Heres what I received in response to the prior diary names. This email came from Pulaski area in Michigan tonight! He also referred to himself as the "Wanderer" in the diary. This response indicates he was a traveler. Ssounds pretty close. Mabe the information supplied here will help someone out there. I have a book that has a history of Jackson and the counties nearby. There is a township named Pulaski and a town named Concord. There was a Hiram C. Hodge, the "Hon. Hiram C. Hodge" of Concord. His brother was Milton H. Hodge of Pulaski Township. Their father, Warner L. Hodge was the first Town Clerk of Pulaski and was the town clerk or Supervisor for many years. His wife was Sarah Hodge. Milton lived on the land that his father bought from the government in 1835. He and his maiden sister owned the old homestead. Hiram was born at Stamford, Bennington County, VT on 2/22/1821. Their ancestors were English, French and Welsh. They moved to Adams, Mass. when Hiram was 2 yrs old and came to MI in 35-36-37. There were 10 children in the family but only 8 survived. He taught school at the age of 15, devoting all his time to study of the law. He studied with the Hon Fidus Livermore of Jackson and commenced his studies at the office of Messrs. Tallman & Dean of Poughkeepsie NY in 1848. He left MI for the newly doscovered El Dorado, CA . He was a great Traveler and wrote stories for the press. He was a member of both houses of MI legislature representing the county of Jackson in 1878-79. He was living in Concord Village in MI abt 1880-1881. He wrote a work on the AZ territory and had great interest in it. His motto was" Examine all things and hold fast to everything which is for the good of humanity." There was no mention of a wife in the book of of a person named Lucy Hodge, his mother' s name was Sarah so it wasn't her. If you want , I will copy the pages and send them to you. I think that your Hodge and this one are proably one and the same. He is an interesting historical figure in MI. Maybe there is a historical society that would be interested or could hook you up with the family. There is a Jackson County Geneology society and they have a web address, I don't have it handy but try Yahoo, "Jackson County Geneology So. Hope to hear from you. Kathleen John Johnston Palm Springs Ca.