Carolyn is seeking ancestors who possibly were alive in 1880. The 1880 census is online (FREE) at <A HREF="www.familysearch.org">www.familysearch.org</A> It is tricky to use. Not only did the census-taker misspell the name, but the transcribers, according to my own experience plus that of some rootsweb companions, also botched up the surnames as well as the forenames. Don't give the computer search engine too much information--it's like me and algebra--it gets confused. You can use this method if the correct spelling doesn't work. Type in the first three letters of the surname and then add a wild card (an asterisk) If that doesn't work, try changing some of the first three letters. I am told for example that P and B are often confused in old handwriting. I was looking for my great-grandmother's stepfather whose surname was Henze (other records give this spelling, including an affidavit). No luck. So I used the wild card bit and found him (and my great-grandmother as a child in his household). The surname was spelled Henzy (I believe) and on the original census for 1880 it was spelled Hensi (or perhaps vice versa). You may have to change any vowels, and maybe even the consonants. And check out the neighbors--they may be cousins, in-laws, outlaws, or some allied family. The 1880 census is important because it is the first census to ask where the parents of each enumerated person was born. This may give you a clue to other localities (states) to search. E.W.Wallace