My THOMAS ancestor is in Rhode Island and/or Connecticut. This ancestor, my second great grandfather, is my highest and thickest brick wall. George A. Thomas married Lucy R. Kenyon in 1856 at Hopkinton, Rhode Island. According to their marriage record in the Hopkinton Town Hall, George A. Thomas (age 22) was born in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. Based on his age at this time (age 22) he was born about 1834. I've been unable to corroborate his birth in the 1840 or 1850 Rhode Island Census, or in any vital birth record held in the town hall at Hopkinton, Connecticut. According to the marriage record of George A. Thomas, his father's name is also George Thomas. In neither the Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, or Massachusetts 1850 US Census there's no George Thomas with a son George A. Thomas about age 17, the age George A. Thomas would likely be in the 1850 census if he was born about 1833 or 1834. George A. Thomas' profession was blacksmith. I've found no records in Rhode Island or Connecticut indicating he owned any land or property, or paid any taxes. George A. Thomas, on his Civil War enlistment paper, indicates he was born in Voluntown, Connecticut. Based on his age at this time (age 28) he was born about 1833. I've been unable to corroborate his birth in the 1840 or 1850 Connecticut Census, or in any vital birth record held in the town hall at Voluntown, Connecticut. George A. Thomas died in 1863 in the US Civil War. His widow, Lucy, was awarded a widow's pension. I have about an inch of Lucy's widow's pension documents from the National Archives. Apparently Lucy had difficulty securing her widow's pension, and over a ten-year period of correspondence between Lucy, the War Department, Lucy's attorney, and numerous depositions by Lucy's friends and neighbors, there's not one reference to, or mention of, George A. Thomas' parents. Many pieces of correspondence and depositions concern custody of George and Lucy's two children, and yet there's no mention of the children's grandparents. In all the paperwork I've accumulated regarding this Thomas family, I've never seen an "official" document giving the middle name of George A. Thomas. If I knew for sure his middle name, perhaps this would give a clue as to where I should look further. Other family researchers "think" his middle name could be Amos or Arnold, but no one can produce an "official" document showing this. I'm quite open to suggestions as to where I should look next. Bob Doughty, Redmond, Washington, USA ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.