David, >I am wondering if other people have hit this sort of a wall. Yes. >I have the following questions if anyone would like to ponder >over them and provide a response: > >1. How could I locate the birthplace of Columbus BRAY in Missouri, not >knowing the city or county? > A) Point your browser to the GenWeb and RootsWeb sites for Missouri. See if there are HelpLists for the counties in that state. Ask the volunteers in those counties to check the census indexes and birth and death indexes for those counties for that name. B) Do you know where he may have died? Look for a death record (see "A", above); often it will state the place of birth and may contain other important information. If you find the death record, look for an obit in the paper for that community; it will often contain biographical information, including place of origin, surviving family members, etc. C) Post messages on the RootsWeb County sites for, Missouri, asking for any information on that name. >2. How can I find out Columbus' father's name? I assume that he fought > and died in the Civil War, because he was around in 1858 or thereabouts and > was not living in 1870. The additional information listed on the 1870 and >1880 censuses indicate that Columbus N. BRAY was born in Missouri > (no place given) in 1858 or 1859. Not a safe assumption. There are many possible causes of death, in those days. You can check with the Adjutant General for the State of Missouri to see if any BRAY's from that area appear in the muster rolls for the Civil War regiments. You really need to check earlier censuses to see if he appears in, say the 1840, 1830 or earlier censuses. Also, see the resources listed above. >His alleged wife Avarilla was old (56) in 1870 and >was not listed in the 1880 census, so I assume she had died and therefore >there is no record on the Confederate Veteran Pension List for AR. Also not a safe assumption. There are a number of other possible reasons for her not being in the 1880 census, the most likely of which (aside from death) being that she was living with a descendant; a very common situation back then, I have found several ancestors who were older, NOT by looking for their names as head of household (which I did), but by finding other people of that surname and then discovering that persons name as also living there. Hope this helps. Byron [email protected]