Hi! It's been awhile since I wrote in and wanted to send a "refresher" to get back in touch with everyone. Hope you will do the same. Andrew J. Phalen was my third-great grandfather. He went to St. Louis, Missouri from Sydney, Nova Scotia about 1833. Andrew's parents, William and Margaret, reportedly sailed to Sydney from Greenock, Scotland about 1818. In St. Louis, Andrew married Elizabeth "Vinkeimer" [sic] about the year 1840. Andrew and Elizabeth would each have been about 28 to 30 years old. Elizabeth was apparently placed here by aliens as there has yet to be a record of her entrance in the US discovered. However, she reportedly arrived in New Orleans, LA from Bremen (born Hannover, Germany) about the year 1837 then went immediately to St. Louis where she later met and married Andrew. In 1845, the couple can be found in Kanawha County, VA, which became Putnam County in 1848, and is now of course part of West Virginia. The Phalen's were of some prominence in the area at that time. I do not know any names of Andrew J. Phalen's siblings but it is rumoured that he had two brothers who came from Missouri with him to Virginia. Their names are apparently forgotten but I believe they may have been William and Thomas. Happy New Year! Julie McGrew-Ayres maito:MzTek@mindspring.com "Savante di Web"