Posted on: Mason County, IL, Queries Reply Here: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/gc/USA/Il/Mason/76 Surname: ALLEN, CHESTER, MANESS, CROUSE, GUTHRIE, GRIFFIN, HAMM ------------------------- Looking for information on George Stephen Maness and his wife, Atha Belle Guthrie who came to Mason City from Calico Rock, Arkansas. My father, Charles Elmer Allen, grew up with the Maness children. Know that one of the children was named John James Maness. Would like to know if there is any connection to Sarah Alice Maness (b 1892), who married Charles F. Chester in 1901. Bertha Ellen Chester, their daughter, was born in Melbourne, Arkansas in 1902. Soon after her birth, the Chester family moved by horse and wagon to Mason City, Mason County, IL. Sarah Alice Maness died soon after arriving in Mason City. She was buried in the Mason City Cemetery. Charles F. Chester then married Gertrude Griffin in 1905. Gertrude was the daughter of John W. Griffin and Minerva Elizabeth Hamm of Mason City, IL. If anyone has any information on any of my surnames, I would appreciate hearing from you. Thank you! Carolyn