In a message dated 10/3/2005 8:51:02 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: << I am searching for my ancestors. I have a report that Absoleme (Absolom) Shrader married Juliana Rosenbaum in Damascus, Washington Co. VA. He was born there in1798. His son John Shrader, married Mary Ann Cochran, Her father was Thomas B. Cochran, born 1803 in VA. In 1850, they all lived in Blackford Co. Indiana, I am hoping to make a connection to Damascus. I need all the help I can get, thank you Lauretta >> Absolom SHRADER and Julian [Juliana] ROSEBUM were married in Washington Co., VA on 11 Oct 1821 by John JONES, Jr. [Source: "The Marriages of Washington Co., VA," (1993), page 57, by D.E. BROWN]. John JONES, Jr. was a Baptist minister. He owned land in the Widener Valley which starts north of Damascus and goes in a northeast direction on the south side of the South Fork of the Holston River to (as best as I can determine) near the Smyth/Washington county line. John JONES, Jr. was the first pastor of Rush Creek Primitive Baptist Church, near the intersection of routes 605 and 733 in Widener Valley. Absolom SHADER [SHRADER] was on the last line of page 290 of the 1830 WC VA census. But there were no SHADER/SHRADER's in the 1810, 1820 or 1840 census. There was a Conly COCHRAN in the 1820 & 1830 census of WC and a Connelly COCHRAN in the 1840 census. Connally COCHRAN had an 1837 Land Grant for 3 1/2 acres on both sides of Wolf Creek (Wolf Creek flows into the north side of the South Fork of the Holston River south of Abingdon). There was also a Robert B. COCHRAN that had Land Grants on Wolf Creek in 1850 & 1854. Robert COCKRAM [COCHRAN], age 33, born in VA, occupation: miller, was in the 1850 census with his family (dwelling # 926). Bob Ford (ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/washington/census/1830indx.txt)