Thanks for the responses everybody. The Historical society seems to be very highly thought of by all, so I'll definitely be planning a trip there in the near future. Bob - those automated databases at the court house - do you know what records they cover? Also are they available from the web (Berks county courthouse has a great web site where you can search the indices for all their records). Are their Will & Estate records available and indexed? That would probably pinpoint a death date for me if he left a will. Todd