Hi: Several messages have recently appeared about poor results when either requesting information by mail or even when going to the county clerk's office. This office is responsible for the county records. My suggestion is to go right to the top person, the Clerk of the County Court. That person is: H.C. "Kit" Lewis, Clerk McDowell County Commission 90 Wyoming St., Suite 109 Welch, WV 24801-2487 I've not always had success dealing with his staff, either. But one thing that really got my attention when I visited the office a couple of years ago was the lack of fire-safety practices employed in the records area. Not only do the enployees smoke profusely, there is no prohibition of smoking for anyome using the stored records. If a fire ocurrs, remember that you read about that possibility here. :>) medbank@showme.missouri.edu (male) Gail Bank, Columbia, MO