Hello! I've just joined the list, and thought I would introduce myself. I'm deb Atwood Christensen, and have spent the last 24 years ignoring the pitiful leads of my father's ATWOOD family. But my girls are both in college now and I thought it time to start looking again. I'm not sure what the convention is, so let me simply tell you what I know. My Great-grandfather, Lewis Napoleon Atwood, born 25 May 1858 in either Iowa or Wisconsin, and his brother, Frank M. Atwood, born June 16, 1863, in Sacramento California, are my starting places for the ATWOODs. (Lewis N. Atwood's earlier records state he is a native of Iowa, later ones name it Wisconsin. There is no registered birth in Sacramento County for Frank Atwood.) Lewis Napoleon's family settled in Three Rivers, Tulare County, California in 1872. He did not marry until 1887. He raised his family in Lemon Cove, Tulare County, California, where he had a citrus ranch. They lived there until shortly before their deaths, and passed away in Bakersfield, California in 1934. His brother Frank lived for a while in Tulare County, and moved to Arizona around 1915 with wife, Cassie, where he died in 1932. The brothers were both farmers. Whether there were other siblings, we have no idea. Lewis N. Atwood married Eliza Marilla Cole (Roberts) on 29 June 1887 in Tulare County, and they had three children, Frank L., Rose, and Robert Cole Atwood. All the children were born and raised in Tulare County, too. Family information has always been very sketchy, and nobody knows exactly why. My grandfather (Robert C Atwood, youngest son of Lewis N. Atwood) told me that his Grandmother Atwood's name was Catherine. She would be the mother of Lewis N. Atwood. Old family pictures have a picture of a woman in front of a tall sundial sitting on the back of a turtle on top of a classic column, and the pictures are labelled Mrs. Conly, [my grandfather's] paternal grandmother. [You can see her at this monument on the web at: http://www.dm.net/~deb/pix/Mrs_Conoly.jpg if you would like!] My grandfather later noted on the picture that her "other husband's name" was Conley. (Yup, two spellings) No, we don't know when her first husband passed away and when she remarried. There are no CONLEY/CONLY (and several other spellings...) grooms in Tulare County through 1909 with a bride named Catherine, let alone with a surname of Atwood. Now you pretty much know everything about Lewis N. Atwood's family that we know. His adult life in Tulare county is pretty well documented -- but who his parents were, and where they came from ... is up for grabs. Has anyone seen a young Lewis N. Atwood in IA/WI references between 1858 and 1863? Or an Atwood family in California 1863-> with two sons, named Lewis and Frank? deb (Atwood) Christensen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - deb Christensen ([email protected]) Graphics Connection Forum http://www.computingcentral.com/forums/graphics/