I missed the email that mentioned the Harris line, and Gentry. Would anyone happen to know who else is working on this line? Please see below for the message sent. Thank you and Merry Christmas. Jude ----------- In a message dated 12/7/03 12:06:59 PM, Hdanw@aol.com writes: << Dear researchers, I am butting in here--if you want your messages kept confidential, keep them off the list!!! This was the exchange of e-mails on the Gentry list: Hi Kim I found a site on Ancestry that has Elisha's parents as John Gentry, Jr. and Rhoda Harris. If John Gentry died in Bullitt Co. Ky, you might be able to find a will probated for him, possibly listing his heirs. I found the LDS people have filmed Bullitt Co. wills. That will probably be the only way to establish Elisha's parents. Or just go through all the wills until you find one who names Elisha. I know it's time consuming, but sometimes that's the only way. Norma Response: I do a fair amount of Kentucky research, beginning before it became a Commonwealth in 1792, meaning I use a fair number of Virginia records also, including what is called the 1787 Census of Virginia (personal property tax lists which included all of the then Kentucky counties, all of what is now West Virginia, and whatever other land Virginia claimed in 1787.) In Kentucky, if you cannot find a will (fairly rare in some areas) or an administration listed in the indexes of the Kentucky films for probates (wills) and court records (administrations), I suggest this method. This action by the courts occurred fairly late in Kentucky, and I have not studied Kentucky law to determine all the ins and outs of distribution of property of a deceased person. However, while plowing though the filmed land records (deed indexes, both grantor and grantee), I found many Kentucky counties have typed these deed indexes, and they are nicely alphabetized, making the reading of the microfilm fairly easy. This is how you MAY be able to spot an heir: Look under the alphabetical index for your suspected ancestor and look for entries which have appended the symbols *Hrs* meaning heirs or *&c* meaning others. If you do not find your usual suspect or his sons-in-law, flip over to the C part of the index. Here in later years you will find Commissioners deeds. Frequently the courts appointed a commissioner to help the heirs (or heirs of heirs, if the original heir is deceased) reach a decision/compromise concerning the distribution or sale of the land. For one deed in a Kentucky county, I found about 15 heirs of a deceased ancestor, including the male spouses of the married females. Unfortunately, the commissioners deeds did not always list the residence of the parties, and so you have to do some sleuthing. Knowing many Kentuckians moved to Missouri, I searched not only the Kentucky census indexes (through 1870, many have been published) but also the census indexes for Missouri. Genealogy, as you have discovered, is largely detective work. That's why you read as many guide books as possible and books pertainng to the records of the particular locality which you are searching. There are on the LDS website some reseach outlines for all the states of the US plus some foreign countries--England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, etc. Also, be aware when the county was formed. You may have to look in the parent county or the progeny counties as the large counties divided. (This is where Everton's Handy Book for Genealogists, whatever edition, is helpful.) I hope you find your missing ancestors and their siblings, their children, their parents, their in-laws and all other associates. When a census, such as the 1890 census, is missing, consult the Family History Library Catalog on www.familysearch.org [the lower right has the link] and see if tax lists for that locality have been filmed. Tax lists in Kentucky are a great help in locating folks. A man got taxed even if all he had was a horse. Generally from these Kentucky tax lists, you can figure out when a male became of age. Some of the later ones even asked how many kids were in the family!!! E.W.Wallace