Which county are you ref. to w/ a court house fire? Many of the courthouses had fires, but fortunately, most didn't loose all of their records. Recently I sent to Mercer Co. Mo for a death certificate for 1906 and they sent a letter back that they had had a courthouse fire and they didn't have the records. The fire was in the 1800's ....and according to the Handy Book for Genealogists, not all records were destroyed. AND HOW DID THE DEATH CERTIFICATE GET BURNED 20 years before it was created??? You must be informed as to the dates of fires and the records destroyed. Use Everton's Handy Book for a great guide. Found in most genealogy libraries.. Good hunting! Carol