(OPEN LETTER TO A ALL COUSIN) Hello Debbie, Glad this is you after all. Yes I've nearly completed the Coffman portion of tree. From 1535 to my line today. I found you just in time to send you a new story I wrote, a Tong/Cheek type of thing just to let cousins (shy) know I'm friendly and to encourage them to write. I found 4 new cousins with this one since 10/5/2001. I just retyped to make more smooth and flowing. The Reply's: One wanted to know if I was drinking the moon shine, another who bough the equip. from estate sale, and another who said her husband and she couldn't stop laughing over the cotton story, another said my mail's was precious. I also help form, as co-host, the first ever Coffman and Coffman Cousins East Tenn Conference in Knoxville,tn in June With a Brown Cousin's who lives in Knox. We had about 300 people attend but we are now org, and it will be Major this coming July With 3 professional College Speakers/Researchers of the Coffman Name. which plan to attend. Even Curtis Pounds from kin-to-you was there. I have a pair of Twin Brother, born in 1824 Grainger, Tn. who with with father David and mother Susan came to polk Co. Mo in 1833 to start a church. These Twins were married in Polk. Names: Andrew David and Twin John (sometimes with middle name as H.B.) In 1959 both were missing from Polk and I come from 2nd. marriage that took place in 1866 in Harrison Co. Tx. He was also married two more times in the Red River Valley. Gramps was only children from 2nd marriage, to live. But what I can't find is Children (If Any from 1st marriage) This Andrew David used at lease 3 phony name I had to work thur i.e. Dedrick, DC and one more I don't have at hand. You see when I started I didn't know about 1st marriage. We have Twin John names of children in polk CO. but believe he was with Twin on Cattle drives to Texas, As Andrew changed his name we suspect John did also. Can not find a thing on John 2nd Marriage, and nothing in way of children on Andrew 1st. I went to the Red River Three times getting this far, and loved it there especially in Harrison Co Tx. next county to Louisiana in the piney woods. Diana and I would pay for clues on these missing marriages and names of the children. As for The below story, as a Okie like myself, I thot you might Like. Love Cousin Carl in Wichita. An Open Letter To my Coffman Cousins, Wichita, Ks. Hello Cousins, For those that will still believe me, I want to tell you a true (?) story on how my Coffman people got around to different places in the United States. These two Coffman brothers, Andrew and David led our line from Lancaster Co. Pa. to the Apple-Chain mountains of Eastern Tn., because it was very quiet and they could do as they liked. They lived in among the Indian tribes there without mis-hap from 1781 on. Both had Moon shine equip. in their estate sale upon death. This one dude, Andrew's son David, decided that the people would listen to him better in Missouri then Tennessee. Guess he never heard that "Missouri is the show me state". See he was a Baptist preacher.(Why I wonder, he though people didn't listen in TN.? They seemed to me to listen when I was there in June? I found out the word Bible meant the same in both places). One of David's sons, Andrew David got lost and couldn't find his way back to his wife and Kids(?) and his way back to Missouri. (You will soon see this runs in the family in getting lost). He looked around and found out he was in Texas. He said well one place is as good as another and besides I don't have to walk back. And also he liked the way the Texas Women talked he said. He proceeded to get married again, (2nd time),and Gram paw was born in 1867,Tx. Gramps turned to photo taking and started traveling in his work and with his family in a covered wagon. All over the south, and even into upper Missouri where he placed 3rd. place in St. Louie World Fair, in a Photo entry. Somehow my dad was dropped off in The Okla Strip/Indian Terr., (probably because he ate to much), Dad became a share cropper on 80 acers west of Stillwater, Okla. Nothing but red clay/dirt/mud, but was poor enough to raise cotton. Later in life he told me the best way to raise cotton is to help your sweetie off with her under clothes. Dad married a very wonderful Arkansas Woman and the three of us very nice looking Boys were born, (Watch it Carl, these Cousins know you are windy). And we picked Cotton on and on, until we looked like Question Marks. In 1939 or so, Dad threw down his hoe and up with his hands and said: "I've had enough" and went looking for another job. He found one in Ponca City, OK. putting in a Crude Oil line in from Ponca City Ok. to 20 miles east of Wichita, Eldorado Ks., where there was an oil refinery. Good pay but a lot ot shovel digging. Dad loaded us all on the old Model "A" pick up. Made a tent on back truck box and we camped out as he worked. Took quite a while to lay that pipe line but we made it to city limits, of Eldorado Ks, Dad was paid off and we turned towards Okla. Low-and-behold we found the oil line ditch was filled with dirt, with grass was growing on top, and we couldn't get there from here anymore. The model "A" broke in Eldorado and the 4 of us pushed it to Wichita where there were parts. Mother steered it. We fixed the truck and found no one in Kansas that has ever heard of Okla., let-a-lone to tell a person how to get back there. A man at the Parts store said Wichita is booming, getting ready for war and there is an airplane factory building making planes and needed workers. We all asked him what was a plane? He said it was something that will carry people thru the Air. We then asked if the plane ate the people. The parts man said:" Oh no they land them back on the ground" Dad said:" Dram right I'll do it, build them, if the things will stand still long enough". We were just to afraid to ever leave home again as Wichita become home by default and we didn't ever want to try that again. Must be a moral here somewhere: "How about never leave home unless you leave a trail of bread crumbs, Or how about drawing pictures of places you see by the by-ways while you travel" and reverse pictures on the way back. Telling you Cousins this is a true story. Regards, Cousin Carl in Wichita, Historian, Family Genealogst, and associated to Wichita State Univ. P.S. If there is one grain of truth in this story it is by pure accident, I know my husband. By Wife, A Cousin too.<Grin> _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp