I'd listen to Linda, folks. She knows her business. LREMRY@aol.com wrote: > > In a message dated 07/05/2000 5:30:14 PM Central Daylight Time, > MWise@prodigy.net writes: > > << Is this true of Arkansas as well? Are probate packets usually located at > the court house? >> > > I can only speak to Bradley Co. AR, as that is the only experience I have in > AR. And, yes, there were probate packets on file at the Bradley Co. > Courthouse. So, probably true of other AR counties. The microfilm that you > have looked at was probably (and I don't know this for sure) film of the > probate minute books. The packets are the original loose papers. SOMETIMES > these packets contain receipts, correspondence, etc. that does not get > recorded in the minute books. > > There is no one reason why some of the packets are empty. When the WPA did > the survey's, if there were no papers in the jacket, they recorded "deceased > (or whatever), no papers". Did they grow legs and walk? Were they simply > misplaced? Who knows? > > By the by, a source folks sometimes overlook in Texas are the Civil Court > records. These, too, have papers filed in packets. In Williamson Co. the > early packets are filed in boxes in the District Court Clerk's office, up > through about Cause #5000 (can't remember what the time span is -- 1848 to > ????). After that, they are on microfilm, available for viewing in the > Clerk's office. This is microfilm of the actual papers, not the District > Court minute books. They are indexed by both plaintiff and defendant. One > has to go in person to search these records, but if you are in Georgetown for > research, it is well worth your while to check these indexes. The District > Court is now in the Williamson County Courthouse Annex, on Martin Luther King > Blvd. -- not at the main courthouse. > > Linda E.