Once again, thank you all for your very informative responses. I have now incorporated them, checked through many IGI references, checked Massachusetts census records 1790-1850, and reviewed the William Eleazar Barton text and some others (it's been a busy few days!). My conclusions to date: while I cannot yet make a direct connection, my line would seem to spring from the Oxford MA group, migrating west along (current) Routes 9 and 202 toward Northampton. My great-great-great-grandfather, Daniel Barton, is buried in Ware (based on the cemetery inscription, he died on 12 December 1859, aged 71 years 5 months, which puts his birth date in August 1788). His wife, Vila Towne, is also buried there; she was born in Belchertown, so Daniel probably met her in the area. Also in the same plot is William F. Barton, died 4 December 1862, age 87 (born 1775). I haven't been able to connect him with anyone, but he could be Daniel's uncle or a cousin. Daniel had a son, William F. Barton, but he was born in 1825. Daniel's son, Silas Demey Kellogg Barton, was living in West Brookfield when he died (21 December 1886)(his birthplace is given as Pittsford, and I have seen a reference to Vermont somewhere, but that doesn't help at all), and he is buried in a different cemetery in Ware, with his wife Eliza Mariah Johnson (said to have been born in Moriah, NY 22 June 1811--ring any bells?), his son Willard Allen Barton, and his daughter Vila Mariah Barton. Vila taught at Smith College, another local tie. [The first interment in that plot, on 11 June 1849, was a Mary E. Root--I am at a loss to explain her. Possibly Silas Barton bought the lot from the Root family? Silas did have a daughter Mary Elizabeth, but she did not die until 1869.) Frederick S. Barton was interred in the adjoining plot, deeded to Moses Putnam, who was married to Mary Ann Barton, a daughter of Daniel Barton and sister of Silas; she is also buried there. I'm not sure who Frederick is--he died 6 April 1858, before either Mary or Moses. Perhaps Silas Barton originally owned both plots, and deeded one to his brother-in-law. My great-great-grandfather, Silas Abbott Barton, was born 22 November 1846 in Ware, according to his birth record, and his father Silas was said to be living there at that time. Turning now to census indexes: The 1790 Census shows a Jedediah Barton and a David Barton living in Belchertown. The 1820 census does not mention either, but shows a Daniel Barton (my Daniel?) in Granby, and he appears again in the 1830 census. The 1840 census does not show any Bartons along the Ware-Northampton axis. In the 1850 census, Silas K. Barton appears in household #388, while a brother Robert L(oveland), Silas (A.), and Daniel (M.), appear in household #389. There is no mention of any Barton women or sons William, Willard or Henry in Ware in that census. Can those of you who are expert in the Oxford line shed some light on this? In this forum it has been suggested that my Daniel comes from the Roger Barton line in New York, but that doesn't account for William. On the other hand, Jedediah springs from the Matthew Barton line, in Massachusetts. Help! I look forward to the next wave of responses. Sheila Connolly