The most successful method I have used in tracing my ancestors, is digging through census records, wills, and land records. The more info you can find, the more possibility you will connect to someone researching the same family. I had great luck researching land records and posting the ones pertaining to my ancestors on the appropriate mailing list. I recently attended a family reunion in NC, I met the famlies sponsering the reunion this way. I was able to visit the grave of my 3rd greatgrandparents b. 1767 d. 1857. It takes a lot of digging, but well wprth it. Barbara of Ca