I made my first trip to Macoupin County this week, and was charmed by the area. I found some great new information on my family (STEELY, DODSON, DANIEL, WHEELER, OWENS and WILKINSON) at both the public library and the courthouse in Carlinville, as well as friendly and helpful staff. I was unpleasantly surprised, however, to learn that the dome of the courthouse has recently been declared structurally unsound and that courthouse staff have been directed to no longer go up there to retrieve the court records that are stored there, which include items such as the earliest indexes to civil court cases, including divorces. Count me in as another one whose family who started in Macoupin and ended up in Barton County, Missouri. My Steely line did just that. My great-grandparents, William Henry Charlton and Susanna Carolyn Steely began operating the General Store in Golden City in the late 1800's. William Henry Charlton continued as its proprietor for a generation. For those of you who might be interested, I would be glad to e-mail you a photo of that general store, which shows a little of what Golden City looked like at the turn of the century. Karen Steely