THAT is what I am trying to figure out -- is this becoming a common
thing
among the courthouses? This is NOT genealogical research per se but is
xeroxing public domain vital records. I always understood that THIS is what
these people are there for and for which the tax dollars are being paid.
It is.
But they don't like spending their time on genealogy. They would rather
have an outside person do the lookup/copy, and give them the fee they
would have gotten instead.
Another concern is the number of courthouses or departments in
courthouses
that seem to NOT EVEN ALLOW looking at the records (I could understand if
they used the US' rules of anything after 1920 to today,
Jeffersonville Courthouse will not let you look at the marriage records
books.....they say that they won't do so because of the condition of the
books.
I am just wondering and concerned about this problem (especially in
the
Indiana counties where I support 3 county USGenWeb Project webpages) as well
as wondering if these clerks are REALLY giving this to the county or are
they just pocketing the money for themselves (or a kick-back for themselves
by using these independents and contractors),
My knowledge of Ripley County is that the clerk writes, the researcher
they give the requests to, a check for whatever amount accumulates,
after that researcher has turned in the checks that are endorsed to the
clerk's office by the people asking for a lookup and copy of records.
Lori