I am descended from Alonzo Brigham Stearns, who was born in Worcester County Mass. April 17, 1824. He married Antoinette Marie Calkins Stearns June 30, 1852. A family story told to my Mother has it that Alonzo always told every one about his rich cousin in CA., "Don" Abel Stearns. When Abel's widow Arcadia died about 1912 with no children and no will, my great-great grandmother Stearns hired a lawyer in an attempt to claim part of the estate (a lot of land, mostly). But no birth records or Bibles existed so nothing could be proven. The estate mostly went to Arcadia's sister Ysidora Bandini de Couts and her children in San Diego County. Having grown up in Orange County and on Don Abel's former ranch (Rancho Los Coyotes) I have always been interested in this line and have always wanted to know the exact relationship of Alonzo Brigham and Abel Stearns. Alonzo's father was Asa born June 7, 1788 in Winchendon MA. Asa married Mary Temple. I noted on the recently sent T.S. Elliot e-mail that there was a William Alonzo Stearns born in 1821 and that his brother? Thomas married a Brigham. With this similarity in birth dates and names I feel that Alonzo Brigham Stearns and this William Alonzo are closely related. If anyone can help me here I will greatly appreciate it and if anyone has any detailed biographical information on "Don" Abel Stearns I would like to hear from you. Thank you, Tom Stinson