Look at your nearest genealogy library for a book called a Township Atlas. It will give all the townships in each county for each state in the union. I use the one at our library a LOT. One can be purchased for home use for $85--but it is, as you can imagine, a very thick book...you need to balance the number of counties you're interested in with the possible total cost of the book. Ideas of things to consider in using it: 1. If one family is living close to the county line, and the county seat is quite a ways away, it increases the possibility that they may have married in the neighboring county. 2. A family may have married someone in another county/state rather than someone in the same county if they live in a township bordering a county/state line, particularly if the two families lived in townships at opposite sides of the county. Distance via horseback could slow a young man, even in those days. 3. If a family owned land, knowing the township can speed up locating them in the next census, if there doesn't happen to be a census index locally for the year you want to look at. If they didn't own land, they may have moved elsewhere in the county a lot more easily than if they were more or less anchored by land ownership. 4. If you have located two "John Smith" families that are possible candidates for your ancestor, comparing the township the will was recorded for may help you identify which one is which in the census. (Wills don't exist for everyone, don't ALWAYS give the township.) Good luck. If you don't have a Township Atlas at your library, let me know. Karen