I've only been to three courthouses so far, since I'm fairly new at this, too. I started with the smallest, and they were the friendliest and most helpful. They even left me alone while they went to lunch! The larger one of the three was more formal, of course. I only could ask for what I wanted to find--not any browsing here. The third one, which really isn't very big, had quite a different attitude, almost hostile. She was busy, understaffed, and had no time for genealogists. I walked on eggshells and persisted, when she finally got some marriage records off the wall for me. She didn't know what was even in them. I dusted them for them and wrote down for them what years were in each book for a future genealogist, in hopes of also getting on the clerk's good side! :) Turns out they were too recent to contain anything I wanted, but in case I go back to that courthouse, hopefully they'll remember I was helpful to them, too. This was the only courthouse that they insisted I pay $7 JUST TO LOOK AT A RECORD! My suggestions would be--- 1. call ahead for hours and to see what records they actually have. 2. take cash for those copies you might need 3. have your notebook ready with the things you want to look up --- BE ORGANIZED 4. plan on spending several hours. You don't want to rush, especially if you find a bonanza! 5. be courteous, cordial, and on your best behavior! Depending on how friendly they are, may determine how friendly you can be, too. 6. be prepared to find things you didn't expect--each time I've found things I wasn't looking for! 7. take good notes--your research may depend on it I'll be anxious to see other's suggestions, since I still have a lot to learn. Linda (Caulkins) Stegall lstegall@hotmail.com Researching CAULKINS/CALKINS, SIMPSON, CORN, ANDERSON and some day will work on the KEYSER, MILES lines ---------- From: Barry Bunn Sent: Monday, June 15, 1998 12:10 PM To: GenTips-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Court houses Howdy all! I've accumulated a lot "stuff" since starting this genealogy excursion. All the data I've gathered has pretty much been verified and organized to a point that I think I can keep track of it. My next step was going to be obtaining courthouse records, something I've never attempted before. How 'bout all you veteran researchers out there filling me in on the best approach to this new record source. I could sure use the advice. -- Thanks, Barry Bunn ************************** Retail Merchandise Systems BBUNN1@JCPENNEY.COM (972) 431-8246 (972) 531-8246 FAX ************************** ==== GenTips Mailing List ==== Are you having trouble unsubscribing to the list? You can subscribe and unsubscribe to the lists we own from our web page at: http://www.genrecords.com