This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/4g.2ADE/1756.4 Message Board Post: Hi, I was going to answer your question too and see others have. I go there quite a bit for myself and for others. You can look in the Big Volume Books at the Courthouse in the Clerk's Office but in order to look at the document you want in question you can't look at it unless you pay the $5.00 which is NOT a certified copy they cost more. Your $5.00 is getting you a copy of the death, birth, marriage, etc. certificate for genealogy purposes only and they mark them that way also. I have tried to look at them but only once got to without having to by one. The older ones don't have as much information on them as the later ones. Right off the top of my head I can't come up with the date when they have the returns on the marriages. But there is a cutoff date for it. And Pat is right about how they treat you in there. If you get the little blonde who I should remember her name but I don't not good with names she is pretty good about helping and doing things for you. The! others are not. I've been there and had them all. The new clerk we have now at the office when I went back the same day for somebody else to see about the maiden name of a female lady in question for her. copied two documents and let me look at them and then since I didn't get the information I wanted on them he told me I'd spent enough money earlier that morning on records. I thanked him very graciously. First time that had ever happened to me in the Knox County office. I also do research in Warren County, IL and when you get copies for genealogy purposes they are only 50 cents a copy. Don't know why the two counties have the big difference in the prices. But it's there. I generally visist the library in Galesburg first on account of they have such a fantastic genealogical reference area there if I don't really need the certificate I don't go get one on account of the cost and it can run into money. Plus, if you send in from out of State is costs more and if th! ey don't have the record they keep your money for looking it up.Plus, I believe they charge extra for it.n A handling charge or something like that they call it. Used to be when I started this many moons ago it wasn't so expensive and even the Ancestory.com and places of that sort were free. Now they all cost you money when they got most of their information from people posting their information on their sites in the beginning. I really didn't care for that and will not subscribe to any ot them. Well, have a fine day. I hope we do here in knox county and hope the rain and storms will go away. Foxie http://www.usgennet.org/usa/il/county/warren/