Morning List, I called the Hampshire County Court house yesterday. I was quickly told that the records for the times area I was looking for, had been sent to the State Archives. I was also told that the will I was looking for was not there, and wasn't sure if it was in with the things that were sent to archives. I know the will exsists. Because I have the filing date. I know if it were me , I would have taken inventory of everything that was shiped to archives. Calling to court house did not help in locating the will. So continues the paper chase. Elizabeth Elaine D Tomkins wrote: > Mike, > > First of all, I think someone has played "fast & loose" with the "old basement > records." The Hampshire Co. Library has a copy of each version of William Rice's > [unfinished] index to the old basement records, the first typewritten version (also > at the courthouse), and the published "book" version which should be called a > booklet. They are not the same. I found some items listed in the later published > version that included items that had started out upstairs and for some reason were > transferred to the ones from the basement. I know this because the wills of Larkin > Day Henderson and his son Thos. F. Henderson (my gg and g-grandfathers) had been > listed in an index (or abstract) of wills in a book published in 1995 which I saw > at the library. I also found them listed in Rice's published index. When I looked > for them in July in those boxes up on the shelf in the courthouse where the wills > are kept, they were not there, so I had to order them--to be ordered from the State > Archives where the old records had been sent. Two days later when I visited my > aunt in Cumberland, she had copies of those two wills, and has had them for years. > So I would like to know why the "switcheroo," and I wonder how many other records > received this treatment. Obviously they were upstairs with the others in 1995, and > I would be willing to bet that if I had ordered them before Mr. Rice came into the > picture, they would have been found with the others upstairs. I have since > received copies of the two wills, but not of another item listed in his index which > I ordered. > > Ann H., the old basement records are in the WV State Archives in Charleston in the > process of restoration and microfilming. To get a copy of any of them, one must > place an order with the Hampshire Co. Clerk of Court, who will in turn order it > from the State Archives. They will send you a bill with the copies. You will be > charged a search fee and a copy fee, all lumped into one amount, not itemized. I > believe that someone on this list had purchased Mr. Rice's "book" and had offered > to do lookup's. Perhaps if you requested a lookup here on the list, they could > tell you if the will you are seeking is in that index. That would be especially > useful since the only version of Rice's index I saw at the courthouse was the first > typewritten one, which was different from the later published version. > > Elaine > > Veerle Foreman wrote: > > > Well, SUPPOSEDLY, a vast number of the papers from Hampshire that were "lost" > > have been found and they are in the process of being filmed for security > > purposes. As to what all was found remains a great, unpublicized mystery and it > > is also not clear when or how an index will be prepared and access or copies > > granted.