In a message dated 8/9/01 2:08:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time, VA-SOUTHSIDE-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: << Does anyone know what the political situation is in VA such that the counties keep all of their records. In NC the counties sent their unneeded records to the state archives. Why is this not done in VA? >> Perhaps it's not a political situation at all. Perhaps the counties deem it easier for people to find records pertaining to the county in the county courthouse. It's certainly been easier for me to find records in the county where my ancestors lived in Virginia rather than try to get to the State Archives in North Carolina to find records of the ancestors that lived in North Carolina. BTW, VA isn't the only state that does this -- Ohio (where I live) and Indiana come to mind immediately. Maybe the best of both worlds would be to have everything held in the counties copies and available at the State Archives. : ) Sally