Ruth I've got good news and bad news on your Thomas Ham family. First here's the 1880 Madison Co IL (Edwardsville Township) census - Thomas Ham - 29 - laborer - TN TN TN Julia - 24 - wife - IL VA OH William - 10 - son Edward - 6 - son Elizabeth - 4 - daughter Thomas - 3 - son Alice - 2 - daughter Now there was also a Henry Hamm (notice difference in spelling) in Alton city living with the C E Thompson family (wife Nancy, daughter Estella). Henry was listed as a nephew and he and his parents were all born in TN. Since Thomas and his parents were all born in TN it could be that Thomas and Henry are brothers or just a coincidence. If they are brothers, then you'll have to figure out if C E Thompson was the blood relative or Nancy Thompson was the blood relative. Now for the 1900 census - Didn't find any Thomas or Julia Ham/Hamm listed in the index on Family Tree Maker, but..................................... I went down the list and start with A and looked for any family who lived in Madison Co IL. Came across an interesting entry and looked at it. BINGO!!!!!! Evidently Thomas was a middle name because in the 1900 census he's listed as William T Ham. Here's the listing for the family living on Walnut Street in Edwardsville (Edwardsville Township) IL - William T Hamm - b Nov 1851 TN TN TN - day laborer Julia - b Jul 1857 IL VA OH - 11 children 9 living James E - b Nov 1873 IL - day laborer Levi T - b Jan 1877 IL - day laborer Frederick - b Apr 1882 IL - day laborer Rosie Mary - b May 1884 IL Joseph - b Dec 1886 IL Grover C - b Dec 1892 IL If there were still 9 children living, 6 are still at home, leaving William, Elizabeth and Alice to be somewhere possibly with their own families. Also notice the use of the middle name by several in the family. Hope this helps you out. Debbi Geer __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - Send FREE e-cards for every occasion! http://greetings.yahoo.com