We're not really an old family name but Bud did mention (in a list with several others) my great grandfather James E. South as a carpenter who helped build Bristol. Fred At 06:59 AM 11/16/2000 EST, you wrote: >I found this to be interesting reading, and thought I would pass it on. The >Danville and East Tennessee Railroad needed help financially and it would be >to Bristol - Goodson, Va. advantage to assist, however, the town needed a >population of at least 5,000 residents. ( population at the time not even >close). On Dec. 16.1889, it was decided that a census should be taken, so the >census counters went on a "people counting hunt" Visitors from N. Y. were >counted, people who had gotten off the train to have lunch in town were >counted, people from close surrounding areas were counted, and later even >accusations that a few East Hill Cemetery residents had their citizenship's >renewed. If you were people and in town or close to town you were counted as >a citizen of the town. On Jan. 4.1890 the census result was 5,382 citizens in >Bristol. The "real count was closer to 2,902. This honest count was taken and >sent to Richmond, but found in a census taker's drawer some 10 years later. A >judge refused to rule on the census, but the suit pointed out almost >certainly that a city status and incorporation had been obtained by fraud. >Ten years later in 1900 the population was still short of 5,000 people by >about 500 people. >Source: Bristol,Tennesse / Virginia by Bud Phillips. >I received this book as an early Christmas present and will do lookup of >names mentioned on request, but the book is mainly history of the town and >its' early and prominate people so you need to have an old family name in the >town to be mentioned. > > >============================== >Search over 600 million names at Ancestry.com! >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp > > > >