Gwen: This website allows you to look up land patents in Alabama: <A HREF="http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/asp/queryAL.asp">Click here: Alabama Land Patents </A> When you get to the site, enter your ancestor's name and see what you find. You can view the actual land patent from that site and print it off yourself with a little ingenuity. I entered Michael Melton and found two records. That might be your ancestor. If so, it shows that his lands were in the northern part of the state, rather than down in Baldwin County. Also, I searched at this site to see if I could find a Tensaw Lake in Baldwin County: <A HREF="http://mapping.usgs.gov:8888/gnis/owa/MapServer?f_name=Tensaw+Lake&f_sta te=AL&f_latlong=310354N0875218W&server=PARC">Click here: USGS GNIS Map Server </A> http://mapping.usgs.gov:8888/gnis/owa/MapServer?f_name=Tensaw+Lake&f_state=AL& f_latlong=310354N0875218W&server=PARC This shows the actual location of Tensaw Lake in Baldwin County. This "help" may confuse you more than help you. Kathryn