Hello Phil, The only thing I can pass along is that your going to have to dig deeper into Williamson Co's records to find a hint as to what his parents names are. Without this info you can not be certain as to which household John would be located in TN in earlier census records. I checked the IL Land Records Database: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ (click on "Search Land Patents" in the green shaded area, on next page enter area code 62812, then select IL, enter RUSSELL for a last name, then select Williamson Co, then click search at the bottom) there were about 30 land purchases in Williamson dating back to 1831 for your surname....one of which could be the father of your John. Order these records, it might give a clue to the county in TN. Check the TN county land records for the county you find and see if it mentions any Russell's being residents of Williamson Co when they sold their TN land. Check "Will & Probate" records for any Russell's in the Tn county you suspect... one may name an heir living in Williamson.... Best Regards, Trev ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2003 2:47 PM Subject: [ILSALINE-L] ILSALINE-D Digest V03 #283 > Hello Trevor, Manchester, Tn., > What is the secret of finding someone born in Tennessee? > Like my G. Grand father--John Caswell Russell b. 6/15/1823 from Tn. per > 1850 Williamson Co., IL. census. > Phil Russell > Edwardsville, IL.