Bud, in the Screven County 1850 census (HH of Meredith Poythress, Jr. & Susan R. Maner) there is a 10 year old daughter named Ruthy. In that same 1850 census, a Ruthy Poythress is listed at age 10 in the HH of Elizabeth Best. Left with no other explanation, I'd be inclined to suspect that Ruthy may have been visiting at the Best home at a different date than when the enumerator came by the household of Meredith, Jr. If one was a cynic, the observation might be that enumerators were paid "by the name" and this one was a freebie. However, is it more than coincidence that the research lady who did all that work for you at the GA Archives was Kathy Best? Did Kathy ever speculate on the subject? Maynard