>Has anyone on this list actually written somewhere (other than a county >courthouse office) for a pre-1904 birth or death record, or a pre-1909 >marriage record and been successful? If so, where did you write? >Please furnish the particulars of place, process, cost, etc. Thank you! Hi John, My best luck for pre-state kept records (can I call them that and get away with it?) has been the local church. Most of my research is in Howard and Sherman counties, and I have found the church records to be very helpful. Everything isn't there that I thought would be, but there is a lot. You can find out if the local parish existed in the timeframe you are interested in by writing or calling the present church. BTW, I have also seen Fialas in the course of my research, too. I think in Howard Co. If you would like me to do a lookup, please send along the details of your family. Laura