Hi, everyone, I am in search of male descendants of Benjamin F.(?) (1787-1861) & Sarah Ellis (1795-1864) Austin of Burke Co., North Carolina, Blount Co., Tennessee, and Hardin Co., TN. I hope to enlist their help in proving Benjamin's true origins through DNA testing, as there were several possible fathers for Ben, proven by early census records in the Burke Co., NC area. From my research, I believe Ben's wife, Sarah Ellis, to have been the daughter of Samuel Ellis, of Iredell & Burke Cos., NC. Benjamin was a blacksmith. There were several early Austin families in Hardin Co., Tennessee, but it does not appear to me that they were closely related (lots of misinformation on the Internet about these families.) I have tracked all of Ben & Sarah's descendants as far as I could, but I am focusing on the males at this time. I am descended from Ben & Sarah's younger son, David M. Austin (possibly David Marsden?), whose descendants have been extremely difficult to locate. However, I am beginning these postings with the known male descendants of Ben & Sarah's older son, Samuel Alvis Austin (1815-1873.) Benjamin & Sarah Ellis Austin had children: Eliza Louisa Austin, b. 1813, Burke Co., North Carolina; m., 1829, Blount Co., TN, Larkin Yount Samuel Alvis Austin, b. 1815, Burke Co., North Carolina David M. Austin, b. 1817, Virginia(?) (NC?) Lucinda Austin, b. 1822, b. Tennessee; m. James Reed (Unknown Daughter) Austin, b. 1825-1829 (m. Unknown Stanfield) Elizabeth A. Austin, b. 1826, Tennessee Samuel Alvis Austin was born 1815 in Burke Co., North Carolina; he married Mary Jane Brigance (1820-1893), the daughter of Clinton & Sarah (Bayes?) Brigance of Henderson Co., Tennessee. Samuel was a blacksmith, and died in Henderson Co., TN after living in Hardin Co., TN for many years. I will post the children of Samuel Alvis & Mary Jane Brigance Austin in the next installment, but will concentrate on the male sons who I have proven to have survived and have had descendants until fairly recently. Look forward to new discoveries in this big Austin line! The Austins of America Families website is at http://www.afaoa.org/ Pam pamstone@cfl.rr.com