Posted on: Cedar Co., Mo Query Forum Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Mo/Cedar/825 Surname: Ronk, Miller, Giddens, Deardorff ------------------------- Afraid I'm of no help Joe. Have made heavy queries to Brethren historians, among others, but little headway. One question that may be helpful in your question is the precise name of the religion. Several churches use the term Brethren - Church of the Brethren (COB), Brethren Church, United Brethern, etc. United Brethren were never, I believe, affiliated with the other two. Brethren Church was a split-off from COB about 1880. The precise name is rather important if searching via the church. My forebears, in the 1850 era, were Church of the Brethren. The family was involved in the great divide of 1880 and became Brethren Church folks - several ministers. The Brethren Church is centered at Ashland College in Ohio, while COB centers on Manchester College. Names associated with the COB in Cedar around 1850 were Rev Thomas Miller family, Jacob Ronk, Giddens, Deardorff, Gish, among possibly others. These folks moved from Putnam Co IN to Cedar Co with the intention of starting a "colony", but never got a church built. The advent of the Civil War pretty much ended any efforts - the millers fled to Kansas. (I am related to all the above except Gish.) Some of the families remained on in Cedar Co to the present. The COB folk were very much a tight little group of folks, a true minority, and can normally be found through close looks at various COB neighbors. Have you taken a look at the Bureau of Land Management site? Ronk, Deardorff and Giddens, as I recall, all claimed land in Cedar and/or Dade Cos of MO. If you come up with anything, would love to hear it, based on the para above. Sorry I can't be any other help at present. don