Roger, I have a lot of Houpt relatives in my file, but not this one. A check of the 1870 census in "Houpt territory" District 3, Bolivar Post Office shows a Josh. Houpt 13 living with a Gideon Slifer 69 and Mary Ann 72. My guess would be that Joshua's parents died and he's living with his grandparents. I find it very interesting that in the 1850 census of Mt. Morris Twp, Ogle County, IL, there is a Joshua Slifer born in Maryland. Possibly he is the son of Gideon back here in Frederick County? Maybe his sister, Mary married a Houpt and named her son after her brother. Wouldn't surprise me since Boliver is near the center of where the Houpts lived in those days. I don't have the marriage records database, but maybe someone could do a look-up for Houpt/Sliver marriages in Maryland? Thanks, Cindy H.