Until I figure out what I want to post next on these two lists, I thought I would mention a question I had in the past regarding wills. I was reminded of this by a tip from Michael John Neill, an excellent researcher based in IL. It dealt with a question that early in my research I had wondered about. Why, in some wills (and I've seen it hundreds of times), did the deceased leave a token $1.00 to one or more of his heirs? Was the deceased poor and that's all he had? Was the deceased on the outs with that heir (normally a child) and this was his way of rebuking him/her? or Had the deceased already made provision for this person earlier? All three could be possible of course. We normally think of the first or second reason above, but that probably wasn't the case in most instances. If one would check the deed books and other sources, you might find that as a daughter or son married, the father would give them a portion of his land to help get them started. He might have helped pay the child's debts, given him or her a horse or wagon. Some preferred to "clear out" many of their assets in advance rather than to include it in their final will. However, in the will, he/she wanted to remember that child (normally an adult) too, so they would give them a token $1.00. Sometimes the father forgave debts; notes held against their child in lieu of a gift to them in their will. Sometimes the parent also expressly noted that the heir would receive this or that IF he or she remained there on the family farm and took care of the elderly parents until their death. So don't always assume that Sally or Johnnie was not just as loved; check and see if they had been given land or something of value previously. Sandi Sandi's Puzzlers: http://www.gensoup.org/gorinpuzzles/index.php Sandi's site: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=south-central-kentucky