Momcine@aol.com wrote: > Some time ago while at a library, I had the opportunity to visit with a lady who was from out of state and searching for her past as we all do. The problem she was facing is that many slaves did not have a last name only given name. Is this the problem that I read that you are also having. Her solution to the problem was to find when possible the names of those living near or who were slave holders in the area which she thought her family lived. Based on this info, she tried to match names from tax rolls and also from wills then census records and said she found that most of the freedpersons took the name of their slave owners. We looked thru the micro films in some states for those types of records. I don't know that all state historical society would have these types of micro films but ours in OK does have some. This is just a thought and discard if it doesn't apply. To search for Indian tribal names is also chore. Good luck and don't throw in the towel. Ell! en