In a message dated 05/11/2001 5:54:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << I'm trying to figure out where those communities are located today and which courthouse I should write for records. >> Betsy --- If your ancestors was reported in the 1840 and 1850 census if Benton/Calhoun Co., AL, then it is highly probably that any records of him were recorded in that county, at least until he moved, or the county lines were adjusted. Unfortunately, many of the pre Civil War records of Benton/Calhoun Co. no longer exist, and even some that survived are no longer in the courthouse. The best bet for you in determining precisely where he lived is to use the land records and military records. You can do some of this online using the Bureau of Land Management web site. http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ In addition to BLM, you may also need (you should) consult the Land Office records which are located at the Ala. Archives. To do this, you will have to either go there, or hire someone to do it for you. There are several published books of Land Office records, but they are just a guide, and are not complete. They are worth looking at as a starter. If your guy obtained land under the Fed. Acts of 1850 or 1855, bounty land for military service, you need to obtain his application for that land from the National Archives. There is a special form for doing that which you can obtain from them, and at many libraries. You should also obtain any entries from the Benton/Calhoun Co. grantor and grantee deed indexes, and, for any such entries, obtain the deeds if they are extant. You should do the same for Etowah Co. It's a lot of work, and most of it cannot be done online. Good Luck, Harry Nelms