you visit these courthouses, don't just stop with the marriage records and deed books. There's access to a variety of other, very old, more obscure records, any one of which might contain wonderful surprises. Happy hunting to anyone who visits these Probate courts. --Mark