I am stuck and would like some advice... I found my gg-grandfather Richard L Cook in the 1850 census in Warren County, GA, 158th district. He is 21 and his wife is 19. There is only one other Cook family listed in that census, a woman 52 and a child of 9. The woman's birth state is listed as NC. He is in the 1860 Census for Warren County, with his wife, and several children. No other Cooks are listed. He is NOT in the 1870 Warren County census. I already knew he moved to Thomas County after the Civil War from family stories. No one in my family knows where he was born. My questions: 1) What assumptions can I make about the fact there are only two Cook households in the 1850 census? Since there were large families in that day and time, I would have expected to see many Cooks listed if Richard L was born in Warren County (siblings). Can I assume, if only for a starting point, that the woman is his mother, and since she is from North Carolina, begin searching for her in North Carolina (though that would be difficult since her maiden name is not listed - that is, if Cook is her married and not maiden name)... 2) Where shoud I begin next to look for Richard Cook since I don't know his parents or siblings names? 3) Richard L worked for the railroad in Georgia (he is listed as a RR worker in the 1860 census and stories from family verify that). Are there records of some kind I can use to track him through his job? 4) I know he bought property in Thomas County when he moved there, although I am not sure where the property is nor when it was purchased. How should I go about tracking that down? This is slow going, but not as slow as it could be - at least I have the internet. My uncle (mom's brother) did research on his family and it took him years - he had to visit every place, didn't have the internet, and had to write everything by hand and correlate things manually... Thanks for your help.