Dear Friends, I succeeded in locating my maternal great-grandfather, or rather his widow, in the 1900 Alabama census, Cherokee County, Tecumseh Precinct #3. I'm reasonably sure that her deceased husband's name was William Wood, although it's not listed in the census. Her name was Becky (Rebecca), maiden name, Niblet. Family memory vaguely recalls that he was killed in a coal mine, which had to be between 1893, the year of birth of his daughter Myrtle, and 1900, the year of the census, at which time he is already dead and she is listed as a widow and head of the household. In order to trace the family line farther back, I need to find a reference to his full name, which might then provide me with the name of his father. I'm going to try to find the birth record for his son, my grandfather Dennis Earl Wood (b. 1895 Cherokee County), which might provide his father William's full name. But maybe a newspaper reference to the coal mine accident might provide a full name as well. Does an! yone there know of a coal mine in the immediate area that was operating between 1890 and 1900? Tracking down the details of this accident and its victims might help me find his full name and, therefore, provide me with a key to delve further back into the Wood family history. And of course, if anyone there already knows anything about any of these individuals, that would be of great help to me. Many thanks for your attention. --Mark Basque [email protected]