I saw your note today and wanted to suggest that you send this message to the Henderson Co Gen Soc...now that they have a web page and email... Everyone interested should send their interest in Vol. 1 to the Society. -----Original Message----- From: William S. Pate, Jr. [mailto:wspate@earthlink.net] Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 1999 9:53 AM To: NCHENDER-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Heritage of Henderson Vol. I Add me to the list of those wanting a copy of Heritage of Henderson County, Vol. I ... but don't hold your breath to find one. I've been looking for three years at used bookstores in western North Carolina and pretty much every other location I visit. I've even subscribed to a daily used book search service though a renowned used-and-rare book store in Chapel Hill, and have had a search pending with Amazon.com for years. The only opportunity I've had came about three months ago -- one copy in very good condition at $150. If I could have found the money immediately, I would have bought it. But, I just plain didn't have the cash then. It's not easy to find a copy of this book. While I have great respect for the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society, I believe they have dropped the ball on this one. When I was there a few weeks ago, they still had no plans to reprint the volume. But, everywhere I look in western North Carolina, book store owners laugh when I ask for a copy. Obviously, there is some sort of demand for copies; they keep getting inquiries, but never get any books. At the very least, the Henderson group could follow the lead of Wayne County. The society in Goldsboro did not reprint the nice hardcover version -- possibly due to limited demand or the amount of money required up front. But, they did produce a photocopied, plastic-spiral-bound version and sold it for about $45. Sure, it probably cost about as much as the original hardcover ... and it certainly doesn't have the quality or durability. BUT, at least people have access to the information! And, it's a whole lot cheaper than $150 on the used market ... if you can even find a copy! I've known a lot of historians who were "book" people -- folks who are intrigued by having nicely-printed and bound volumes on their shelves, the kind of folks you see on C-SPAN all weekend. They would never consider printing an issue unless it could be done "right." But, they lose track of why most people buy and use books, reference books, in particular: To extract the information from them, no matter what the information container looks like. I have no idea at all if this is what motivates the genealogical society in Hendersonville, though I've seen it shut down some helpful possibilities elsewhere. I just wish they would make it easier to find and use the information they have done such an outstanding job producing. Chip Pate Pittsboro, NC Searching for information on the Henderson County family of JOHN L. JOHNSON (1831-1867) & NARCISSA GARREN JOHNSON (1832-1896) Children: Ruemma Gardenia, Martha Elizabeth, Lucy Carolina, Virginia Narcissa and Hazzalie. Narcissa is buried at Mud Creek Baptist; still searching for John.