Theresa-- I do not know what your circumstances are, but I would highly recommend that you make a trip to Fayette County if possible. I spent a couple of days in a hotel there last summer. They have a wonderful little library there with a genealogy section which has a lot of resources. The people there have a terrific historical group (The Fayette County Genealogical and Historical Society) which has published a LOT of family history info. I found stuff there it would have taken me YEARS to look up otherwise. And the people are so warm and friendly. Melinda > Hi, > > I am totally at a loss. I have researched every immigration ship list that > is on the web and ones I could find previously at the LDS Church. I find > none of my ancestors. I know they had to come over on a ship, didn't they? > So, why is it that I can't find them. And I have had no luck at all on any > of the web sites. It's like they just "appeared" out of thin air. Is anyone > else having this problem? Or am I doing something wrong? > > I know that my family lived in Fayette County, IL and most are buried at the > old Keen's Chapel Cemetery. But, I can trace back only so far. The surnames > I am researching are RINKEL, KRUSE, EHLERT, KOHLBERG, KUHLIG, DIXON, SCHMIDT, > WILKINSON (or WILKERSON). I know the Rinkel name is not a common name, so > why am I having so much trouble? > > Will there be researchable census records on Fayette County, going back to > the 1800's? > > Thanks for listening. I am really getting frustrated. > > Theresa > >