Dear List: Yesterday, I was at the local genealogy center and came across a transcribed type written copy of an 1880-81 Business Directory for Merced. The description of Merced is as follows. "It is a postoffice and county seat, situated in a delightful agricultural district of the San Joaquin Valley, containing a population of 3,000. It is quite a point of embarkation for the Yosemite Valley, and is a prosperous, thriving town. It is on the Visalia branch of the Southern Pacific RR, 58n miles from Lathrop." I was happy to find that my great grandmother was listed in this directory Mrs. J. W. CASTOR, dressmaking, 17th. Would there possibly be anyone that could see if she had an add in the local newspaper? Walter