(I posted this message to COLE-L yesterday. But the message has enough Peters connections in it that I thought it might be appropriate to post it here as well. Also, I would be curious to see if anybody on this list recognizes the Mary Peters and the Sarah Peters who are listed in the John Scarbrough census entry -- see below.) I have posted my brick wall before without connecting with anybody. I have a good bit more information now than when I first posted, so I will try again. I am looking for ancestors of my g grandmother Sallie Jane Cole, b 29 June 1870 in Tennessee, d. 22 July 1942, m. 28 Nov 1893 to Alva Edward Peters. My mother is a Peters, and these were her grandparents. I should mention that a number of people who knew Sallie well, including my mother and my mother's two sisters, are still alive. However, none of them know anything about Sallie's ancestors. I should also mention that although Sallie is often a diminutive for Sarah, my mother only remembers her being called Sallie. Also, the name on her tombstone is Sallie. My Peters roots are very deep in Anderson County, Tennessee. I fear that originally I was very tunnel visioned about looking for Peters ancestors only in Anderson County. I have recently discovered that I need to look a little broader for my Peters kin, and the broader look has accidentally been beneficial in my Cole research. Also, my mother remembers more than I thought. I was just asking the wrong questions. It turns out that Sallie was one of four sisters. It never occurred to me to ask about siblings, but my mother remembers a great deal about the sisters. The sisters were Cordie, Ida, Sallie, and Mollie. Cordie and Ida were twins. I figure that finding the ancestors of one of the sisters is as good as finding Sallie's ancestors, unless there is something unusual in the family relationship. Before I found out about the sisters, the best possibility for Sallie Jane Cole which I had found in census data was a Sarah Cole age 10 in the 1880 Anderson County, Tennessee census in the following family grouping: Shannon Preston 59 (T T VA) Susan 51 (T T VA) Oliver Douglas 19 stepson Scarbrough Polena 18 servant Cole Sarah 10 servant I originally didn't think this was my Sallie because nobody remembers her being called Sarah, and because there is nothing in family oral history about her growing up as a servant outside her own Cole family. Also, even if this were her, I didn't think the names of her family of residence would give me very many clues about her ancestry. However, I now think that this is my Sallie. Also, I think she was probably a bit more than a "servant". I think she was farmed out to family or close friends because of some sort of family tragedy. The surnames in this family grouping may therefore be some sort of good clues. The 1880 Anderson County census has the following grouping which I believe includes Sallie's sister Ida. I had seen it before, but I didn't connect with it until my mother told me that one of Sallie's sisters was named Ida. Scarbrough John 54 Mary 55 Charles 27 (crippled) Arminte 18 Peters Sarah 92 (T __ T) mother-in-law Cole Ida 11 (T __ T) servant I wonder what connection (if any) there might be between John Scarbrough in this family and Polena Scarbrough in the family in which Sarah Cole was living. Also, notice that this family includes Mary Peters and her mother Sarah Peters. It wouldn't surprise me if there were more Cole-Peters connections in Anderson County than just Sallie Jane Cole marrying Alva Edward Peters. The clincher for me was the following 1880 Knox County census entry which I found by accident while looking for Peters kin in Knox County. Cole Vesta C. 37 Cordie R. 11 Mary I. 7 It seems clear that Cordie R. must be the twin of Ida who is living in Anderson County with the Scarbroughs and that Mary I. is the sister whom my mother called Mollie. It also seems likely that Vesta C. is the mother of the four sisters, and that she farmed two of them out to friends or family due to the death of her husband, or possibly divorce or abandonment. I have since found an LDS IGI record for Ida Rhoda Cole b. 3 Jul 1868 in Knox County, Tennessee. Although I have found no record for Cordie, this data would also apply to her as well. My mother remembered who all the sisters married. Indeed, Mollie married Robert A. Peters who was the brother of Alva, so the children of Mollie and Robert were double first cousins of the children of Sallie and Alva. Ida "married a Wells", who turns out to be Phillip Hancher Wells, and they were married 21 Sep 1890 in Knox County, Tennessee. Cordie "married a Scarbrough" (haven't found the first name yet), and they had a son named Roy Scarbrough. One thing that would help with this puzzle would be the 1870 census, probably for Knox and Anderson counties. But all I have found at my library for the 1870 census in Tennessee is a head of household index. I haven't tried looking through the microfilm yet. If anybody has more complete Knox and Anderson county census data for 1870, a lookup would be most appreciated. Vesta would be about 27. Cordie and Ida would be 1 or 2. Sallie might or might not show up because she was born in June. I am hoping that with this additional data I can connect up with somebody. Thanks in advance. Jerry Bryan ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com