This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/EeB.2ACE/428 Message Board Post: As a genealogist born in Carter County but living far away and having family ties to local families such as Campbell, Bradshaw, Deloach, Kite/Kyte, Smith, Malone, Shaw, Glover, May, and Nave, I frequently visit the area to do research. This usually includes visits to the Carter County Courthouse to wade through the old records that contain valuable information to those of us researching our family tree. In search of the Will Books, I initially went to the Clerk of Court Office where they had always been kept and learned that they now reside down the hall in the Clerk & Master Office. I was disturbed to learn when arriving there that no provisions are made for researchers to sit at a table while pouring over material that is not easily read due to the old and faded script handwriting contained in books that are both large and heavy that date back as far as the 1790s. I was forced to stand at the small customer counter, try to decipher old wills, take notes, and deal with ! the constant flow of customers there to transact business. The situation was not fair to the other customers nor to me. The Register of Deeds Office as well as the Clerk of Court Office have space available for individuals doing record searches, not so with the Clerk & Master Office. I would appreciate some accommodation be made to rectify this matter or either return the old records to their previous location where public access is not hindered. The Elizabethton Star nor the Mayor of the county seem interested in resolving this issue. Perhaps one of you can help make it easier for fellow researchers in the future. If you have an idea or know someone in a position to help it would be much appreciated. Thanks, Gregory E. Kyte