Suzanne wrote: According to family lore, at age 22, he left north GA in 1859 to prospect for gold in the west with three other young men and one older man named (James?) COWAN. What do you think about whether this place could have been in Montana? Was there gold prospecting going on there in the early to mid 1860's? (he left GA in 1859 and was gone for even years) Otherwise, why would he be building a log cabin in what would become Helena? Maybe I should try to find the Montana mailing list. ======= Suzanne, there was a Last Chance Montana. The best places to search in the early 1860's were the future states of Idaho and Montana. Pioneer Montana prospectors had located placer and quartz gold in the 1850's, the boom begining in 1862. It seems that six (you mention a group of 5) prospecters stumbed upon extremely rich Alder Gulch, only sevety-five miles away from Bannack. This was the begining of Virginia City, Montana. Then as many people crowded into Virginia City, discoveries at Emigrant Gulch, Confederate Gulch, and at Last Chance Gulch sparked continued movement. The discovery at Last Chance was to be the begining of Helena, Montana. The above info from _Precious Dust_ by Paula Marks published 1994. This is a wonderful book about the vaious gold discoveries in North America. Hope this may be the confirmation you were looking for. Have fun, Carolyn