I am thinking about making a trip sometime this month (Oct. 2005) to Preston Co.--which is about three hours away from where I live in MD. What resources are available to research in Preston Co: wills? birth/marriage/death certificates? deeds? newspaper microfiche? Where might these resources be located and what costs are necessary to copy them? Thanks, Lee Michael

Lee, The Preston Co courthouse and records burned in 1869. My book on the duplicate Preston Co vital records that were sent to Richmond before the fire should be available at the courthouse or Kingwood Library which is in walking distance of the courthouse. It covers births & deaths 1853-1959 and marriages 1853-1860 (1859 missing). The courthouse birth and death books begin in 1868 and the marriage books begin in 1869. These are typed records. I do not know the current charge for certified copies. Preston Co death certificates 1916-1954 are online at http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx and can be downloaded free of charge. The numbering sequence for wills and deeds continued after the fire. The first will book includes Wills and Settlements No. 2 1869-1886 and Wills No. 3 1869-1881. Some wills were re-recorded after the fire. The first deed book after the fire is Deed Book 25. This book is all re-recorded deeds. There are grantor and grantee indexes for the deeds. I don't recall the cost per page for copies but believe it to be in the neighborhood of $1-$1.50. The Preston County Journal from 1866 and other Preston Co newspapers are on microfilm at West Virginia University, Wise Library, Morgantown WV. The hours are 10-5 Mon-Sat. Microfilm prints are 10 cents each. WVU has a nice collection and the stacks are open. Xerox copies are 10 cents each on the self-service copier. The Kingwood Library has a small genealogy collection. The Terra Alta Library also has a small genealogy collection. History House at Terra Alta also a small genealogy collection. History House is open on Sunday afternoons May-September and at other times by appointment. Roy Lockhart ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Michael" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 1:51 PM Subject: [WV Preston County] Preston Co. records availability > I am thinking about making a trip sometime this month (Oct. 2005) to Preston Co.--which is about three hours away from where I live in MD. What resources are available to research in Preston Co: wills? birth/marriage/death certificates? deeds? newspaper microfiche? Where might these resources be located and what costs are necessary to copy them? > > Thanks, > > Lee Michael > > > ==== WVPRESTO Mailing List ==== > List Mom for the WVPRESTO mailing list: > Diana Boothe [email protected] > > ============================== > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx >