Letter writers looking for early Madison Co. ancestors will want to check a wonderful compilation by Margaret Matthews Cowart, called Old Land Records of Madison County, Alabama. The book was privately published in 1979. My copy was second printing in 1980. In 1991 it was O.P. but it may have been reprinted by now. Ms. Cowart transcribes and indexes the Government Tract Book in Madison County Courthouse. In her extremely helpful foreword, Ms. Cowart notes that the original Land Office for Madison County, Mississippi Territory was in Nashville in 1807 but moved to Huntsville in 1811. The book is arranged by Township and Range but there is a comprehensive name index. These would be the first persons settling the land so I was able to find my grandfather Julius Kull who homesteaded in 1900. His name was misspelled as Keel but it is the correct person, verified by the land description. Ms. Cowart has also published the same information in separate volumes on Limestone, Lawrence, Colbert, Franklin, Marshall, Lauderdale and Morgan counties. These books are of extreme value. They permit access to otherwise difficult records.They range in cost from $17.00 to $23.00. They may be ordered from: Margaret M. Cowart 7801 Tea Garden Rd., SE Huntsville, AL 335802 If you live in North Alabama you may find copies of these in your public library or historical association. Some publishers will send a photocopy of a name index for a small fee. I am not sure if Ms. Cowart does this but you might want to see the index before investing in the volume. Good luck to you all, Rosa Wright