After 25 years of searching, including trips to Washington, Richmond and Ohio, I'm not told that I've been duped by a cagy politician and census taker. I was told late last week that a census taker in Giles County in 1870 and 1880 advised certain Giles residents to claim that they had been born in Northern states in order to preserve their voting rights? I've been looking for James A. Johnston. Based upon census records that indicated he and his parents had been born in Ohio, I've been chasing a phantom looking for his parents. It turns out that he probably is the son of Hugh Johnston and grandson of immigrant Adam Johnston, all living in Giles County. Has anyone else heard about this census trick?