Wow, thanks Cheryl another wonderful article! I heard a story that one of my grandfather's sister's was married to a man whose family were gypsies. I don't know if there was any truth to it, but she had someone in the family smuggle her out and gave her passage money to America. Also the one about Brass Checks 1908 was interesting, because when my grandfather worked in the coalmines of West Virginia they had to buy from the Company Store as well. Sharon