I'm interested, also. My great-grandmother, Martha Hestand, died in about 1859 at the age of about 20, cause unknown. She lived in the Kentuckytown area. Any direction would be helpful. Ken Hestand Aileen wrote: Does anyone know if there were any newspapers in the Grayson County area during the mid 1850s? There were a lot of deaths during that time due to the "fever." My g grandfather's first wife and two of his daughters all died on the same day from the fever. I am wondering if a local newspaper may have reported these deaths, or at least have accounts about the spread of the disease. Would there be a place that old newspapers are "stored?" Thanks, Aileen