Happy New Year! What you might do is use this: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ussearch.htm Follow their directions and choose a state; and type in; for example, "Patterson AND " (without quotes) for the state you chose; then put whatever you have for information. I did that today for Patterson AND Guilford for South Carolina and drew about 20 files. This is material that people have posted over time. I found several names that are very familiar and histories of different places. Some of these files are big. The biggest I found was 605K so be prepared for most anything. Remember these files are clues not proof positive of anything. You still have to go further and get to the real records. Then use the browser or whatever you use to "find" the name Patterson in the file and you will go directly to Patterson or any name you type in the box to see if anyone relates to you or read about the times our ancestors lived. I found a Baxley Patterson yesterday doing just this. I hope this will help some. Jo Ann Patterson Baxley [email protected]