Hi Listers, We all have horror stories and successes on the census reading and transcribers. I have several. Apparently in the Irish neighborhoods it wasn't uncommon for the census taker to be invited in for alittle "toddy for the body" and towards the end of the day no telling what that person put down for names! But my great great aunt Bridget O'Donnell showed up on one census only. If I had not looked page by page at each and every name I would not have found her. I noticed the dates and toward the end of each day the census taker was having trouble remembering to put last names first. Her first name had been written first and scratched out with O'Donnell written half above it; then her first name written again. The only way I know it is her is that her age and the year of her immigration. Then there is Krejci spelled Kreighty in the 1920 census. If the first names hadn't been right (Joseph and Josie) I wouldn't have found them either. I'm patiently waiting for ancestry.com to finish the indexes in the areas of the country that I need but if I don't find the ancestors that I'm seeking it just means that they read John as Jehu again and I have to keep looking. The fun part is the looking, don't you think? I was looking for Richard Smith in 1870 and found a woman named Jane Smith with a note at the bottom of the page that read "Scalped by Indians last year. Left for dead. Well and hearty now. Hates Indians." No telling what you will find if you look at the images! Happy Holidays to everyone. Is it looking like Christmas in your neck of the woods? Sincerely, Dawn DiSomma [email protected] I finally found a Piatt family listed as Pian. Reading the letters is hard and of course those of us accustomed to the names can more easily decipher letters as we know who was living in the areas. Thus use some imagination if you can't find a name. This last one I found by looking and looking for the woman's name, approx. age, and place of birth. Jerilyn ==== ILFULTON Mailing List ==== To post a message (regardless of "mail" or "digest" mode) to the ILFULTON list just send it to [email protected] _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963