Hi Pat and List, According to a letter that my mother received when I was a little girl, in 1956, the Licking Co. Courthouse burned in April of 1875, and "all prior records were destroyed." That is at least how long my mother searched--and now I have taken up the quest, searching these past 3 years--to find my great-great grandfather, William PHILLIPS, who was living in Newark during the 1850 census with several children, among them, my great grandmother, Louise PHILLIPS, who was age 12 at the time. She later moved on to Tazewell & Mason Cos. in Illinois, where she married my great grandfather, Dr. Frank KEEFER. As for William, he seems to have vanished into thin air--and we have keenly felt the loss of the records in that fire! This is probably yet another vain attempt, but if there is anyone out there with information on this mystery ancestor, would love to hear from you. Susan Carlson