Hi Laura et al, I'll jump in and post my line though I know you already have it. But it's been a while and my guy is so mysterious! Eliah Cowan b. ca 1800 NC (per later census), m. ca 1830 to Sarah Ann ? in GA?, d. after 1854 Ouachita Parish, LA. That's it! No parents, no sibs, no birth records for him or any of his 7 children (born in GA and AL), no tax or land records, no marriage record or wife's last name, no death info, no church or occupation. I believe he's on 1930 & 1840 census in Henry Co, GA, and then on 1850 census in Ouachita. His last child is born in 1854 so I assume he was alive within 9 months of that! This guy has been a pet peeve for years! Thanks to the DNA project I no longer waste hours and hours trying to link my Elijah of Henry Co GA to the Elijah Cowan who's a bit older in a neighboring county. They just don't match! I also no longer track all the descendants of the immigrant brothers--either set! Again, no match! If it weren't for some other rogue matches (sorry, cousins!), I'd think there was a milkman out there somewhere--that he wasn't a Cowan at all! But my Elijah DOES have matches. And some stem from NC where the census says he was born. So he IS a Cowan and I DO have Cowan cousins! We share a common ancestor--we just have to figure out who he is... (For those who want to look, the project is at http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Cowan/ and we're kit# 7989.) To be honest, I'm close to giving up on poor Elijah & Co. Without some sort of miracle (Family Bible anyone?) I just don't know where else to look. Any suggestions welcomed! Looking forward to hearing from more of you! Cyndi in Baltimore