thanks, Kathy, I was a little rushed last night. yes, he did move on. he's not on any 1850 census that I can find, nor on the 1860 census for California (he'd been there for about 4 years by then) nor is he on any of the great registers (tax lists) for any year. he is on the 1870 census. if he ever fought in the CW, he didn't get a pension. he did purchase land in Tulare and Kings Co.'s. I'm in southern California, so going to the Jefferson Co. archives, libraries, etc. is completely out of the question. here's what I have on him; My great grandfather, Francis Lee Collins aka Frank b.24 Nov 1832 near Birmingham, AL d.27 Apr 1875 Visalia, Tulare, CA m. 19 Feb 1859 Visalia, Tulare, CA to Mary Jane Peyton dau of John/Jonathan Peyton and Elizabeth Higgins b. 18 Sep 1834 Cape Girardeau Co., MO d. 3 Jan 1926 Grass Valley, Nevada Co., CA in a bio. of one of his sons, it states that Francis' father (name not mentioned) was an "old school allopathic doctor". the bio also stated that Francis had a brother who was a physician. My grandmother notes that Francis had an Uncle who was a Physician, and that he took Francis' brother in and taught him the trade. none of these people are named, except for Francis and his son (Francis Thomas Collins) who was an Osteologist. (his wife's father was a Physician, as well) it is stated, and by all appearances seems to be so, that Francis' parents died before 1850. apparently Francis is not on any 1850 census, for I've checked in all the southern states (all the ones in line with Alabama) and have not found a Frank or Francis Collins. he was on the move at the time, slowly moving towards California, which he arrived in 1852 or so. That in itself is another story ----- Original Message ----- From: Kathy <jkhouck@primenet.com> To: Cornelia Warner <fenenga@mminternet.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 12:49 PM Subject: Re: [ALJEFFER] new ideas? > Corneila, > > You didn't say if your ancestor remained in Jefferson County.... > perhaps he moved on... > > Have you tried the land search: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ > > He would be of an age to have been in the Civil War; you > might want to check out those records. > > I didn't look it up, but the AL state archives is online and > they do have a lookup service - for a fee. > > Another suggest is church records. Samford University in B'ham > has the Baptist records. I think you have to go there in person. > > Hope this helps a little. You're probably like me, it seems they just > suddenly appeared in AL with no indication of where they came from! > > Good luck, > > Kathy > -----Original Message----- > From: Cornelia Warner <fenenga@mminternet.com> > To: ALJEFFER-L@rootsweb.com <ALJEFFER-L@rootsweb.com> > Date: Monday, February 14, 2000 9:38 PM > Subject: [ALJEFFER] new ideas? > > > >I was hoping for a chance to chat with others in the chat room about trying new > directions on my brick wall, but it's not been very active and no-one has said much > of anything-just skimmed through. > >oh, well. > >anyway, I'd like some ideas on how to find my ancestor. > >I have searched family papers, vital records and census's, tried to find distant > cousins (Francis had seven children), found my first cousins and half first cousins, > found his will and marriage record, gathered photos, data and obituaries, checked > County histories, posted numerous queries, and I still don't know much more about him > than when I started. > > > >Francis Lee Collins was b. Nov 24 1832 near Birmingham, Alabama. his father was an > Aleopath- more commonly known as a general practitioner, as far as I understand. he > had a twin brother who was an Osteologist. their parent's died before 1850. > > > >I have checked the reverse will index and could find no listing for a Francis > Collins > > > >I've considered the possibility that he may even have changed his name. I can't seem > to make any headway on him at all. > >Cornelia > > > > > >