Dear List, Looking for information on the following: Absalom RHODES b. 7 Jul 1815 (tombstone) in AL (various censuses) m. 23 Mar 1840 in Morgan Co, AL to Sarah DeVAULT b. 13 Dec 1822 (tombstone....some censuses are leading me to think b. 1821) in AL (various censuses). I cannot find Absalom & Sarah on the 1840 Census. I can find them in 1850, in Morgan Co, with 8 children. My mother told me tonight that Absalom owned a plantation in Huntsville, AL (I'm thinking she's got the location off), including slaves. In the past (as well as tonight), she told me that when they moved to MO (c. 1855-56), they set all their slaves free. One woman and her little boy asked if they could come to MO with them, as they would be free (my mom doesn't notice the contradiction in her story) so they could look for the husband (or father of the boy, as I don't think slaves were allowed to marry). The woman and her son do NOT appear in the 1860 Stone Co. MO census with Absalom & Sarah RHODES. Sometimes, when my mother tells the story, she says bushwhackers killed Absalom because he let the woman and her boy go free (he was killed in 1862 and bushwhackers roam the countryside....doubt if they would have known who had what...I think they were after horses). What I need to find the most (besides verifying the story up there) are the parents of Sarah DeVAULT. I found a webpage that mentions a David DeVAULT d. in Dec 1822, leaving all of his children orphaned. Of course there is a Sarah listed. But I don't know if she is mine. Anyone know of these families? Thank you, Cheri Mello Torrance, CA Absalom & Sarah (DeVAULT) RHODES - Thomas/TC/Babe - Maud Lena