I enjoyed your genealogy lesson....that is why I'm trying to ask others if they have certain proof to connect certain people I "think" may be the parents of a definite ancestor :) A quick question.... I have an elusive gr grandfather in another part of my family line. I know his name because other family members knew it, and the approximate area they lived, but he died just before or just after my grandfather was born and the boy's mother remarried. Then she died and the step father remarried. To complicate things they moved from Indiana to Illinois; this all happened between censuses and the surname spelling was changed in this generation. I'm up a creek without a paddle! I know the date and place my grandfather was born, but there were no birth certificates in Indiana at this time (1871). There is no family Bible, only the names and dates as older family members recall. If you can give me some advice and post it to the list....I'm sure we all could benefit. If I can't get my grandfather's birth certificate, how can I prove his parent's names and get dates for them? I have his death certificate and parent's names from that, but it's only names. No one knew where they were born to fill it in properly. It's actually easier to get birth dates in Britain because they all recorded things in parish churches and the LDS recorded much on microfilm. Researching in the U.S. can be much more difficult - either that or I just don't have the hang of it :) Any help and advice would be appreciated :) Lonna Searching for: FURLONG, MAISE, RAMSEY, BUSBY, POLAND, PENN, KENNA, MORBY, NEALE My Genealogy: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lpoland Furlongs of Pembrokeshire, Wales: http://members.xoom.com/furlongs Lonna's House (Christian site): http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/4299 Lightning Web Designs: http://www.lightningwebdesigns.com