Ethel --- I'd bet on Alabama, especially if they're given as abbreviations. It's easy enough to drop the "A" from Ala., resulting in La. Even 'tho your (county?) courthouse burned down, have you checked to see if the State Archives or Vital Records have any of the info? How about church records? -- Cheers, Jim Gordon, Laurel, MD USA "Ethel S." wrote: > > Doug, that is such good advice. I am printing it out and keeping it before > me as a guideline. I do have a problem in that I do not know where my > gr.grandfather Thomas Jefferson Gordon was born. One census says Alabama > (1870), but the 1880 census says LA. I can find no documents on him(birth, > death) as our courthouse burned in 1910. > However, I do think your suggestions are excellent. Ethel.