I saw your post about a person/persons who died in Waco, Texas in the 1910s and 1920s. I know from my own research that many death certificates are NOT held by the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics (or whatever its name is now) in Austin, but Waco is a fair-sized city--and probably was in 1911. The death certificate may be held in the county courthouse, or, in some cases, at City Hall in Waco. I will share my experience: My great-grandfather died in Victoria, TX in 1920, and my cousin and I found his death certificate at City Hall, rather than at the county level. My grandmother, who precedeased her father, had her death certificate at the county level--she had died on a ranch in the county. Death certificates frequently tell the birthplace of the decedent, and sometimes, if you are lucky, they may tell the name of at least one parent. (This is only as accurate as the informant's info, which sometimes is mightily incorrect.) Also, censuses from 1880 (he 1880 census is now online but guess at the spellings, as they frequently are inaccurate, either because of the transcriber's failure or the census-taker's error) usually ask for the birthplace of the parents of each person enumerated. This may tell you about your ancestor's origins. Now, back to Waco--Baylor University there has a large Texana collection, and many genealogists in that area use their facilities. There used to be a card catalog with the family name on it--but by now, this catalog may be online, but perhaps not for you and me. Anyway, use a search engine and look for Baylor University. Then look for a link to libraries and see for yourself whether there is an online catalog. (Betcha there is!) Also, near Waco at Hillsboro, TX, at Hill Junior College (probably called Community College now) there is a Confederate Museum. If you suspect you have any other Texans who go back to the Civil War, you may want to use a search engine to see what may be available. Waco is in McLennan Co., TX, and it is the county seat. Censuses tell us a lot--about a divorced uncle who was revered by his Catholic niece!!! And so on. E.W.Wallace