Don't give up searching in only 6 months; I just solved two lines I had been working on for over 5 years. And a few years ago I answered a 10 year old query I found in a set of old newsletters I had purchased, and provided a clue to a family that had been looking for more than 10 years. Often when I get really stuck, I go to work on another line. I also do research into the localities where the people lived, the families of the in-laws, neighbors, walk through area cemeteries, etc. Sometimes the clues turn up where you least expect them. Sometimes they turn up in photocopied pages I had copied several years before, just because the family name and time made me think they might come in useful some time. One family I would never had known about I learned from reading excerpts from a letter written by an 80 year old very forgetful lady (a Crawford, incidentally and granddaughter of my direct ancestor) that said she was named after Persis Stowell (had no idea who she was however). That led me back to the cemetery where a Persis Crawford and relatives were buried, right behind a family of Stowells. Later land records were able to prove the relationship. That letter incidentally was in a family file collected by a county historian. Had I not driven several hours to that historical society and spent hours reading the correspondence in that file, I would never had a clue to look for the surname Stowell. Personally I would spend more than 6 months before hiring a professional researcher. The more you know, the less you are likely to have to pay the researcher and the more things you can give that person to go on. Have you tried local historical societies and historians? Sometimes they have valuable information. Have you looked at wills, letters of administration, land records for people of the same surname in the locality you think this ancestor lived? Try also family genealogies of surnames of the in-laws. You never know what might turn up in an unexpected place. I do wish you well. Margaret Scheffler mike webb wrote: > > I've been trying to find Parents of Jonathan William Crawford for 6 months > now, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the trouble to keep searching it > seem's like he never every was born. > The question I have would it pay me to hire a Professional Researcher to > find this info out. Please let let me if I'm beating a Dead Horse with this > name. Thank You Mike > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com