Hi Ed, I know with my research it is the little clues that can sometimes lead me forward. In my case I have no other family members to bounce ideas and names off of and have had to rely on intense detective work and good puzzle skills. I will keep you in mind while I do my research. I don't have the name Rice, or Rire's in my collection. I have found that unless one can locate a death, birth or marriage record the chances of coming across a maiden name of a female relative is very difficult. If you haven't looked at it already you might be interested in this web site: http://pages.prodigy.net/mapage/homepage/index.htm. Mark Page writes, "I am researching the PAGE family in FAYETTE COUNTY, PA. My ancestor Joseph Page Sr. moved from Monmouht Co, NJ to Connellsville, Fayette County, PA in 1800. He had at least 7 children: Timothy, Jonathan, William, John, Joseph Jr., Samuel and Hannah. Most of the children's descendants appear to have moved to Ohio, Illinois and Indiana." I photocopied the census index (it is hard bound) for PA 1800 to 1850. There are a lot of Williams, mostly in the Philadelphia area. Some are Mark Page's relatives. Other "W" names are Wilian (1820 Philadelphia); Wallace (1840 Crawford CO); Warren (1840 Bradford CO.); Warren (1850 Bradford CO.); Washington (1850 Warren CO., Pittsfield Twp. 32 y.o. lumberman b. PA $400 value of real estate owned, enumerated with: head of household: Len Osborn 26 b.Canada; Chloi(?sp) Osborne 20 y.o. b. NY; Mary Osborne 2 y.o. b.NY) The following is something I came across while doing research in Venango and Warren County Formation of Warren County, PA Roads and Early Transportation The first settlers found their way into the wilderness of Warren County following Indian trails and surveyor's lines. Others came by canoe, launching from Port Allegheny, floating down from Olean, New York to the mouth of the Conewango and settling along the beechwoods of Pine Grove and Sugar Grove Townships. Provisions and other supplies were brought in keel boats from Pittsburgh to Warren and transported by canoe from Warren to stations further up the river. The road leading from Pittsfield through Wrightsville and Lottsville to the New York border was opened in 1814. The old "county road", as it was called for a number of years, from Owen's Ferry on the Conewango Creek to Lottsville by way of Sugar Grove, was opened in 1816; trees and underbrush were cut to a degree sufficient that an ox-team and sled could pass over it. Between 1818-1819 the first state road was opened through Freehold Township. The first stage coach arrived in Warren from Dunkirk, New York on May 24, 1826. In 1840 one could go by stage from Buffalo to Pittsburgh in less than three days. The steamboat "Allegheny", built mainly by Archibald Tanner and David Dick of Meadville, opened up steamboat navigation on the Allegheny River. However, it made only one trip, from Warren to Olean, New York in 1830. The Sunbury and Erie Railroad was chartered and organized in 1837 and surveyed and located through Warren borough in 1838; the first bridge across the Allegheny River was built in Warren in 1838. see: http://www.rootsweb.com/~pawarren/history.htm The Venango Path was a migration trail in northwestern Pennsylvania followed by settlers on the move north from the town of Kittanning to the shores of Lake Erie. From there the travelers could join the Lake Shore Path to continue east to New York or west to Ohio and beyond. Along the way from Kittanning, people following the Venango Path ventured through territory now lying in Butler, Venango, Forest, Warren, and Erie counties. Some may have been born or died along the way. Others may have taken time out from their journey to marry. A few families may have taken a rest from their trip to purchase a farm and work it for a few years before continuing, while others sold their family farms to join the northern and western migration. In such cases, the records available in these counties can be invaluable to anyone whose ancestors traveled this path on their way to a new life. But trying to track information across several counties can be an extremely tedious chore. For those of us with Internet access the first question might just be, "How can the Net help in this case?" see: http://www.everton.com/oe3-4/venango.htm Good luck with your research! Susan