Straub/Stroup hunters: It's been quite a while since I contributed anything and the board has been quiet lately. So I thought I would try to help out one of our newer subscribers, Francis Stroup, working on his ancestor Frederick Whistler Stroup, born in 1844 in Union County PA. I don't know if you have the census records, Francis, but I will provide them for the group in any case and hope they help you out. So here are the Straubs in the 1850 census from Union County: all are listed as "Straub", so I will forego the surnames. Also, I just realized that every person listed was born in PA, so I will skip that notation also. John H., Perry Twp, p. 106, age 26, farmer; wife Mary (26); ch: Susannah (4) and Henry (1) George, Perry Twp, p. 106, age 30, laborer; wife: susannah (23); ch: William (7), Emanuel (1), Mariah (14); also enumerated in household are Amelia Watt (4), Barbara Niser (48) and John Niser (16). Daniel, Perry Twp, p. 107, age 46, occ: ?looper?; w: Barbara (45); ch: Catherine (14), susannah (7), Sarah (9), Barbara (1); also enumerated (may or may not be their child) Tobias (21) Benjamin, Washington Twp, p. 115, age 47, wagon maker; w: Sarah (43); ch: Eli (18), Frederick (16), Sarah (12), Peter (9) Amelia (7) and Althia (5). Jacob, Washington Twp, p. 118, age 42, farmer; w: Hanna (42); ch: Mary (21), Catherine (19), Jacob (17), George (15), Sarah (13), Henry (10) and Harriet (8/12). Samuel, Washington Twp, age 38, farmer; w: Mary (34); ch: Phillip (4), Mary (12), Lucinda (9), John (7), Catherine (9), and samuel (3). George P., Washington Twp, p. 120, age 81, no occupation. Isaac, Washington Twp, p. 125, age 31, laborer; w: Sophia (33); ch: Eli (10), Samuel (9), George (6), Susannah (4) and Matilda (1). Jonathan, Chapman Twp, p. 148, age 27, laborer; w: Catherine (26); ch: Augustus (5). Peter, Chapman Twp, p. 153, age 40, laborer; w: Elizabeth (39); ch: William (20), Edward (18), Elizabeth (16), Sarah (8) and Lucy (1). Daniel, Chapman Twp, p. 158, age 26, laborer; w: Lydia (18); ch: Jefferson (4), Benevil (1); also Barbara Straub (66). Annamaria, Chapman Twp, p. 159, age 49; also Levi (23), tinsmith, Matilda (20), Daniel 917), Mary (14) and Samuel (12). Benjamin, chapman Twp, p. 162, age 13, in the home of William German. Mary, Chapman Twp, p. 162, age 65; also Eliza (17), Rebeckah (16), Solomon (12), Jeremiah (10), West (8), Frederick (6) and Lydia (8/12). Henry, Chapman Twp, p. 163, age 32, laborer; w: Mary (34); ch: Jeremiah (14), Phoebe (12), Catherine (9), Joseph (7), Barbara (6), Marie (4) and Henry (2). John, Buffalo Twp, p. 170, age 29, farmer; w: Nancy (25); ch: Amanda (2); also, Elizabeth Bay (age 56). Elisha, Lewisburg Borough, p. 314, age 18, boat builder; w: Elizabeth (18). NOTE: Of course, using the 1850 census, I am taking liberties listing someone as "wife" or "child" since that information isn't provided. It is just my interpretation. So, Francis, it looks to me as if your Frederick was at least living with Mary in Chapman Township. The other Frederick in Union County is 16, ten years too old according to your information. Given Mary's age, she may not be Frederick's mother. Unfortunately, it appears that you have one of these difficult situations that can't be closed with census records. If you want, I will look back at the 1840 census and see if I can make any deductions from that. Hope this helps. By the way, just a note of some recent experiences of mine that may save some of you grief at some point. I have been having a terrible time with my own surname, Burnell. I still am, but things have improved somewhat. The first problem was that for several censuses, my ancestor didn't make it into the published index. Second, I knew from researching my Stroup line among others, is that it isn't always spelled the same. Third, a variation on the second, is that the people actually compiling the indices have to make interpretations, too. Think of the name Burnell written out in script. Except for the initial B and the ending L or LL, that's a bunch of "mushy" letters that often appear as humps in the handwriting of the census-taker. It appears that for several years, I was missing Burnells because they were listed as Burrell or Benrel or who-knows-what in the index. Unfortunately, the only way to be sure is to slog through the census, line-by-line. regards, Jim Burnell