I am looking for more information on the Burris family that lived in the Jolly Township of Washington County about 1820-1850. Jolly Twp is in the part of Washington county that was taken into Monroe County later and now no longer exists as a township. I think there was a Stinson Burris and Van Burris living nearby my great great grandmother Cynthia Ann Gooseman who was first married to Unknown Heddleston and later to Edward Dawson. Cynthia Ann first shows up on the Jolly Twp census in 1840 with children (known as Demoranith "Dan", Didemma, Mary and Robbie Heddleston). On the 1850 census, she is living in household with Edward Dawson and children William and Harriet Heddleston. This family moved to Farmington, Van Buren County, Iowa about 1851. Edward Dawson was murdered in Iowa about 2 weeks before his family arrived. I have recently been given a photograph of Cynthia Ann. The cousin who provided the photo said that the inscription on the back read Cynthia Ann Heddleston (Burris). I haven't a clue as to where the Burris name is linked to Cynthia Ann except that two Burris families were in the same neighborhood with Cynthia Ann and Edward Dawson on the 1850 census. I have found on this Rootsweb message board a family history of Burris and there is a Cynthia A. Burris born about 1847. My Cynthia Ann Gooseman-Heddleston-Dawson was born in 1812 in either Ohio or Pennsylvania. Also, I received some land records about transactions between Cynthy Heddleston and Edward Dawson which was witnessed by John Gooseman. Another records was a sale of land between Joshua Dawson and Edward Dawson. I have been trying to figure out if there was some sort of link between these people even before I received these land records. When I have the time, I am going to transcribe the documents and also scan them and post them for others to see. Can anyone give me any information on these families? Thanks, Susie Dent