In a message dated 09/14/1999 9:48:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << I was wondering if anyone can tell me if there are any birth records that exsist anywhere for Jefferson Co. W. Virginia for 1805. If there are no birth records how would I go about locating the birth of a person born in 1805? I am searching for the parents of Henry Jacob TILLMAN b. November 22, 1805 in Jefferson? W. VA. Thanks. Jean >> Jean, According to "The Handy Book for Genealogists," the Jefferson county clerk has birth and death records from 1853 (except for the Civil War years); marriage, probate, wills, and land records from 1801. Births weren't required by law to be recorded until, I believe, about 1917; however, most counties in WV still didn't really follow that law until well after the 1920s. You'll probably have to depend either on a family Bible record (if one exists) for the birth date, or either a marriage record or a death record. Of course not all marriage records or death records listed birth dates, but sometimes you get lucky. You might even just have to rely on tombstone dates, if your ancestor was fortunate enough to have a tombstone and not just a grave marked by fieldstone. If the person served in the military (War of 1812, Civil War, WW I, etc.) you may be able to obtain their military records and, again if you're lucky, their birth date may be listed somewhere in the military record or pension record. Good luck in your search, Neva