The following message was sent by a former member of the list: "There does appear to be some confusion about when Margaret was married and when she died. That is, I have her married in 1870, with a son born in 1872. So the census to check would be 1870 -- either as daughter of a STROUP or wife of Jasper EOFF, and then the 1880 census for her sons. In the 1880 census, you list the birthplaces of your parents, so her sons should give Margaret's birth state, even though Margaret is dead. One caveat -- unless the census taker used the step-mother's birthplace. But the step-mother's birthplace is given, so if it's different from the boy's mother's, you'll know you've got the right state for Margaret's birth. Rather than having Bonnie have to keep relaying messages on this topic, I have placed a few strategies for finding Margaret STROUP on the following web page: http://grove.ufl.edu/~dianagal/Straub/FGS/JasperEoff-MargaretStroup.htm If I think of anything more, I will add it to the page. Every bit of data Jerri and Shirley can add will help open doors to finding more. " ...forwarded by Bonnie Strope