If you would like to send me your ancestors name, dates and locations I will do lookups for you Arlene C. Great offer, Arlene, Thanks! My great grandfather William Majors Cummings, was born in Niagara County, NY in November 1829. He was in Michigan from about 1834 to about 1850 and in Mt. Carroll Illinois from 1850 to 1853 when he married Caroline Brown and they came to CA. I don't know for sure where his parents were born, or sibling info. Because 1850 was a census year, he might have been in Carroll Co., IL or in MI if the census caught him before he left. Best guess for parents' origins are NH, VT, MA or Lake Champlain area of NY, because there are several Cummings from that area who settled in Mt. Carroll, IL prior to 1850, and that would have been a place for him to strike out on his own when he turned 21. I've been reduced to relying on the kindness of strangers in tracking him down! Earle William Cummings