It probably depends on the time period. I have quite a few family members who left the Midwest for California -- probably for the weather (and one or two who went to Arizona, probably for the same reason). Then I have folks who went to Kansas or to Colorado. Not being from the Midwest, I don't have an idea for these moves. But, these were all many years before there were auto plants, so looking in Michigan for my other "missings" isn't something I'd thought about. You need to know how your people made a living, or what they were likely to do to make a living. Were they farmers or town-folk? Singles or did they have a family? What was going on in Missouri and the rest of the country? The 1900 and 1920 census have been soundexed for all of the states. The 1910 has been soundexed for 22 states. At a large library, it is fairly easy to look at several states for this time period rather quickly. If you need to find someone after 1920, the 1930 census will be out next year, although I understand only a few states have been soundexed. Your best bet for locating people after 1920 is to talk to your older living relatives. Elizabeth Richardson, Ketchikan, Alaska [email protected]