I got this off one of my mail lists and thought it was very, very good.....so I thought I'd share it with you. The Five-Mile Rule A young man couldn't go courting at night much further than five miles or he wouldn't make it back home the next morning in time for farm chores. Five miles was a long way to go, on foot, by horseback or buggy. Young men often married young women within that five-mile radius so look at the tax lists to see who lived within that radius...you may find the maiden name of your female ancestor. Linda Linda Kralman-Lambert IL GenWeb Project Volunteer County Coordinator for Effingham County, Illinois http://www.rootsweb.com/~ileffing/ Effingham County Mail List