I sent this info to Jeff but thought that I would post it to the list as well. Hope it helps someone :o) Kelly Priestly Simsboro, LA This info comes from Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses...and I'm looking at maps so please excuse the precision of boundaries. These dates/maps show the boundaries when the census was taken. 1810-1820....about the west 2/3 of present day Lincoln Parish was in Natchitoches Territory and the east 1/3 was in Ouachita 1830....the west 1/3 of Lincoln Parish was in Claiborne Parish and the east 2/3 (including the area that would have been Longstraw) was in Ouachita 1840....the west 1/3 still in Claiborne Parish, but the east 2/3 in Union Parish (except for 2 corner smidgeons which were in Ouachita....but Longstraw should have been in Union). 1850-1860-1870...upper left corner in Claiborne, lower left corner in Bienville, upper right corner in Union, all the rest (including Longstraw) was Jackson. 1880....Lincoln Parish formed c1872/3 and this map has all of north LA with the present day boundaries. I don't remember exactly what year Jackson Parish courthouse burned but I know it was the late 1870s. The Jackson Parish GenWeb page probably has that info on there and might tell you what other avenues you could go down to find info. Also, you might try Union Parish if your folks were there c1840.