I just subscribed to this list in anticipation of a research trip to Iowa this summer. William Croker arrived in Roland Twp, just outside of Gowrie in time to appear in the 1880 census. With him was his wife Betsy, son Fred age 10, adult son William with wife Ellen (Elsie), and their son, William P. age 1. William Croker and William Croker, Jr purchased farm land in Sec 36 Roland Twp in October 1880. They farmed there until Feb 1900 when they sold up and moved to South Dakota, where William Sr. died in March. I have found most of the legal documents concerning this family but I am interested in background material such as newspaper stories, schools the children would have attended, the Methodist church in Gowrie, migration stories from Illinois and to South Dakota, etc. I would like to hear from people who are researching the same time period. Thank you, Mary Herzog