This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jemwalsh Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.westvirginia.counties.preston/2765.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The folks at WVArchives have placed more birth records online. Most of what is available now is in the form of ledgers which are grouped by year and then alphabetized by the first letter of the last name. So, when you retrieve a "record" you are actually retrieving a whole page of births. In terms of the date, you can only search for the year. I just did a search for "Mary" b. 1889 in Monongalia and that produced a page #88 containing babies w/ surnames beginning with A-H(partial) born in 1889, but none b. 22 Sep. Next found page #89 w/ H-N births, but none b. 22 Sep. Next, page #90 P-V, none b. 22 Sep. I've tried several different approaches trying to locate page #91, but no luck. They're having server problems and the system times out too quickly. This is the url for searching birth records: http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_bcsearch.aspx Hope this helps. It is possible that her birth was not recorded, or that the birth actually took place in Fayette, PA where there might be a delayed birth record for her. None of those PA records are online. Regards, Jane Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.