Hello Folks,

I thought that maybe I should pass on an unpleasant bit of information
concerning Genealogists that it was my misfortune to learn today.

After approximately 16 years of obtaining copies of vital records
from the Vital Registration Office in Charleston,West Virginia, the
last one being received about three weeks ago, today I received a note
of rejection instead of the death record that had been ordered.

I telephoned the Vital Records office & the call was eventually
transferred to a supervisor, we had a long conversation, but the gist
of it was that only immediate family members could obtain copies of
recent vital records because they were legal documents, and
genealogists had no right to them, and that applied especially to
cousins.

I explained to him that I had been getting copies of these documents
for years, his answer was "shame on us, we shouldn't have been doing
that". So unless someone in charge of that office has a change of
heart, or new legislation, it appears that a very valuable genealogical
door has been closed to those of us with many relatives in the state
of west virginia.

Apparently there has been a recent change in the administration of
West Virginia's Vital Registration Office, or some other situation
that has caused a drastic change.

I would be very interested in knowing if anyone receives copies of
recent vital records of cousins from them in the near future.

Russell L. Lawrence
Prince George Co.VA.

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