Some very disturbing news!! -----Original Message----- From: Elaine D Tomkins <[email protected]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 2:44 PM Subject: [WVHAMPSH-L] County Record Destruction >Hi, Listers, > >I just returned from a trip to the local LDS Center where I >heard some disturbing news. The volunteer worker there told >me that LDS's head researcher in W.Va. got the word this >spring that all W.Va. counties will be systematically >destroying their birth, death, marriage and divorce records. >Some counties have already destroyed their divorce records, >which means the process has begun. This means we will all >have to go to the state archives in Charleston for our >research. Some of the historical societies in some of the >counties, upon hearing this, requested that the records be >given to them, rather than be destroyed. Their request was >flatly refused. Perhaps some of you W.Va. residents could >contact your local court house or whoever is responsible for >such decisions, even at the state level, and campaign to have >the records donated to the county libraries, rather than being >destroyed. I would assume that the destruction would involve >records from no further back than about 1920, since that is >when all the counties started sending records to the state, >but it would be a very good idea to ask. I would also assume >that the birth and death certificates now held at the county >level will be turned over to the state, but ask about that >also. I think that tax-paying W.Va. residents would get more >results than outsiders. Politics, you know! I'm sure that >everyone on the list will be interested in what you learn. > >Elaine in Ohio > >______________________________