The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy     Newsletter and is copyright 2001 by Richard W. Eastman. It is     re-published here with the permission of the author. Thank you for your cooperation. ========================================================== Subscription information: There are two different methods to subscribe or to unsubscribe:     Method #1: to subscribe, to cancel an existing subscription or     to read back issues, go to:     http://www.rootsforum.com/newsletter     Method #2: To subscribe or to cancel an existing subscription,     send an e-mail to newsletter@rootscomputing.com with a subject     of: subscribe or a subject of unsubscribe. The message text is     unimportant, only the subject line is used. An automated     process will then add or delete your e-mail address from the     newsletter mailing list. This newsletter is sent to you free of charge. Please feel free to copy this subscription information and pass it on to anyone else who you think might be interested in obtaining a free subscription. ========================================================== About the author: Dick Eastman is the forum manager of the three Genealogy Forums on CompuServe. He also is the author of "YOUR ROOTS: Total Genealogy Planning On Your Computer" published by Ziff-Davis Press. He can be reached at: richard@eastman.net ============================================================= (Here's the info about Prince William Co., which I promised. Dick Eastman has given written permission, as stated above, to share with you genealogists--and history buffs, I presume. E.W.Wallace) - Court Papers, Lost During Civil War, Show Up on eBay When Union troops raided the Brentsville Courthouse during their occupation of Prince William County, Virginia in 1863, they made off with batches of court papers from the Revolutionary War era as part of their spoils. The vital records -- including oaths of soldiers, certificates of birth and death, and deeds of property and business ownership -- tore a hole in the county's history and were considered lost forever. Many genealogists would like to obtain some information from those "missing" papers that date back to May 1779. Now they may soon have the chance. Virginia historians and Prince William officials have recovered some of the documents because a researcher noticed just a few of the pages for sale on eBay. The Library of Virginia in Richmond contacted the dealer, Charles Barger, of Mansfield, Ohio, to see if he had more. The state then bought a 200-page record book for $8,000 from Barger, who had extolled the "beautiful handwriting" and "excellent condition" of the documents, according to the official auction listing. The entire story is rather long and very interesting. You can read the full article in The Washington Post's online Web site. To view the entire article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49406-2001Jul11.html (P.S. We're all holding our collective breaths. EWW)