Sir: Never would I believe you would have such an unsavory personage in your bloodlines as a Virginia bushwhacker, maybe a pick pocket or street mugger, but certainly not a bushwhacker. You are most certainly correct about those unsavory "sorts" who lurked about the borders of our state. But in our defense, you must admit that our ancestors knew how to handle those ruffians, both yours and mine. All I can say is that those ruffians were lucky that my McQuillens had moved from Virginia before the civil started, or they would have caught, "what for." It is funny how strange genealogy is. I have recently discovered more family in Virginia who are related to my father's side. They are two families who came together and produced my grandmother who slipped a Septimus Brown into her lineage, who produced my father and his sister. They are the Ropers and the Sheets. This happened after both families moved from Virginia to North Carolina. The Ropers were hard working Americans with only slight shades of gray tones here and there in their background and my Sheets were hard working men of the cloth. As a matter of fact my gr-gr-gr grandfather, The Reverend David Sheets was a man of the cloth. A fine Baptist Preacher who gathered up the paupers in Wayne county Missouri and started the County Poor farm around 1872, according to the 1880 census. I believe there were eleven of these poor unfortunates at the time living with him during the census. I have since discovered there has been a slip up of morals here and a slip up there, but hey, who am I to criticize? I'm just glad to be alive and well to enjoy the fruits of my labors. Which reminds me; The reason I have not been heard from very much this year is because I have been trying to do two jobs since the first of the year. I have been working in the money business for my daughter and her husband in their newly formed business and since last September I and my nephew have been trying to capture the Bean market in Albuquerque and have almost succeeded. We are regionally known as the the, "Bean Kings," of the world and are shooting for the Universe title. As an aside: You would not believe how many beans it takes to make six tons and I temporarily have no intention of counting them, "Pheww." I must depart for now, I just looked up and discovered my mail box is filling up again. One from a Roper cousin in NC and one from a cousin in St Louis and a number of friends. Talk later.----Jim ------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Brasher aka JIM: Surely you do not live under the assumption that everyone now living in Virginia has an bushwhacker ancestor. Those unsavory sorts usually came from the border states, especially Missouri. My genteel Virgiana confederates only came to Missouri AFTER the war, as it was considered a much more "CSA friendly" place to live than the Federally occupied, war-zone, devastated, destroyed, burnt to the ground place formerly known as Virginia. As for calling my German ancestors "genteel", that is made me laugh out loud. They never did master proper English or even basic table manners. My anglo-southern father is the one who pounded that into my head as a child. But at making money both by day and by night, those Germans did alright. Good manners and good grammar are no substitute for hard work and determination. So, I hope I can say I bask at least partially in my hybrid condition. Of course, both sides contribute bad attributes, but we don't discuss those HERE. Your Friend, Mr. Kilby