I am Thomas Arthur ANDESON II. My namesake, Thomas Arthur Anderson, was born and raised on his father's farm in Horsham Township in Montgomery County. He was my grandfather; he died at age 42 (15 years before I was born) of pneumonia. At the time of his death, Thomas A. Anderson had moved to Pittsburgh, married Gertrude GRAU and had two children: Leroy and Mary. Leroy was my father. My branch of the family kept moving west. I was born in Youngstown; my sister was born in Chicago. We grew up in California. The only Anderson relatives that we ever knew were Aunt Mary and her daughter (our cousin) Mary Ann. I started doing genealogy over a year ago now with my wife's family from the islands of Grenada and Carriacou in the West Indies. With the help of high speed internet and a nearby LDS Family History Center, I have developed my skills. When I started doing my family, I started with my mother's Butler County COOPERs (I established that her mother and father were third cousins). I have kept in touch with a COOPER family group and attended reunions there. When I finally decided to tackle the ANDERSONS, I ordered death certificates for Thomas A. Anderson and his wife Gertrude. Pennsylvania Vital Records are very helpful. I quickly learned the names of my paternal great grandparents. Thomas A.'s father was Thomas Patrick Anderson (1857-1923). Thomas Patrick ANDERSON was newly wed to Emily TAYLOR when they appeared on the 1880 census, on land next to the farm occupied by Emily's widowed mother, Susan and Emily's sister Anna (who would later live with Thomas and Emily and eventually marry Thomas after Emily's death). I also purchased the death certificate of Thomas Patrick Anderson and discovered that his parents were Robert ANDERSON (born in Penna.) and Mary CRAWFORD (born 'not known'). The 1880 & 1920 census state that both of Thomas P.'s parents were born in Ireland; the 1900 & 1910 census state that both are born in Pennsylvania. This confusion leads me to guess that one parent (Mary Crawford) was in fact born in Ireland. I am now looking for more information on Robert ANDERSON and Mary CRAWFORD. I am also looking for more information on B. Franklin TAYLOR and his wife Susan. Finally, I am looking for general information about farm life in Montgomery County in the latter part of the 19th century, particularly Horsham Township and Prospectville. Thanks. _____________________ Tim Anderson Gaithersburg, Maryland