This has been a "brick wall", totally restricting the growth of my family tree files for the five years I have been hooked as a family historian...so much, in fact, that I am beginning to doubt my own existence!...in spite of having over 40,000 names of kin in my files. I am going to "turn up the heat" on this one (i.e., no more one time a year ads, targeting more than one subscription list, etc.) Here goes.... THOMAS EDWARD WILSON (I am named after him... my great grandfather) was born in Morgan County, Illinois on August 4, 1865. He died on September 25, 1946 in Eva, Texas County, Oklahoma...buried in Baker Cemetery, Texas County, Oklahoma. THOMAS married LOUISA FATZER (b. April 5, 1873 in Talylorville, Christian County, Illinois / d. Nov 9, 1942 in Larned, Kansas) on April 12, 1888 in Edwards County, Kansas. THOMAS appears in the 1880 Morgan County census living with his aunt and uncle, THOMAS and ELIZABETH (WILSON) BROWN in the same household with another uncle, RICHARD WILSON...living in Franklin Township. THOMAS' father, (my brick wall)(who MAY be named JOHN) was born between 1820 and 1835 in Yorkshire, England...emigrated with his brother and sister to Morgan County about 1847. The 1880 census says that THOMAS' mother was born in Illinois...no county given. THOMAS was the youngest of 6 children. His siblings are named JOHN, HARDEN, SALLEY, SUSAN and CHARLES (the latter is the oldest, born in 1855). THOMAS parents both died prior to 1870 and the children were farmed out...THOMAS going to his father's sister ELIZABETH. We think CHARLES went to Oklahoma. THOMAS ran away from home shortly after the 1880 census. These are the facts...I have a lot of "rumors"...but none are founded in fact. I realize WILSON and BROWN are just about as common of a surname as one could have My pressing question is...who are THOMAS' parents? The father, brother to ELIZABETH and RICHARD was one of several "yorkies" emigrating to Morgan County in the mid-1800s, probably did not live long enough to know THOMAS...he died before his wife. It is logical that he married his Illinois-born wife sometime between 1848 and 1854...probably in or near Morgan County...since his brother and sister lived there...and show repeatedly in the Illinois census beginning in 1850. Even one additional clue would be a big help. This is a tough one, so any help would be appreciated by dozens of WILSON descendants. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide! Tom Wilson Boca Raton, FL

Tom, maybe in your search for your WILSON/BROWN families you'll turnup something useful about my BROWN family as well :). All I know is that my Martha A. BROWN married Wm. Proctor JACKSON in Morgan Co. 1854. They had a lot of children! William JACKSON came from England but I don't know when or from where. Martha's mother's name was Catharine and Catharine lived with Martha and William in Macoupin Co. in 1860. Perhaps when I get to Morgan CO in June I can find something usefulin the graveyard where WM. and Martha are buried. Good luck, Carol Dugger