Hi cousins! I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to find all of you! As a child, I was always told by the elderly relatives that I inherited "that Elam pride" -- I had no idea what that meant, but they always said it as if it were a good thing! Before I found this website my Elam history only went back as far as Benjamin Elam & Emily Jane Holbrook (plus in 1983 I found an 1860 census record showing an elderly Gilbert living with Benjamin & Emily, so I deduced this was his father). I have a great deal of information on the descendants of Benjamin & Emily, including children, spouses, births, deaths, stories, etc., which I'll share in a future message. Adding your research to mine, here's my line, starting with me: 1. Louanna Taulbee Walker 2. Ella Jane Morris & Johnie Milton Taulbee) 3. Julian Preston Morris & Addie Elam 4. Benjamin Elam & Emily Jane Holbrook 5. Gilbert Elam & Catherine Cooley 6. William "Billie" Cannon Elam & Susannah Rugins 7. Gilbert Elam & Susanna Cannon 8. Robert Elam & Elizabeth Boling 9. Gilbert Elam & Mary Hatcher 10. Gilbert Elam & Ann Elam 11. Thomas Elam & Mary Shirecliffe 11. Robert Elam (through Ann) CORRECTION: on Cassie's "James Elam Descendants", there's a 2nd marriage listed for Benjamin Elam (to Rebecca Burton). This must be someone else's Benjamin (there's an LDS report showing a Benjamin C. Elam b. 1850 m. Rebecca Burton in 1871). MY Benjamin was born in 1842 -- I don't have an exact date of death. The story handed down is that Ben was still fairly young when died -- he fell to his death when he climbed to the top of a watermill to fix a frozen waterwheel. Ben & Emily's youngest son Grant was born in 1892, so the earliest Ben could have died was after Emily became pregnant with Grant in 1891-1892, which would make Ben 50. Does anyone have any information on the ancestors of Emily Jane Holbrook Elam --I've reached a brick wall. There's a small penciled note in the Family Bible close to her name that (I think) reads: "mar'd Murphy". Perhaps a 2nd marriage after Ben's death? Also, "Wheelrim" is written after her maiden name -- maybe this is where the Holbrooks lived. Can't wait to hear from all of you. I'll organize my notes & files & send you the rest of what I have. Lou Walker