This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: pmceus Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.ohio.unknown/13571.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Thanks very much for replying to my message. I'm grateful for any potential leads to check out. The variation in surname spelling doesn't concern me as I soon found out that it is a pretty common occurrence in genealogy records along with different dates of birth. One surname in my tree is spelled Groesbeck, Grewsbeck, Groosbeck, Groesbeek, Gruesbeek! In regards to # 2 - John Adams is my great-great grandfather and Rose is my great grand aunt. Some time after the 1910 census in New York, Rose, her widowed father John, her sister Katharine "Kitty" (along with her husband Harry) moved to California. I don't know if they all went together or if Rose and John followed Kitty later on. They are all still living in upstate NY in the 1910 census. Their married sister Rita, my great grandmother, remained in New York. Neither Rose or Kitty had children. Since Rose was from New York and Arthur from Ohio, I presume that they met out in California. I know that they were married in March so I'll have to check the date when the 1920 census in California was taken to see if it was before or after they were married. The Thomas McDougall in the 1910,1920, and 1930 census in California sounds worthwhile exploring further - maybe a brother as you suggested. Wonder how I missed him in my searches! I will also check out the Thomas McDougal in the 1880 census for Ohio. It is difficult when I have so little info on the "MacDougalls" to start with. I was happy to find that Arthur's parents were listed on his marriage cert but with no DOBs for them or given name for his mother, it's hard to narrow down the all the possibilities. Too bad genealogy isn't a exact science! Thank you for your time and efforts on my behalf. I really appreciate it. Pat Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.