I have read all the many responses on this question also. I triled to personally thank each and every one who did - but may have missed some with this too. I really wanted to thank Kay Pacheco for forwarding my message to the Texahoma list for help. Many of those responses helped a great deal. Thank you all so very much. By way of update: I tried the 1910 Census Soundex already - with no luck. I need to check the 1900. Grandpa would not be on there - but maybe his parents would be. I contacted the Western Heritage Ranch Museum and they told me that all the brands are registered by county - there is no state agency which keeps a list of all of them. There may be a listing for Big O in many - or all - of the counties in Texas. The person at the Museum I spoke with took my name and telephone number and stated that if he came across any information in the normal course of his research - he would let me know. I also contacted the Department of Agriculture and they verified that counties are the ones who keep brand registers. The person I spoke with here said maybe Bigo meant Odessa - well maybe - no way to know for sure. I do not have a birth or death certificate for him. The record I have is documents from the Washington State Department of Corrections. Something just struck me. I will contact the County in which he was arrested and see if they can provide me with a copy of his case. Maybe this has more information. I do not believe he died in Texas and anyway - do not have a death date for him. I tried to search for a SS# - no luck. Thank you all so very much. Please keep me in mind should you have any other insights. I will keep you all updated. Deborah Donegan info@buyersmarketplace.com