HI: Thanks for your reply! I can answer some of the questions you posed. Kberry > No direct help, but some questions come to mind, seeing your > data for the first time: > > 1.) I presume you've verified Robert Baldwin's location in > Mason Co., KY via the 1860 census and now you're looking for the > balance of Moses' family with other slave owners in the area. If > so, I'd try to determine from the 1860 census or possibly platte > books (if any exist), which of the other potential slave owners was > geographically nearest and farthest from Robert Baldwin, eliminating > the latter (for now) and going after the one(s) nearest Baldwin > first. > Ok. I've checked the tax lists/census records for Robert H. Baldwin and I know he left Fayette County (an adjoining county) after 1844. He married SALLY T. METCALFLE in 1844. Have not checked land records, though. Great suggestion! I believe too, by checking tax records and noting that there is at least one Baldwin who bought slaves with him for a couple of years. I figure it's his uncle or other relative, helping him get his start with land ownership, etc. (I checked tax lists from 1844 onward.) Tax records show that Robert paid taxes on slaves in 1855, 1858, 1860, 1861, 1862, and he died in 1863. The possibility that he owned part or the whole Berry family is plausible for the tax years 1860 (2 slaves, 1 over 16); 1861 (6 slaves, 3 over 16); 1862 (7 slaves, 3 over 16) and 1863 (according to inventory of estate, 10 slaves, 5 over 16). > 2.) How close to an adjoining state is Mason Co.? Mason County is across the Ohio River from Brown County, Ohio. (It was a well-known site for slave escapes.) > Is it > possible the balance of Moses' family was outside of Mason Co.? Probably, but I don't know who Moses' relatives were. Just have the name JUDAH. > 3.) If Mariah was the mother of Moses' children, and she is > 24, then she is neither the mother of the Alex who was 17- making > Mariah 7 yrs old when she became a mother, nor is she the mother of > the Alex who was 14, since Mariah would still have only been 10. > Sure you've got the right Mariah? > Cap'n John I'm sure I have the right Mariah. I made a typo and mentioned Alex twice -- Alex would have been 17. There was a *14-year-old* slave on the census list. And yes, she would've been too young to be Alex's mother. (You wouldn't believe how long it took for me to figure this out, I was *assuming* she was his mother too, for years, without counting their ages!) Anyway, I believe, but have not documented, that Alex was Moses's son by another woman, perhaps someone who died. This would make Mariah the mother only of his younger two children, Arthur and Belle. I think it notable that Moses and Alex were paired together with the same slave owner. I think it's because Alex was young and strong, but also because he was in Moses's care. Again, it's just speculation. Kdberr1@aol.com