You wrote: >>I am trying trace my grandmother's ancestors. Her mother married Arthur E. Whitney in 1917. He was b. Sept. 30, 1885 and he d. Feb. 22, 1918. His parents were Charles Earland Whitney and Mary A. Smith. Arthur had a brother, Earl C. b. 1889. The parents of Charles Earland Whitney were Jonathan Whitney and Martha Bullfinch. Charles was b. Oct. 21, 1848 in Henderson Co., NY and d. Feb. 5, 1921. Charles had at least two sisters. They are listed in his obituary as Mrs. Frank Dudley and Mrs. Simeon Smith. I did not find any of these people listed in the whitney sites or on rootsweb, ancestry.com, etc., and I am hoping you can help. Please let me know if there is a link that I am missing somewhere. Thank you. From: "Jennifer Marklein" <jemarkl@hotmail.com><< ---------------------- Dear Jennifer: There are thousands of Whitneys who haven't been connected to a "known" immigrant ancestor. You may need to get back another generation or two before you can link yours up. You don't say how long you have been searching, so forgive me if my advice is directed toward a beginner. Do you have a Church of the Latter Day Saints in your area? One of them may have a Family History Library that you should visit. Take information on your families with you when you go. They'll be able to direct you to census and vital records that can be viewed on film and microfiche. Have you written letters to the Clerks of the towns in which your grandparents were born, died or married? For a small fee you can obtain actual certified copies of those certificates which contain parents, and more leads to help you dig farther back. I've sent a copy of your query (and this reply) to the Whitney-L email list too just in case one of the 300+ members has someone you are looking for in a personal database that is not posted on the internet. I wish I could help more, but all I can do is wish you good luck! Jeanne (Whitney) Muse jwmuse@compuserve.com ------------------------------------------ Researching GOLDSMITH, REED, WHITNEY http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jwmuse/roots.htm -----------------------------------------