I just stumbled across a website that has a great "county formation" set of maps for North Carolina. It covers formations/changes from 1664-1965 and includes a brief explanation (which county/counties it was formed from, etc.) with each map. It's really helpful to know where these counties were in the context of the time periods we're searching. As I commented once about genealogical searches in Virginia (and have now realized is going to be true of any specific state we research our ancestors in), "You kinda have to know the 'genealogy" of the state itself in order to conduct accurate genealogical research of the people who lived there." http://www.mynorthcarolinagenealogy.com/nc_maps/nc_cf.htm Chrissie -- "I don't have a family tree -- I have a family vine!!!" -- Ginger Ballard (a cousin through several different connections in my Grayson Co., VA/Ashe Co., NC heritage) ~~~~~~~ Chrissie Anderson Peters Bristol, TN