Larry: Now that we have that settled I will be more than happy to advise you. Back in genealogy 101 the first thing one learns to do is to sit down with pencil in hand and make a list, starting with self and back through parents, grandparents, etc as far as one can go, setting out known facts re birth, marriage and death dates and locations. Most people can easily get a good list for 3 generations, after that it gets much more difficult. Calculating 30 yrs. per generation many (most?) folks can get back to about 1850, depending of course upon one's age at the time. This of course is only about 60 years separated from the 1790 census, or about the same time as has elapsed since World War Two, not much time as history goes. The technique then is to gather up your surnames, check each volume of the 1790, and, utilizing the census bureau's publication "Century of Population Growth" (published in conjunction with the 1790 census in 1890) which includes a frequency table illustrating the number of times and locatlion that any given surname appears in each state in 1790, you can actually get a very good indicator or the state or origin of your people, at least as far as 1790 in concerned. Then of course you use a little name analysis technique to eliminate or confirm likely choices, and work both ends against the middle to determine the most likely origin (1790 version) of your line. A very simple technique that works well. Be aware of course that the census of 1790 was destroyed for several states, being as I recall New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia and Kentucky, as well as the Northwest Territory and Territory South of the River Ohio (Tennessee in other words). Also keep in mind that the census of Virginia includes what is now West Virginia but is not really a census at all, but rather a compilation from the 1782 and 1785 tax lists and many counties are omitted. People who do all their "research" by computer have very little access to primary or strong secondary sources, mainly they just wind up exchanging "data" with others who are so fond of saying "I have" or "I show" without giving a single source or reference. In this way errors, mistakes and downright frauds are spread, perpetuated and eventually obtain the sanctity of the gospel. There are numerous texts on the methodology of genealogical research. One that comes to mind is "Search and Research" which is still, I believe, in print. Try it! The 1790 census is in print at about $25 per volume from any good bookseller. It is a wonderful tool. The internet contains very little in the form of primary or even good secondary source material. There is no substitute for library or courthouse research at this time. Hopefully eventually the internet will contain such material and the 1790 census is a good addition, but is readily available otherwise. A great and highly comendable example of good research made avaiable by internet researchers is typified by the abstraction and transcription of Charlotte's Pearls and the other Jefferson County newspapers as being produced by so many people on this website at this time. If one's ancestry does not extend back to 1790 in this country, the various 1850 census indexes (available in good libraries) can be just as effective as a starting tool. Good luck, Dan