Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. The conventional wisdom from my responses seems to be that someone who worked on his own account, was self-sufficient, regardless of the occupation. I was advised to check the column for "Home", and it does indicate with an "R" that he rented his home. This raises another question. Does this mean that although he rented his residence, he somehow had ownership of the land he was working? How was it possible to farm on your "own account" and yet be considered a renter? I always thought the residence was a part of the farm. I'm back to wondering if this scenario means he was a sharecropper. Any thoughts appreciated... Pamela Martin "Believe you can,and you're halfway there..." -----Original Message----- From: AGS-D-request@rootsweb.com [mailto:AGS-D-request@rootsweb.com] Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 8:00 AM To: AGS-D@rootsweb.com Subject: AGS-D Digest V04 #138