It was wonderful to hear from Wayne Olsen that there may be a connection for our Nelson A. Bates to his Bates family from Jefferson County, NY, but unfortunately we still aren't sure how to proceed to find Nelson's parents and siblings. They don't seem to have gone to OH with him. We know that Nelson was born in Jefferson County, NY in 1831, married Serepta R. Parrish in Lorain County, OH in 1852, and is listed with her and their children on the Lorain County, OH Federal Census reports for Lagrange Twp for 1870 and 1880. Some of their children were born in Toledo, Iowa in the 1860s, so we are searching for records there.. We are still hoping someone out there has more information for us. If we find anything more, we will post to the list. Thanks so much for all your information, Wayne. It would be great if we could link to your Samuel Sr and George Bates. Patti Bates