I'm new and maybe somebody could explain something. Last week Deb asked why people moved to Jefferson County, but this week she doesn't want somebody else to talk about the subject of documenting. Maybe I don't understand what is okay to talk about and what isn't and who gets to decide. We had a roll call and lots of folks wrote in but one or two didn't like it. Deb asked who was with her and only one person went along with her. I guess that means she was voted down. I met a lady once who was doing her genealogy and found out somebody in her family had been thrown out of her church for running a bawdy house. Now she thought this was funny and so did I. Is this kind of story allowed on this list? Somebody else told me his daddy was a horse thief and escaped to America after getting caught. He said his daddy was a poor man who didn't have a lot of job choices and wasn't ashamed a bit. Is this kind of story allowed? My mama used to say it's a lesson in everything you do if you just have eyes to see it. My wife is the genealogy one here, but she doesn't like the computer much. I like to putter around on it and I signed up to see if I could find anything to add to what she's got. Looks like I can answer a question. Deb asked why people moved to Jefferson County. People move for so many reasons. No way you can answer why somebody moved unless you know them or somebody else who knew them, or if you can find a diary somewhere. Maybe they're retired and want a change of scenery or young and got a better job somewhere. Maybe the neighborhood went bad. Maybe the kids moved away and they want to live near the kids. Maybe they got left a piece of land somewhere and moved over there. Turns out last year I went to a yard sale and found a diary for somebody in my wife's family, Ann Jane Thompson, and I think this diary can answer Deb's question. Now am I allowed to answer? My wife's off visiting and I don't know where that diary is right now, but anyway as best I can remember, here's what it said. Seems there was a widow Thompson with a pack of kids but no job so she took to entertaining young men. Turns out she liked the work and got herself a reputation that brought her plenty customers from all over. Now it must have been pretty hard to keep this from the kids and before long her young daughter Ann Jane started paying attention to what Mama was doing and how she was enjoying herself. One of widow Thompson's callers was a handsome young man name Philip Tapper. According to Ann Jane even though her Mama and Phil were hitting it off she took it in her head to have Phil for herself and he wasn't even her first. Seems Mama just turned her head from it all because she liked the money Ann Jane brought in. Anyway, before long Ann Jane and Phil were busy as beavers and she found herself in the family way. She was only about 14. Didn't take long before she was showing and Mama Thompson had a fit. Her daughter was in the family way and with Mama'a beau (customer) no less. Mama threatened to kill Phil and all. Now on farms it was the way to have a lot of kids and to start young so that you'd have help on the farm but this wasn't the city way. City folks weren't having babies at 14. Phil's family wouldn't take Ann Jane in because they thought she was too low for them and Mama Thompson sure wasn't having any parts of them. So Phil and Ann Jane took off for parts unknown (Jefferson County) where Phil knew somebody. Simple as that-run out of town just like the woman thrown out of her church. In case you're interested Phil and Ann Jane went on to have lots more kids and the only proof they ever married is an affadavit from somebody in Phil's family so Ann Jane could get Phil's pension. After she had about 2 kids, he left her and went back to his family. She went back to her Mama who put her right out. Looks like Ann Jane took after Mama Thompson and had another baby years after Phil died. Unfortunately she didn't write in the diary much what with all those kids to care for and it's not plain how she earned a living but she never mentioned a job. My wife says be careful what you wish for cause you might get it. She means she wanted to know about Ann Jane but wasn't so glad to learn about her after she read that diary. Now I guess the question is whether this kind of "chatting" is allowed. Well I think it helps to know as much as we can about our ancestors and that maybe we shouldn't be judging them since we didn't walk in their shoes. Maybe Mama Thompson did the best she could and Ann Jane did too. If anybody out there doesn't like this kind of chatting, well you've got delete buttons folks. Mac