I have enjoyed hearing everyone's stories. My great grandfather was a peddler according to family lore. My Great Aunt and my Granny have scattered memories of their grandfather from their mother. They were both too young to really remember. He traveled all over Tennessee and died of a heart attack in a hotel in Nashville. I felt so lucky to find his obituary in a Nashville paper.. quite by accident I might add. He is very illusive and this leads me to my question. What records have you folks had luck with concerning your peddler relations. A little background...... My GGrandfather John Kennedy lived from abt 1840 to 10/8/1915 just to give you an idea of the time frame. John Kennedy is a VERY common name let me tell ya!! He was a Confederate solider (says so on his head stone) but as for a pension record or other records, well again John Kennedy is a very common name. And without a permanent address of any kind in his later years, well you can see my problem here. The only census record I have of him comes from 1870 in Trigg County KY. His second (?) wife, Adeline, was still alive and he has three daughters Dovie, Rosie, and Effie.. the eldest a half sibling to the other two, again family lore. But his wife died and he peddled around northern middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky quite a bit, children in tow. He finally left the two youngest motherless daughters with non-relation families in Robertson Co (Woodard's and Lipscomb's). These girls worked as house servants till they were old enough to marry. He popped in and out of their lives from time to time. No more records till his death at the Waggoner Hotel on the public square in Nashville. But if nothing else he was a very colorful fellow... the Irish often are. This line of my family has been shrouded in mystery for many years and if not for the wonderful memories of my old relations I would have had nothing to go on. They really are gems. What little I have been able to discover on ole John Kennedy has been completely based on the tales of my great aunt and grandparents. But any advise as to where to hunt would be much appreciated. Thank you, Kari Waggoner