Ah the Fatt Butt Syndrome appears to be alive and well. People who are afraid to get off their fat butts and help you, tell you the records burned. You go away downhearted and they retreat to a corner and laugh their silly laugh. This may help you and may not. Take it for what it is worth. The Adams County Historical Society acquired the Lutheran Church records from the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary. They have records for several Lutheran churches. I get over their occasionally and would be glad to look up anything for you. They do not have records for all the Lutheran churches however. But who knows ... They do have some Franklin Co records Let me know. Jim Avery Dover PA In a message dated 8/16/2010 6:27:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, wevo@verizon.net writes: I don't have inside information, but we all should assume that the early records are extant but inaccessible. Compared to other South Central Pennsylvania counties, Franklin County (from a genealogical standpoint) is...well...a mess. But, take Cumberland County, for example. Their earliest records (apart from estate and deed) also were largely inaccessible. They currently have an archivist scanning them and posting them on the Internet. The records were always there, they were just in boxes and on shelves in the basement (as well as a secondary story area in another building). Though they were public, the staff was reluctant to allow visitors to explore these cluttered areas unsupervised. (I have a relative who works there.) Franklin is probably the same. A staff member once told me that the administrative bonds and inventories that I requested were in the building but not "accessible." It will take patience and prodding. I do know that a roll of microfilm at the Pennsylvania State Archives has complete estate files for Franklin County decedents from 1784 to about 1815. I found this by accident once. It had the papers I had been looking for. And: Nothing burned. It's a myth. It's there. And the answer you need is always in a document that one day you will find. If you keep pressing. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PAFRANKL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message