My HARDESTER / HARDISTER family were in the Randolph County area from around 1780 to 1815. The family migrated primarily to two areas: Arkansas and Missouri. Later, some continued on to California - the former seemed to settle in Southern California while the latter went on to Northern California, with some settling in Indiana and Illinois along the way. I have no idea of the reason for the migration, but I do know that my family, back to a least my g-grandfather, has preferred to live in a rural area whenever possible. So, if the area in which they were living became crowded, they probably pulled up stakes and moved on. Again, that's what my family has done. Mike - CA back to Eastern NC and looking to move again One problem in