Hello All, After spending a great deal of time downloading, deciphering and importing the census files of the University of Minnesota, I find that they are only a 1% sample. I guess I should have read the 800 pages of documentation a little more thoroughly!!! Oh well. Information on the sample can be obtained from the History Department ant the University of Minnesota, http://www.ipums.umn.edu. I imported the samples of Virginia, Kentucky and South Carolina into a database on my PC for reference. If anyone is interested in finding out if their lookup is in this small needle of the haystack, let me know, I'll be happy to look. I have been researching the surname STRANGE, and found only 9 people out of the 42,186 records in my database. But, in any case, 42186 names are still 42186 names! I did find a great internet site: http://www.ls.net/~newriver/. There isn't allot of info on Wise County, but there is a great deal of information and links to other VA counties. Best Regards, Cheryl