In a message dated 4/11/2004 11:59:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: I recently requested that the Jackson County Probate Clerk send me a copy of my great grandfather's 1831 birth record. The following is her response: "Our records begin with 1867. What a lot of you out of state folks don't seem to get, is that 1867 is when most Ohio counties started keeping any kind of birth or death records. Before that there might be an incidental mention of a birth in someones estate filings, or in the local newspapers or church records. When they did start keeping records it was by the probate court, and reporting was not required. There are many of the births and deaths from 1867 to 1908 that were not recorded. It is usless to try to blame the local officials with laziness, stubborness, or inability, when there just aren't any such records to be found. Don Clark