G'day folks, I've just gotten an email from April Heath which has again pointed out the discrepancy surrounding the date of death for John Minton Estes, born 1804, Greenville Co, SC, thence to Cannon Co, TN and eventually to Yellville, Marion Co, AR. (He's also been called John Moses Estes by some, tho' all the reliable evidence I've seen says he was Minton). The problem is that I have seen two different dates quoted for his death, namely 1857 and 1881 (and presumably they didn't take over 20 years to bury his corpse!). Does anyone have hard evidence that points to one or the other? By "hard" I mean a tombstone record (especially one you or someone you know has checked), a family bible etc. Different books on the region give one or the other date, so I'd rather not rely on them. The issue is somewhat complicated in that John had a son, John Minton Estes Jr. According to "A Reminiscent History of the Ozarks", by Ramfire (I think this is the right source .. April?), a John (Minton) Estes was a signer of the incorporation of Yellville in 1872. It has been presumed by others that it referred to John Sr, but could it have been John Jr? Before one jumps to the conclusion that the 1857 date is obviously the dod for John Sr and the 1881 date is that for John Jr, I also have a dod for John Jr of 1873. As I said, the situation is a tad complicated. :) I don't know where the 1857 and 1881 dates come from .. are they from tombstones, wills, family bibles or what? Or the 1873 date for John Jr for that matter. cheers, David. -- A stranger in a world I never made - Housman DC2.D A+++! L^ Pfwl Bfl Fo R+++! Ac+ J-- S++ Fr+++! I+ H++ $ M V+++ Cag http://xenon.triode.net.au/~dragon mailto:dragon@triode.net.au