For the James Robert and Major John Coats group, when they lived in the same county in Alabama, have land/deed records been checked to see if they lived near each other or if they witnessed each others documents in deed or court records? If either one of them died in that county in Alabama, were they witnesses in the wills, or were they assigned administration or ***did they make purchases from each other's estate sales? These are all ways to find if they considered themselves somewhat close family. The same goes for the Gabriel Garrett Coats and Elijah Coats group. When and where did they live in the same place and do any of their documents have connections? If this hasn't been done, it's an approach to study the closeness of their relationship, get a better understanding of where their lives intersected - if they grew up together, and find any Coats of the correct age to possibly be their parents. These are ways to get leads on the line. Maybe you know where one of your DNA matches lived when they were young and then it's worth checking to see if your ancestor could have lived there too. Food for thought. Have a great day. I'm going to be helping construct houses for the first time with Habitat for Humanity. Wish me luck. It's going to be close to 90 degrees today. Linda