I am knew at this computer, chuckle and relax... My father's mother was, as I understand, 41 years old, had already raised her children, cooked for a wheat (?) crew near Enid, Oklahoma, on June 22,1919 when my father was born. The story says she was working when she birthed him. I believe her name was Flora (Orendorf or Jackson). Her husband had died (?) Did he die near Enid? Is that why Grandmother still lived there?. Her family name was Jackson, so the dead husband's name must have been (!?) Orendorf...or...(hahaha).(please excuse me!). My father's blood father was William Thomas Ketron. We have a picture of him. I do not know whether he knew that Dad's Mother was pregnant, or not, when he took off. Whether he knew that he had a son, or not, we do not know. Story is that he was half Chgerokee related to the Stand Watie group that had fought with the Confederacy for promise of Cherokee land titles. Sometime within a year of Dad's birth, another man entered grandma's life. His name was William Thomas and he came out of some Mormon group but was not "practising". At some point in the next years, they moved up into Ozarks and Missuorri area. This is who Dad grew up thinking of as "Father". He even joined the army for WWII as "Thomas", although at the end of the Korean War it surfaced that his bith certificate said "Ketron".............so, I assume the birth certificate was registered before Wm. Thomas came on the scene, and was registered in Enid as place of birth. How do I go forward to find more? Perhaps the birth registration has more on Grandmother and lineage Grandfather. I'd be curious to track down unknown relatives. What is the nature of this thing that my Dad and I share that might be shared by others? I'd like to know where I came from! Death Records for previous to October, 1918, (nine months before my Dad was born), for a (?) Orendorf (I"ve never seen this one spelled). Birth Records... Flora Orendorf or Jackson and William Thomas Ketron parent Robert Theodore Ketron, (who some 34 years later, was moved by the army to legally change the last name, became Robert T. Thomas Sr., my Dad. I was already born in an army hospital with a birth certificate that said "Thomas"!!!). Marraige Records.... for Flora Orendorf/Jackson with a William Thomas in 1919, 20, 21, 22, (?). This is unsure. Dad, born 6/22/1919, remembers the horse wagon and truck trip from Oklahoma to Missourri or the Ozarks, (or did he hear the story so many times that he"remembers"?). Where's Grandma Flora from? A vague story about knowing Billy the kid when she was young... or was it when he was young?!!! (HA) Thanks for any response, and I wish you all well!