I'm glad you had good luck. I haven't been at this very long but in the 1 Court House in OH, 4 in IN and the other 3 in IL that I have visited, I either was taken to the vault and shown where the records were or books were brought to me at the counter. At Vermilion I was only allowed to look at a card file and if I saw something I wanted it was (I believe) $7 to get a copy to see if it was even my family. Since I had many family members in that county at one time and there are several families with the same name but no known connection, I was unable to accomplish anything. The parents and spouse on the Death Record are often the only way of telling if it is the right family. In Edgar Co., just South of there, I have been given free access to Birth Records (over 75 yrs old) Death Records, Marriage Records, Military Records, Land Records and Probate Records. $1 for copies. I seldom make copies but copy the info and record where the info was found. In Ohio Co. IN, copies of the first 4 Death Records were free and .50 ea. for all over that by comparison! Michele Chavez wrote: > Hi Walt, > > When I visited in Danville two years ago, I visited the County Clerk's > office, which I had already had extensive correspondence with and telephone > conversations with, and the court house across the street. I have to say > that there is a big difference between the two locations and that Machelle > Long at the Clerk's office was the nicest person I have dealt with in > obtaining vital records.