Chris & List, Well, I thank you all for the time you've spent in attempting to locate my Reuben BROOKS. Totally agree with Chris on Noah rather than Noel as a possible parent. Have no Noel in our database and but eight Noah, and none seem to fit. Thanks for the search of BROOKS in Sullivan County, NY; this appears to show that he just wandered into the Area with Oliver Peake before his marriage to Nellie. Found a very informative Holland Patent Genealogical site but found no BROOKS at all listed on it??? Again, it seems when Reuben and Nellie went thorough there, and Nellie delivered Absalom, this was just for a short stay rather than a long visit... There were many BROOKS in Erie County, OH by 1850, and also many before that time. Have tried sorting them out but have confused myself even more. Learned quite a while ago that Erie was previously Huron county, OH, and before that, Sandusky County, OH; this was very early. Our Absalom BROOKS, brother to William BROOKS from which my lines descends, was b. 11 June 1814 so as you stated he could not be the one you found on the Tax list. Do not yet have the Absalom you found in our database yet, so this is another angle to look for: similar names in a family? Our Absalom married an Abigail "Abby" UTTER on 4 NOV 1839 in OH, and have found nothing on her parents either. He stayed in OH all his life, whereas the rest of the living children went to Ft. Wayne, IN, or Burt County, NE...Several ended up in Iowa. Still agree with your previous statement that he may have originally been from CT; this makes sense, and know that many CT lines went west due to offers of payment for Military Services, and for losing there properties during both the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. Have done some study on CT for my wife's main line: FENN, from Litchfield County; they went mainly to Ohio, then all over...hers went directly to Michigan. Finally, to shorten this and add some value to it are a couple of items I came across while searching for my Reuben... Ten BROEK is Dutch Ten BROECK is from Beligum BRUCKS ( English but possibly previously German )in one PA family was changed to BRIDGE sometime between 1774 and 1797...This was noticed in my wife's KUHN Ancestry. Lastly, Thanks again everyone for sharing all of your Reuben's with me, and trying to find him.