I have lost jbrown's original request so was happy to see it reprinted in your answer. Limestone County and Cotaco were a part of the Alabama Territory which was formed in 1817 after being a part of Mississippi Territory). There was no Morgan at that time. Alabama became a state in 1819. Delegates to the constitutional convention of 1819 numbered 3 from Limestone, 8 from Madison and 2 from Cotaco. Cotaco was created by the Alabama Territorial Legislature on Feb. 6, 1818 on lands acquired from the Cherokee Indians by the Treaty of Turkeytown. The name was changed on June 14, 1821 to Morgan in honor of General Daniel Morgan(Virginia) a hero of the American Revolution. Decatur may have been a place already in Cotaco since the Battle of Tripoli which made Stephen Decatur a hero, was fought in 1804. You may see maps of the 1819 and 1821 delegates along with a wonderful timeline and many interesting facts about Alabama history at the web page of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. http://www.archives.state.al.us/counties/morgan.html You can use the same address for Madison Co. just substitute madison instead of morgan.-There is a great teachers guide with online sources for those of you who are Alabama natives but may have forgotten or never had these in class. Spend some time with the Time line and its links. It will amaze you what a significant part Alabama has played in our history. Rosa Wright (not a native- just went to school there for a while and had Alabama grandparents)- -------- > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Where was Decatur, AL in 1819? > Date: Monday, April 12, 1999 5:16 PM > > In a message dated 04/12/1999 2:06:05 PM Pacific Daylight Time, > [email protected] writes: > > << > My ancestor's obit says he was born in Decatur, Limestone County, AL in > 1819. > I just wonder if we are looking in the wrong county for his parents? > > All my maps show Decatur in Morgan County, even the early maps. But this > ancestor never ever mentioned Morgan County! A real puzzle. > >> > Limestone and Morgan were both formed in 1818 from Indian lands. Decatur is > in modern-day Morgan County. > > Sometimes information was a little "general" in obituaries and death > certificates. Perhaps the closest "big" town was Decatur. And perhaps the > birth year was slightly off. > > With these areas where so much speculation and development was going on, I > think you need to search a wide area for records. You are wise to be > searching al the counties around that general area as well. > > Michele