I have been at a brick wall trying to determine the parents of my gggrandmother Martha C. Pickle. She is on the 1850 census living in the household of Jonathan Leggitt. Jonathan's wife Penelope is the daughter of Henry Pickle & Rachel Neely, so we can assume Martha is related to Penelope in some way. Two of Penelope (Nellie) Pickle Leggitt's brothers, John and James, are old enough to be the father of Martha. None of the family trees posted on ancestry have Martha listed as a child of either of them. Each tree for John lists 10 children: Sarah, Nancy, John H., Newton, Thomas, William, Richard, Rachel, James, and Emily J. (one left out Thomas, but perhaps it was simply an oversight) The 1850 census for John Pickle (spelled Pickel). His household lists John Pickel, Sarah, John N., Joseph, Thomas, William, Richard, Rachel, James, and Emily J. The 1860 census shows John Pickle has moved to Marshall county. His household lists John Pickle, Sarah, Wm, James, Milly J., Robt, Jacob, Major, and Meredith P G. The 1870 census shows Sarah Pickle in Township 13 Range 5, Pope, Illinois. (Martha Pickle, now married to William Marshall, is also living in Illinois, close to Joseph & Emeline Pickle, so the Illinois location doesn't seem odd.) The household lists Sarah Pickle, Jacob R, Major H, Menditty, and Elizabeth, all born in Tenn. The 1840 census lists John Pickle as the head of a household in Bedford County. His household includes 3 males under the age of 5, 3 males ages 5-under 10, 1 male age 30-40, 1 female under the age of 5, 2 females ages 10-15, and one female age 30-40. OK, now the questions: In the 1840 census, John must be the male age 30-40, and his wife must be the female age 30-40. I thought Sarah and Nancy would be the daughters 10-15, and my Martha (remember her?!) could be the daughter age 5-10. (Martha was born 1832, and would have been 8 on this census). The 3 males under 5 could include William and Thomas, and the 3 in the 5-10 group could include John H, and Newton. If Joseph was in the younger group, the one in the older group could have been on his own by 1850. If Joseph was in the older group, the younger one might have died. If Sarah is John's daughter, then there is no wife on the 1850 census. So where'd the younger children on the 1860 census come from? Did John's wife AND an older daughter die before 1850? Is Sarah his 2nd, much younger, wife? Why aren't any of the children after Emily listed on anyone's Pickle family tree? (None of the trees list the name of John's wife, nor do they indicate more than one marriage.) I am open to any suggestions on where to proceed from here. Thanks for reading this, and for any comments you might have. Lynn Stewart Visone