Summary of search for Daniel CHANCE origins. Any suggestions welcome. Wanda Daniel Chance was b. 17 Mar 1821, according to his grave marker. We have found gravestones notoriously wrong about dates, but we believe Daniel's dates are correct or near because they track well with census records. Most censuses show him born in LA, although one shows MS after he is an old man, living with a son. We figured he was born in LA, then moved to MS as a child, and came to AR from there, but we can find absolutely no proof of our idea. A 1895 Ark. Gazette note said he came to Desha Co in 1842. He paid poll tax and personal tax on a horse in 1843 in Desha Co. We cannot find any clue as to where he was between 1821 and 1843. We have looked twice in Arkansas City at old Desha Co records, and twice at the State History Commission and Archives in Little Rock at the Desha Co records. The area where the Chances lived became Drew Co in 1846, and Daniel's taxes are recorded there in 1847. Taxes are the only record we can find. Daniel married Nancy, probably about 1848. She died between 1853 anad 1861; and he married Mary Ann about 1861. We have gone through marriage records for Desha and Drew Counties, and books of AR marriages, and can't find either marriage. We have looked in other states' records for his marriages--MS,LA, TX, AL, GA, NC, TN, KY, maybe others--nothing by his name and near his age. Also went through the hand-written court records of Desha Co to see if he sued or was sued by anyone--nothing. Went through land records. He evidently did not own land until 1857 when he paid taxes on three 40-A parcels. He then had 3 horses and 14 cattle. He soon bought land from the US govt. for $1.25/acre--two parcels in 1859 and one in 1860. This was 16 years or more after he came to AR. The land patent just says he was "of Drew County, Arkansas." If a person buys land, the record will often say where they came from, but he had already been in Ark. too long. We got a copy of one patent, and it does not list a wife. Don't know if this was after Nancy died and before he married Mary Ann, or if they just didn't record the wife on the patent. What do you know or think? Daniel died 11 Jul 1900, before Ark. kept death records. The Star City newspapers for the time of his death are destroyed. We looked in 2 Pine Bluff newspapers, but did not find his death notice. Funeral home records have been destroyed. So we have not found a source that might list his parents. Daniel and his son William were charter members in 1873 of the Holly Springs Missionary Baptist Church, along with Daniel's 2nd wife, Mary Ann. This was 40 yr. after he came to AR, but there is no indication of where they had been church members before that. Would you have any idea? Since we couldn't find his parents, we started for looking for Chance families in LA who had a son Daniel. We made trips to state archives, state library, county courthouses, etc, in LA, and spent days searching books, files, microfilm, etc. We are piecing together several Chance families, but can't find a Daniel, except one 11 years too young with a different wife and family . I even called the Catholic records office for LA and they checked two sets of records, but do not have him. We also spent days on 3 or 4 trips researching in MS, looking at all kinds of records, but can't find him. We can't find that he served in any war. There was a Daniel Chance in the Civil War, but not the right one. I have corresponded with other people who are researching Chance families who were in LA & MS at the right time , but they can't find him either. We know quite a bit about the Chance families who were in the LA census of 1820, but cannot find that they had a son or grandson named Daniel. Wanda