Dear Lynnsym, You wrote, in part: My confusion about which Samuel Harris is the grandfather of my proven William P. Harris, b. abt.1800 or 1803 in VA, comes from the fact that at some point someone has entwined information about two or three different Samuel Harrises and connected them to my William P. Harris. In trying to entangle this mess, I have found some small shreds of proof that at least one Samuel Harris who died in Mercer Co., KY in 1852 was probably not connected to William P. Harris. I believe the father of William P. Harris was William Harris also born in VA, but his estimated birth would mean that his birthplace could have been KY. I have no actual proof that these two were father and son, only the fact that both were living a few households apart in the Richland Co., IL 1860 census. Trying to find any information on William has been most challenging since there were so many Harrises everywhere in the mid to early 1800s. I am now trying to sift through Samuel Harrises who had sons named William and if their ages might suggest they could be William P.s father. Suggestion: Sometimes we try to make connections without having sufficient information on which to base a conclusion. If your latest Harris (the one you are convinced you are descended from) was in Richland Co., IL, then I suggest you comb throroughly the records for Richland Co. Sometimes we rely on censuses alone, and that is insufficient evidence, since we rarely know who provided the information. (My German great-grandmother got younger with every census. Shortly before she died, she was about two years old than her son, my grandfather!) For example, I called up the Family History Library catalog [www.familysearch.org] and found that Salt Lake City has numerous films pertaining to Richland Co., including some filmed county histories. The link to the family history library catalog is on the lower right. Do a PLACE search for the appropriate counties. There are millions of films held by the FHL in Salt Lake City--US as well as foreign. I myself rely heavily on land records and probates. In these records, one can frequently find the heirs, particularly if land is involved. I assume, perhaps wrongly, that many persons came to Illinois in the early years to acquire land. I have found some wonderful information in a few OLD Illinois county histories, and in the case of Logan Co., IL, these old [filmed] histories were of immense help because many of Logan Co.'s records burned up!!! I have searched the adjoining counties, like Sangamon, also, and again a county history told a lot about one of my ancestor's cousins--a prominent attorney in Springfield. Also, the State of Illinois has put on the internet many records, such as marriage lists, etc. I have only collaterals (as far as I know) in Illinois, but researching those collaterals was of great help in determining why my migrating to Texas great-grandfather had connections farther north. Seems his sister had married an Illinois resident, and my GGF owed money to that brother-in-law!!! And so on!!! Try this website and look down at the bottom of the screen for a link to lots of Illinois records: http://www.CyndisList.com/il.htm I have not searched tax lists in Illinois (no direct ancestors there, I am thinking) but in Kentucky they are excellent census substitutes--because they are taken each year, and when a fellow is 21, he appears for the first time, if only to pay taxes on his horse (his automobile). Later, the tax lists get more detailed. Look over a list of all the records which may be available for the counties in which you are interested. If you have not used those resources, you are missing a good bet!! Records were created for the government, for the most part, and not for genealogists, so we have to use whatever is available for us. A DAR genealogist taught me in narrowing down persons with the same name: 1. Determine who that person's associates [collaterals] were. For example, if he had a bondsman at his marriage, who was the bondsman? Who were his in-laws? Who did his kids marry? Did they hop a jet to go get married? No--those brides/grooms were generally not too far way away. Who are his neighbors? Is there an old landowners map which will help? Many counties have published these--but one has to hunt for them. 2. For colonial states, particularly in the south, which used metes and bounds in the land records, on what watercourse was the person located? (This won't help in Illinois, but townships are of interest.) Good luck in searching for Harrises. I look for Williamses (from colonial Virginia along the James River), Roses (not every Rose, for heavens sake), Harrises, and so on. You have to learn all the tricks of the trade (well, hobby). E.W.Wallace