These informative items were found in the Prewitt-Pruitt-Pruett Newsletter for January 1998. Until the last century, a mother had no legal custody of her children. The term 'orphan'meant only that the father was dead. The ten most common surnames in the US are: Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown, Davis, Miller, Wilson, Moore and Taylor. Missouri birth and death records have been reduced from $22 to $10 from the Missouri Bureau of Vital Records, PO Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65120 The 'Nashville Banner' now features a genealogical column which will publish queries of interest to middle Tennessee area. Address: Genealogy Column, Nashville Banner, 1100 Broadway, Nashville,TN 37203. Hope this helps with your research. Jane George