To anyone on the list who is following the WV Pyles family of Oliver Pyles: I have a problem trying to put my information together for the Pyles background in my family. I thought I'd present my evidence and hypothesis and hopefully spur some discussion with others who might have other or more information on the matter. So, here goes..... My gr-grandmother Minnie May Means (married name) came from a Pyles family, and I believe it was from Oliver J. Pyles's daughter Mary. On Minnie May's death certificate, her parents were listed as "Wm. Russ" and "Mary Pyles." My grandfather, Henry Oliver Means, has her maiden name listed on all of his marriage certificates as "Minnie May Russ." The Putnam Co., WV marriage record for her marriage to Floyd Allen Means showed her name as Minnie May Rush or Rusk. It was difficult to tell the difference between "h" and "k" with the particular handwriting.) Even though Minnie May's death certificate gives her birthdate as 22 May 1878 in Gallipolis, OH, I have been unable to find a birth record for her. I was also given some notes that were taken by another distant family member who was doing this family research. Her notes said that my grandfather (Henry Oliver) was named after his grandfather Oliver Pyles and his great uncle Henry Pyles. However, knowing that his grandparents were a William Russ and Mary Pyles, the relationships of Oliver and Henry to Henry Oliver would have to be pushed back a generation to gr-grand- father and gr-great uncle. Also, my father and uncle had always thought that Minnie May's maiden name was Davis because she had two brothers with the last name of Davis. I found in Minnie May's obituary that she was survived by two step brothers-Shilo Davis of Huntington, WV, and Buell Davis of Charleston, WV. I was also told by my uncle that Minnie May's sister Ida married Floyd Allen's brother Joseph Ira Means. I found the marriage record for Ira and Ida in Mason Co., WV, for 22 Mar 1899. Ida's last name in this record was Lindsay. Also, the marriage record for Ira and Ida's son Ira (in Columbiana Co., OH) showed the parents names as "Joseph I. Means" and "Ida Lindsay." I had also found in "Putnam Co. (WV) Deaths (1853-1968)" the death records for two of Ira and Ida's children. One of the records listed the parents as "Ira Means & ? Davis." The other record showed the parents as "Ira & Ida (Russ) Means." In other marriage records I have found a Mary Pyles or Mary Piles listed several times. In "Gallia Co. (OH) Marriages (1851-1900)," there is a record of a Benjamin E. Abbott marrying a Mary Pyles on 22 Apr 1878. In the same compilation, there is a record of a James W. Rusk marrying a Mary Piles on 5 Mar 1879. Then in "Mason Co. (WV) Marriages (1870-1885)," for 15 Oct 1885, there is a record of John Lindsey, 40, from Verango Co., PA, marrying Mary Piles, 26, from Wetzel Co., WV. The significance of all of this is that prior to my finding most of this information, I was in contact with Wally Pyles regarding Mary Pyles, the daughter of Oliver Pyles. He told me what information he had on Mary Pyles at that time. He told me of her marriage to Benjamin E. Abbott in Gallia Co., OH. He also said that Mary had been married at least two more times - to a fellow name Lindsay (He didn't knwo the first name.) and to Justice Davis. He didn't mention anything about her being married to anyone named Russ or Rusk or Rush. I have evidence that the Mary Pyles/Piles who were married to the fellow named Lindsay and to Justice Davis are one and the same. Also, from my findings, I would propose that the "Mary Piles" who was married to James W. Rusk is the same Mary who was married to Lindsay and Davis. James Rusk's middle initial "W" could stand for William, fitting with Minnie May's father's name of "Wm. Russ." I'm not sure if Minnie May's last name is Russ or Rusk. The two could sound very similar is said quickly. I'm not sure how Benjamin Abbott fits in, but I have no reason to doubt that the Mary Pyles listed in that marriage record is a different one. I'm not sure that Minnie May's birthdate, as it is listed on her death certificate, is completely accurate because I can't locate a birth record for Minnie May around that date for any of the last names of Abbott, Pyles/Piles, or Lindsay/Lindsey. Also, that birthdate does not seem to fit with the various marriage records for Mary Pyles. Finally, to top off all of this, I have found from searching this mailing list on Rootsweb that Oliver Pyles's wife was Lydia Young. Well, I found in the 1900 Mason Co., WV census a "Lyddie Pilles (May, 1839, 61, WV)" living with Floyd and Minnie May and their three children. The birth year list in the census appears to be in line with the birth year I have found by searching the list - 1839. That's what I have. I realize it's rather long and can be confusing at times. I've tried to present it in such a way to minimize confusion. Let me know what you think of the arguments that I've made here. You can either e-mail me directly or respond to the list. I think that this could lead to interesting discussion on the list if the responses are sent to the list rather than directly to me. Thanks for your time, John Means