In a message dated 98-08-23 13:31:29 EDT, you write: << GGgrandfather died in the Civil War and his brother went off to Oklahoma [probably in that order]. >> Yeah, likely....Oklahoma (Indian Territory) wasn't much settled until well after the Civil War was over. I presume you've obtained gt gdpa's Civil War records from the National Archives...they make for fascinating reading. I had a similar situation. I knew all about gt grandpa and his Civil War record (he served all four years and survived, though slightly wounded)....but I couldn't find out a thing about his little brother, Thomas. All I had was a one line notation in "Genealogy of the Palmer - Trimble Families", "Address: Renfrew, Oklahoma". Searching census rolls pinned it down to Medford, Grant county, OK. A check in that county on the USGenWeb site revealed that his name was on a memorial wall in Medford, dedicated to the 1893 pioneers of the "Cherokee Strip" land run. So when I drove to Kansas to search for other family gravesites last May, I detoured to Medford to photograph the wall and his name. Well, Medford is a sleepy little town, despite being the county seat. On returning home, I went to the computer white pages and found four Downing families located in Medford. Dare I write to them to see if they were related to Thomas? Well, all it would be is a little effort and some postage, and enclose a SASE for a hopeful response, so I did it, not really expecting a reply. Bingo, Cheryl. The great grandson of Thomas Ellsworth Downing wrote back, enclosed the entire family descendancy, complete with birth/death/marriage dates and locations, along with -- wow! -- an 8 x 14 photograph of Thomas, his wife, and his eight children that was taken in 1915!!!! Yes, I have framed the photo! He mentioned that he and his wife occasionally visit Las Vegas, so I'm looking forward to their next trip to buy them the finest steak dinner I can find in town. Ray in LV