http://genforum.genealogy.com/wilburn/messages/1295.html This message had me curious. I had never heard of Baron I Wilburn before.. But I had a hunch that IF I logged onto the Baron or Barron genfourm and punch in the Wilburn name, I would find a Wilburn Barron...and I did too. So this is a tip that I want to pass on to anyone who is starting out...because I sure wished that I had learned this much sooner. And in fact, I am going through some of my old Wilburn records and now punching in their given names on the same surname genfourm and finding postings that show the given name Wilburn. Example: This is an easy one. Sizemore Wilburn...Its pretty easy to assume that there was a Sizemore ancestor when this guy was named. So I went to the Sizemore genfourm and found Wilburn Sizemore and he connects to some of my other ancestors who married Wilburns in Wilkes Co NC. Another example: Lewis Wilburn b. 1802 (probably in Wilkes Co NC) m to Eliz Fitzpatrick Wilburn named one of his sons, Harvey Allen Wilburn. Harvey Wilburn was b in 1844 in Carter KY. Harvey m Mahalia McAdams. Two of their sons were Jesse and Preston Wilburn. I went to the Harvey genfourm and punched in the name Wilburn...and found a Wilburn Harvey b. in KY who named two of his sons Preston and Jesse Harvey. What does this tell me???? Well, it tells me that I have more work to do...cause there has to be some connection, somewhere between Wilburn and Harvey families...I then learned that Harveys were kin to DOSS families and the Doss families were kin to Wilburns. And then I went to the McAdams genforum and punched in the name Wilburn and to my surprise I found a Wilburn McAdams, born long before Harvey Wilburn m Mahelia McAdams. And the McAdams were kin to the Teagues of North Carolina. (Please note, there were several different McAdams lines in NC. Some came early into VA and some later in NC) This does not mean that I can put all of these families into a direct descendant line. WRONG! I can only wish...but it does provide me with some clues and it also lets me know that these families certainly appear to have connected long before I ever considered. I hope that this is not too confusing and that those of you who enjoy researching on the internet will find this method an important tool for your own research. Please let me know if you have any questions or have info to share. Thanks much. Vikky at Vikkya@msn.com