Carter and Greenup researchers, Good afternoon. I wanted to let everyone know that the Kentucky Death Index at the University of Kentucky as been upgraded! You can now search by given and surname as well as limit the county! Warning! Be sure to read the directions for the page. I searched for 5 or 6 names in Carter County and the search engine continued to return results for all KY counties. I almost gave up, but then I noticed you could access a list for places of death. Carter is CARTR and Greenup is GRNUP Once I used the correct syntax my queries worked just fine! Also, make sure that the second drop down dialog box contains the phrase "Place of Death" before you enter the death county in the second dialog box or it will not work. I accidentally entered CARTR in the second dialog box but forgot to set the drop down box to the left of the input field. You can also search by Residence at the time of death, but Place of Death generally yields higher results. I have ordered over 100 certificates in the past and was on a dry spell, until this morning. In about 30 minutes I located 20 more to order :-) Give it a try at http://ukcc.uky.edu/%7evitalrec/ I have also learned a few tips when searching for ancestors. 1. Try variations of the surname: Example: Colley/Coley/Collie You'll be surprised how many times you find an ancestor with a varient spelling 2. If you can't find a person you know should be listed, try searching with just the first letter of the first name. Example: Instead of John Stephens, try J Stephens You'll be surprised how many times they'll be listed as J L Stephens 3. Don't use periods, they simply don't help Example: John L. Smith should just be John L Smith 4. Don't search for full names. Most records are only listed by first and last name. In close, don't give up easily! I searched for an Abraham Maddix one day for almost a half hour before I found him. His name was spelled with the Maddix varient. However, his given name was spelled Abehram [sic]! If you still have no luck finding your ancestor, try adjacent states. Folks in North Eastern Kentucky would be wise to check OH (Scioto and Lawrence) and WV (Cabell) as our ancestors moved back and forth from those areas (and others). Thanks and good luck! Darrell -- Darrell Smith dsmith@mis.net