Nancy, Another interesting thing about all this is that I believe I have a letter from Thomas's son, Noah V. Breedlove, to Maude Strickland, my grandmother. I found it in her things after she died (one month short of 100 years old). Noah was describing, in the letter, why he left Missouri and came to California. The letter had no envelope or date on it, nor did it have Noah's last name. But, of all the relatives, I can't find another Noah, and it seems to fit because he was of my grandmother's generation, her family was from Laclede County, Missouri and she was raised in Springfield, MO. (She moved to California with her extended family many years after her marriage.) (I am in the midst of packing to move, and the letter is in my boxes of genealogy information in storage. Once I get moved, probably in another couple of months, I hope I remember to find the letter and transcribe it on line for everyone.) Does anyone know if Noah left Missouri for California right after a massive flood? That is what he said in the letter. Carole C.