Hi Denise, You wrote: >I am trying one more time. I am looking for my gggGrandmothers line. Hester C. Cooper who was born in 1846 in STATEN ISLAND >to Joshua M. Cooper and Mary Anne Smith. Hester later married Henry Alex Freeman in Manhattan and when he passed away in 1884 >she married Charles Mickle son of Jeremiah and Ann Whitaker Mickel. I have not been able to go back on my Cooper line because I cant >seem to find Joshua in any census from 1850 on. I think he died in 1849. What strikes me with those surnames which you mention is that they are all fairly well known old New Jersey names. I was born on Staten Island which is closer to New Jersey than it is to New York and a lot of people came from NJ, including many of my own family. My gggrandfather, James Morgan Cooper was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1799. He was a gunner in the Navy. His father was from Haddonfield, NJ. I am a long way from my records at the moment but I think that is in Camden or Salem County. The Mickels also come from that area and the Freemans are also from NJ. Like I wrote, I am a long way from my records which are in my home in the UK and I am working in Australia for a few months. I did try and find information on your line from my access to various sources on the internet. Have you found anything in your research which would suggest that Joshua Cooper had a New Jersey connection? - Ed