I've heard that the neighbors did give information about a family when they weren't available. Seems they were all family so that that made sense. Also, you will see a lot of "nicknames" instead of proper names. My Grandma Hetrick had a handwritten list of relatives with their marriages and birthdates at the farmhouse. That's where I got most of my information. I have something similar from my grandfather on my mother's side. It appeared to be a couple of sheets out of a family Bible. It was a heavy stock paper though and yellowed. Was very old and worn (1890 era). The ink was very faded. Was folded and kept in the family trunk for decades. We still had to enlarge it and use a magnifying glass to make out the writing. I guess the acid in the paper in those days ate away the quality. Can buy acid free paper today/ archival quality. Would have been nice if they had had that in their day, huh. Lois Hetrick Stewart