About your *missing* Daniel Hitt: Some of these South Caroline folks moved to territory under Federal Jurisdiction after the Louisiana Purchase [Remember that event?]. Parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, in particular, were filled with persons leaving South Carolina after the invention of the cotton gin. If you can access a book by Dr. Anne Gregorie about Sumter Co., SC, you can read about these migrations. This is from a google.com search: _History of Sumter County, South Carolina. (Open Library)_ (http://openlibrary.org/b/OL6156580M) History of Sumter County, South Carolina. by Anne King Gregorie Published in 1954, Library Board of Sumter County (Sumter) ... The invention of the cotton gin allowed small farmers to plant more cotton, and, in the case of large families, whole families migrated to parts of what were included in Louisiana Purchase states. For a possible clue as to some of these migrations, particularly from the *Old South*, check the BLM [Bureau of Land Management] website at _http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/_ (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/) However, if you are near a large genealogical library or a University library, try to check any online catalogs near you for a book entitled Grassroots of America by Phillip W. McMullin.. This is a computerized index of land grants appearing in American State Papers--some lands granted by the British and the Spanish before the Americans took over. Some of the volumes of American State Papers pertain to private claims.and the citizens were presenting them again to US Congress. I did a google.com search for Grassroots of American and came up with this info--which I tried to copy and paste. Hope the formatting is not too strange. _Public Lands and Claims in the American State Papers,1789–1837_ (http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/summer/state-papers.html) Although the CIS index is not as comprehensive as Grassroots of America for individual names, it can lead to information in the other classes of the ... www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/summer/state-papers.html - The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has microfiched this valuable index called Grassroots of America and it is on six microfiche NO. 6051323 Last time I ordered microfiche through my local LDS family history center, each fiche cost me 15 cents apiece. The price may have gone up!!! Remember, this is an index only--surname + given name and some volumes and pages--which pages pertain to American State Papers. These papers were compiled by Gales and Seaton on the orders of Congress. Many of these claims or papers pertaining to the claims had been burned during the War of 1812, when the British burned parts of Washington, DC. There was another edition of American State Papers, but the index mentioned pertains only to the Gales and Seaton edition. If you live near Houston and are not fearful about going into downtown Houston [some Houstonians I know decline to go there--but genealogists are generally fearless!!!], this will interest you: _American State Papers_ (http://www.houstonlibrary.org/clayton/clf/lr002.html) Clayton Library has the original volumes of American State Papers published by Gales and Seaton, two editions of Grassroots of America, and the Southern ... www.houstonlibrary.org/clayton/clf/lr002.html - 9k - Well, to test the BLM website, I searched the first tab--Land Patents--for Hitt in Mississippi, and found two screens full of them!!! Look for more recent books by Walter Lowrie, some of which have recently been republished by Southern Historical Press ca 1986. These are parts of another version of American State Papers, but, in some respects, they are quite detailed about early claims under the Spanish or the English. I did not find any Kempers in Mississippi [at least one county is named for Samuel and possibly Reuben Kemper], but when I looked in Louisiana, I found a few Kempers, including Samuel!!! Although this info may not help you locate your missing ancestor, you will have learned a lot about where you might search for people who got federal land from the Gulf of Mexico [but not Texas, which has its own land commission] to the Canadian border!!! After I heard a lecture long ago about Grassroots of America, a whole new world of genealogy opened up for me--and has kept me chasing Scotts and Kellers, formerly of South Carolina, through Mississippi,and Louisiana in the early days after the Americans took over!!! If you have any interest in the Kempers, do a google.com search for Samuel Kemper. The Handbook of Texas has a couple of detailed paragraphs about him!!! E.W.Wallace descended from another Kemper of Fauquier Co., VA and later of Garrard Co., KY In a message dated 11/25/2008 12:17:45 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, germanna_colonies-request@rootsweb.com writes: Suzanne Matson asked about Daniel Hitt formerly of Abbeville District SC. 1. Daniel Hitt, 1830's, SC (Suzanne Matson) <holtzclaw.research@yahoo.com> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- She wrote: I am searching for a connection between Daniel Hitt listed as head of household in the 1830 census Abbeville District SC and known Germanna Hitt descendants living in the same area.? He was the son-in-law of Nathan Chaney and is named in Nathan's will.? Unfortunately, in this will Nathan does not refer to his daughter by name.? She is referred to as "my daughter who married Daniel Hitt".? So irritating!! This Daniel Hitt is not listed in the 1840 or later censuses in SC.? I think he may have moved elsewhere but currently have no idea where.? In the 1830's and 1840's SC suffered a net loss in population as people moved westward into Georgia, Alabama, etc.. Suzanne Collins Matson **************One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212962939x1200825291/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp %26icid=aolcom40vanity%26ncid=emlcntaolcom00000001)