Pam, Don't feel bad about failing geography! I did too! :-) The trick to it is to find a good map, with large enough labels to read, and an easy to read grid and a good index. Then, you start with the town you want, look it up in the index, and see the coordinates (usually a letter and a number). Find the place where the number and letter match up, and then look for your town in only that box. The things I've learned are this: 1-usually, if you can't find something on a map, its because the labels aren't clear 2-it pays to keep modern maps and old maps around. That way, you can apply what you know from a modern map to an older one. 3-If all else fails, find someone good at geography and bug the heck out of them until you understand! :-) My fiancé, a history major, is very good with old maps and has been invaluable in trying to figure things out in Wales, Ireland and France. 4-Don't be afraid to make copies and start putting stickers and stuff on the copies. A Post-it Flag on a town with a family name and year makes things much more clear on my maps. Also, you can overlay copies of old maps onto new ones, so that you can see where things match up - also useful, especially in counties which changed their shape. It took me going through a geography class in high school and two more in college before I started to "sorta" get it. I don't know everything there is to know, but I can at least understand what my good friend Rand McNally Atlas is trying to tell me :-) Concetta