Sometimes family research is in the eyes of the beholder. We must often make assumptions about our fore fathers that we hope are correct. I was asked once if my Mat(t)hew HOWELL or his son Crowell HOWELL, b. Meigs Oh 1832, were Ministers of Methodist Episcopal Church. As there was no proof or different defintions in the past becasue the church had not "finished" splitting and developing. They did not tell that it was a "certain" branch of the church. I have finally found the time to search the history in my files and have found this it comes from the what is now called the United Methodist Church site: What are the Predecessor Denominations of The United Methodist Church? Today's United Methodist Church is the descendent of several predecessors. These denominations are: Methodist Episcopal Church (1784-1939), Methodist Episcopal Church, So. (1845-1939) Methodist Protestant Church ( 1828-1939), Methodist Church (1939-1968), United Brethren in Christ (1800-1946), Evangelical Association (1803-1922) United Evangelical Church (1894-1922), Evangelical Church (1922-1946) Evangelical United Brethren (1946-1968) United Methodist Church (1968- present) My Matthew HOWELL and his son Crowell HOWELL who lived in the 1800s, were most likely Ministers of Methodist Episcopal Church (M. E. Society as it was often refered to) because there was not another one according to the Church records that I have available to me. I do have the copy and have seen the original document of when my GGF, Crowell HOWELL, was ordained by the Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Arkansas. One more fact of interest is that the Methodist Episcopal was often a Black congregation. So if you ae haaving a hard time finding your Methodist minister in the past try searching according to the years above and you will have better luck. In today's world I know of many more not listed that are small factions of the same faith. Sheila Texas _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com