Hello List, I wanted to share what I found at the end of April on my 3 day research trip to the piney woods. I had no idea that my ancestors were as far east in Texas as Panola/Harrison/Shelby counties until a very generous fellow genealogist, NOTHA STEVENS, notified me that my Fletcher (also M. F.) Davis who I had been searching in vain for, was actually Martin Fletcher DAVIS, son of Nathan DAVIS and Susan FLETCHER. I had been unable to find anything on him before he bought 102 2/5 acres of land in Henderson County Texas (actually he traded 3 bales of cotton each weighing 500 pounds). He evidently died between March 1885 when he bought another tract of land, and November of 1886 when his widow remarried. He had been impossible to find since he is not listed in the census index, but Notha let me know that he was on the census in Panola county in 1880. From there it just snow balled! Yippee!! Martin Fletcher DAVIS married Laura Ellen STORY, another one that was impossible to track since the maiden name on her daughter's death certificate said Laura Ellen was "STREEY". I had assumed that it might be a typo of "STREET" Thanks to other generous fellow researchers, Carol ? <C. VanV> and Elizabeth (Beth) STORY MOORE for letting me know that Laura Ellen STORY was the daughter of Joseph STORY and Tenny HUMPHREYS..... And that Tenny was the daughter of Joseph HUMPHREYS who died in Harrison County, Texas about 1844. I found that Joseph was a widower who had come to Texas with his 2 small children after their mother's death. He later married Sarah STORY (no relationship has been established between Sarah STORY HUMPHREYS and Joseph STORY who married Tenny HUMPHREYS, daughter of Joseph HUMPHREYS) While in Harrison County doing my research, I found that Joseph Humphreys had donated 50 acres of land from his own headright on the Sabine River, to be the site of the county seat of Harrison County. He also donated the timber on the tract to be used to build the court house, jail, church and other buildings for the town site of what became Pulaski. Files submitted to the Harrison County Historical Commission as well as information found at the library in Shelby County show that Pulaski was the 2nd County seat of Harrison County and when Panola County was carved out of Harrison and Shelby Counties, Pulaski was the first County seat of Panola County. In 1849, when it was decided that Pulaski was not near enough to the center of the County, Carthage became the county seat. Hope someone finds something of interest here. Without the help of others, I would still be stuck on M. F. DAVIS in Henderson County in 1883. Peggy Loar still be stuck on M. F. DAVIS in = Henderson County in 1883. Peggy Loar